SAINTE-ADELE, QUE. -- A sexy Saturn? Hard to believe, isn't it? But Russ Clark, Saturn's director of brand and product development, is here to sell the idea.

The genial, 50-ish Clark is doing not a bad job of it, either.

Even more impressive: He is finding time to pitch the idea while navigating us down tree-lined, pothole-strewn stretches of 364 Ouest toward Saint-Jovite. (This is more-goat-path-than-road and the French signs with metric distances have the Detroit-based Clark slightly, though not disastrously, befuddled.)

So on this gloriously sunny day, at that time of year when the weather is warm, yet the hordes of ravenous black flies and mosquitoes are still sleeping, Clark is telling me that by 2006, Saturn will be selling a gorgeous roadster: A ragtop based on the same architecture as the sizzling Pontiac Solstice due next year.

"But when you see ours, you'll like it even better," he says with a smile.

Saturn will unveil its new roadster in January at the Detroit auto show, Clark says, but don't expect to see a production version of the Curve concept car shown at this year's Detroit show.

There's also the promise of good road manners, as both the Solstice and its mysterious Saturn cousin will ride on what General Motors calls the Kappa architecture.

Right now, though, I am steering another Saturn hottie, one you will be able to buy in a couple of weeks for $26,995.

This 205-horsepower, supercharged and intercooled Ion Quad Coupe Red Line is not a promise, it is reality.

The Ion Red Line is aimed squarely at the young and restless male "tuner" crowd of 18- to 30-year-olds, those who personalize cars by adding on everything from windshield stickers to new tire rims to stereos to beefed-up suspensions.

Interesting, considering tuners and their enthusiastic ilk are the same people who have given Saturn the cold shoulder since GM's import-fighting brand was conceived back in the late 1980s as a putative, cuddly North American alternative to Hondas, Toyotas and even Volkswagens.

But there isn't anything fuzzy about the souped-up Ion Red Line.

To boost Saturn's image and give it a car to rival the Ford Focus SVT, Toyota Corolla XRS, Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V and Dodge SRT-4, Saturn's people teamed up with GM's internal Performance Group. Together, they raided the corporate parts bin and started playing around.

They borrowed a stronger five-speed manual transmission from the European folks at Saab and Opel, needed to handle the 200 ft-lb of torque created in the 2.0-litre Ecotec four-cylinder engine.

The shifter itself and the brake system come from GM's midsize Epsilon architecture, which carries the larger Saab 9-3, among others. The drive axles came from the Saturn Vue sport-utility, the cooling bits from Epsilon and the exhaust system from several GM vehicles. They adapted the Roots-type supercharger from the one used in the Pontiac Grand Prix.

Then, the pocket-protector people took a month at Germany's famed 21-km Nurburgring race course for tuning all the bits and pieces together. They found apparent harmony in braking and handling after tearing about Nurburgring's turns, day after day. But to what point?

To me, Saturns are the cars people like my son's Grade 4 teacher want to drive. Don't get me wrong, the 40-something Mr. Bowden is a fabulous teacher. But Mr. Bowden is also extremely responsible and disciplined, he cares about the environment and is focused enough on his health to run every day and watch his diet.

Those are Saturn people to me. Not 20-somethings in baggy jeans, wearing baseball caps backwards and dreaming of dating Avril Lavigne. So why go Red Line when your customers are Mr. Bowden-types?

"That's a good place to start, but if we want to grow the brand, we need to go beyond that," Clark says. "Everybody says they want to do business with us, but we haven't offered enough products for enough people. Any time you do performance, it says you are serious about automobiles and having fun.

"At the same time, we don't want to lose the good CSI [customer satisfaction index] experience -- we want to build on it."

Clark is referring to Saturn being ranked No. 1 in the U.S in sales satisfaction for seven of the last nine years. Saturn buyers say they like what happens at the dealership; the problem is, there just isn't enough interesting product there.

Which is where Red Line comes in. It gives Saturn a jolt while dealers await four all-new models in the next 30 months.

It started with the racy-looking 2004 Vue small sport-utility vehicle, which went on sale earlier this year.

The Vue Red Line is a high-performance compact ute, powered by a Honda-supplied 250-horsepower V-6. Prices start at $32,125 for the front-drive version, $34,535 for the all-wheel drive version.

