Lutz Launches "Kiss My Astra" Contest With Make-Out Session

DETROIT — The Saturn "Kiss My Astra" contest is worth looking into, not just for the chance to win a 2008 Saturn Astra XR five-door hatchback, but for the opportunity to get a sense of what kind of kisser GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz may be. In its promotional material for the contest, the Detroit automaker issued two bizarre photos of Lutz laying his lips on an Astra outside corporate headquarters here.

In one photo, Lutz is shown with one foot awkwardly twisting off a curb as he snogs the roof line of the Astra with puckered lips; in another, he appears to be stroking the Astra while kissing its rear bumper.

To participate in the contest, contestants can kiss any Astra and then upload the photo of the kiss at I M Saturn. The photos will be judged in September by the "online Saturn community," according to GM. To be eligible, contestants must log on and join the ImSaturn online network.

That Saturn Astra XR has a 138-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.

What this means to you: GM public relations can apparently talk Lutz into any goofy idea, or is it the other way around? But if we get a vote, Lutz should win the Astra. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent