General Motors seems to be making a name for itself, not for making innovative vehicles, but re-badging just about every car in its lineup so that every brand the company owns can have a piece of the same vehicle. We’ve already seen “sister” cars like the Cobalt and Pursuit, as well as the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice. Well, they’re taking the Opel Astra as the basis for an upcoming Saab model said to compete directly with the BMW 3-Series.

I always thought that the Saab 92-X was meant to target the Bimmer entry-level market, but I guess I was wrong. Now, just because they say that this “new” car will be “based” on the Opel Astra doesn’t mean that it will be a complete clone. Rather, industry pundits are predicting at the very least a new body style.

It will be interesting if this will overlap at all with the previously reported Saturn (to replace the Ion) that is said to be in development, which is also based on the Opel Astra.