Dante's Profile (Member of the Month

Member Profile: Dante
Model Year Info: 2004 AWD
Colors: Silver with Grey Leather Interior
Current Rank in Registry: 6th / 2004
Born Date: 15:43 on 1/28/04, shipped same day from Spring Hill at 17:38
Current Mileage: 22,000 miles
S number: 4S842408
Modifications: Saturn rear bumper protector, red reflective Saturn liftgate decal, aftermarket driving lights behind the airbox grill, removed front plate and installed two LEDs in the front plate bumper holes, side window air deflectors, chrome valve stems and caps, Custom Audio System, LED interior accents, LED tail light bulbs, removed airbox resonator bong, and installed a K&N air filter

Dante's VUE Red Line
By Dante

In late January of 2004, my girlfriend and I went down to Saturn of Hurst to have the oil changed in her SL2. While we were there, she talked me into checking out and then test driving an '04 V6 Vue. I liked the power, but the FWD wheel spin and appearance really didn't do it for me. I talked to the sales guy a bit, and he mentioned how the Red Line sport-tuned model would be coming out soon. I told him to give me a call when they got one. About a month later, I got a call from him, he said they had a Silver Nickel Red Line that rolled off the truck yesterday. I high-tailed it down there that afternoon. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in late February in Texas - blue skies, cool air. Perfect day for a test drive. Needless to say, I flogged that AWD beast through some country backroads in the middle of the Metroplex that most people don't even know exist, exceeding the speed limit by at least 100% (shhh, don't tell the Bedford cops!!). I've never seen a salesman enjoy a test drive so much. He was as excited as I was! I was hooked. The looks, the handling, the power, the price, it was the total package. I talked them into letting me have a 24-hour test drive, which lasted from Saturday afternoon until Monday evening, when I signed the papers. We got a great deal on a great car that I still love! I still get envious looks from other drivers after more than a year. After 15 months and 22,000 miles, I am still loving every minute in my Red Line Vue. Knowing that I was the first person in all of DFW, and so far as I know, all of Texas to have one, is just icing on the cake. I've only spotted about 8 other Red Line Vues "in the wild" in all of that time. It's pretty cool to be in such exclusive numbers, I think.

Stock accessories and options include the following:

All Wheel Drive, heck yeah!
Heated leather seats
Sunroof
Power everything
*NO* OnStar or XM radio (why pay for something you're just going to rip out and upgrade anyway?)

In the last year or so, I have made some minor modifications to make her more unique, more mine. On the mechanical side, nothing major, as we're somewhat short on ready-made aftermarket parts, but I've added the following:

K&N Drop-in air filter
Rain guards on all four windows
Roof rails
Gorilla chrome lugs and locks on the wheels and chrome valve stem caps
Bumper guard
and yanked out that awful "bong" from the intake, so now she really howls when you stand on the throttle!

Some day it would be sweet to add a forced induction system of some sort, but I know that will have to be a totally custom job, and as long as I'm making monthly payments, I just can't justify blowing the engine or tranny to bits! I still want to lower it another inch, but that has not yet proven to be feasible.

So far as appearance, I have added the following:

Nokya brushed gunmetal gray pedal set with dead pedal
Holographic SATURN lettering inserts on the liftgate "eyebrow"
blue LEDs in the cubby below the head unit, and in the cubby between the heated seat switches
Metallic tint on the front windows
Upgraded all bulbs on the exterior except the cyclops with aftermarket bulbs of higher quality and clarity for better illumination
110W crystal-white driving lights inside the Red Line air box, shown in the photos

I'm currently working on getting a custom-made Red Line hitch made so that I can hook up a bike carrier or pull a motorcycle trailer. I'm also looking into getting custom-embroidered Red Line floormats.

I drive 50 miles or more a day to work and back, so I had to have a decent sound system. It's still a work in progress, of course, but I've got a great sounding system. I installed a Sony dual-face unit, the CDX-M630 - looks great, sound awesome too. Adding to the receiver's capacity is the Sony 10-disc cd/mp3 changer under the back seat. I installed two pair of Infinity 6.5" two-ways with adjustable tweeter angles in the doors, complete with mounting rings that I made myself. To help out with the lows, I have a pair of 12" L7 Solobarics, aka "The Twins" kicking away in the hatch, powered by a monstrous Rockford Fosgate amp and a 1 Farad capacitor. I haven't knocked out the back glass yet, but you can feel the bass in the windows from the outside even when it's not up loud. It's quite amusing seeing street signs blur because of your sound system.

To make sure everyone knew who it is that is lucky enough to own such a sweet ride, I just had to get custom plates. I opted for the Native Texan plate, and it reads, simply, DANTE.

In the last year or so, we've driven from Dallas to Detroit and back in the dead of winter, and she handled the snow and long highway travel very well. AWD is a blast, let me tell you! We've hit the 100MPH governor too many times to count, and we've even done laps at the Texas Motor Speedway! Undoubtedly, she was the first Red Line Vue to run that particular oval! What a ride that was!

I have a few more mods planned, like ripping out the stock soda-straw of an exhaust and replacing it with a Borla muffler and custom stainless steel exhaust (that's planned for this summer), and I just have to get the silly little spoiler for the top of the hatch. I know, it's pointless, but it just looks so cool!

Sometimes my girlfriend wonders if I love "Willow" more than her. I can't blame her! Willow gets more toys than the girlfriend does, but then again, Willow works hard for her toys, just like me. It's a great feeling when your friends tell you "Man, you've got a sweet ride" every time you take them out to lunch. Practical, powerful, efficient, unique, and all around a totally awesome car. People just don't know what they're missing!