The V-6 is what makes this an attractive package. It is smooth and gives the Vue the most powerful engine choice in its class. A slick five-speed automatic transmission is standard equipment with the V-6.

To handle the power, the Vue has a lowered and stiffened suspension and 18-inch aluminum wheels.

But there is more handling promise in the tire/suspension package than the Vue delivers. In corners, there is a fair amount of body roll and in hard braking, the Vue dives forward.

The Red Line may look racy, but it is practical. The cabin has room for up to five, the doors open wide for easy access and there is plenty of cargo space at the rear.

"We are a brand on the move," Clark says, as I toss the Ion Red Line down into a deep, sweeping left-hander, then up and over a humped right-hander.

"We about developing responsible and charismatic vehicles."

The all-new Saturns will include a 2005 Relay crossover minivan based on the current Chevy Venture and due in showrooms this fall. It will seat seven and have fold-flat seats in the rear.

Then, in 2006, Saturn will launch its roadster, a midsize vehicle based on the Epsilon architecture and a large sport-wagon crossover to compete against trucks such as the Honda Pilot.

Rumour has it the latter will be based on General Motors' new Lambda architecture, designed for front-wheel-drive vans and sport wagons. Clark won't confirm that, nor will anyone else among the GM crowd. Ultimately, the goal is for Saturn to be selling more than 400,000 vehicles a year by 2007, up from 271,157 in 2003.

In the meantime, the Ion Red Line is loads of fun.

With its racecar-like dampers, it holds the road well and stays pretty flat when the turns tighten up. The car is very fast and responsive, the big brakes haul things down without snapping your neck and the electric steering is quite linear, delivering useful feedback and no "dead" feeling when on-centre. I even like the pedals, which have been spaced properly for heel-toeing, and the shifter is surprisingly tight.

Truth is, I am shocked to find myself wanting more time to carve up these snaky Laurentian roads -- even if they do feel like they were paved only once, back in the 1960s, and have been completely neglected ever since. Equally interesting: Despite the firmer suspension damping, we're not pummelled into submission on these miserable roads.

This is a revelation. The last time I drove an Ion about a year ago, I found it noisy, clunky and an altogether unpleasant disappointment.

Not so now.

"This is not just about stuffing a big engine in a small car," Clark says. "This is an out-of-the-box race car that you can take to the track on weekends. But it is also a car you can live with Monday to Friday."

Less impressive is the styling work. There are some exterior hints at what this Saturn is all about, but they are really quite subtle.

Up front is a big air inlet for supercharger breathing; the rear is spoiled and sports a chromed exhaust tip. Rocker mouldings and other body work on sides give the impression this Ion has been lowered.

Rear wings and mesh-screen grille are optional. Red Line badging on the deck lid isn't. Colours are limited to black, blue or silver.

Inside, you can get the cabin in any colour you want as long as it is black. The standard Recaro seats fit snugly and keep you from sliding around on the corners.

Saturn says the Ion Red Line's special steering wheel and gearshift knob are very sporty. Maybe to them. To me, they look a bit subdued, though they feel nice when you are working twisting roads.

We have got to give credit Saturn credit for finally tuning up its lineup.

The Red Line vehicles are encouraging. Now, let me at that roadster.

2004 Saturn Ion Red Line Quad Coupe

Price: $26,995

Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder (DOHC)

Horsepower/Torque: 205 hp/200 lb-ft

Transmission: five-speed manual

Fuel economy: 10.6 city/7.3 highway (litres/100 km)

Alternatives: Ford Focus SVT, Toyota Corolla XRS, Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V and Dodge SRT-4

Likes: Electric steering with feedback, nifty handling but not a punishing ride, four-door coupe design is novel, plastic body panels won't rust, pretty smooth supercharger performance

Dislikes: Wide body panel gaps, very subdued look

2004 Saturn Vue Red Line

Price: $34,535

Engine: 3.5-litre V-6 (DOHC)

Horsepower/Torque: 250 hp/242 lb-ft

Transmission: Five-speed automatic

Fuel economy: 12.6 city/8.5 highway (litres/100 km)

Alternatives: Hydundai Santa Fe, Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Kia Sedona, Honda CR-V, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail, Mitsubishi Outlander

Likes: Loads of V-6 power, extremely comfortable for highway cruising, useful cargo and passenger space, attractive design inside and out

Dislikes: Hard plastic in the interior, a bit soft in the corners, so-so all-wheel drive system