[Timgt5]

Thursday the news came down that General Motor’s attempt to sell the Saturn brand of cars to Roger Penske has fallen through. Unresolved issues over manufacturing and distribution caused Penske to pull out of the deal. GM will shutter the division in 2010. Saturn was an interesting lesson in what to do and what not to do in the world of automotive marketing

Saturn was interesting lesson in what to do and what not to do in the world of automotive marketing. Conceived in the late 80s by then GM chairman Roger Smith, Saturn was GM’s attempt to target compact imports such as the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. GM’s prior efforts at a compact car, the Caviler, the Sunbird and the Citation were dismal failures that lost money, mostly due to the high cost of having them built by Union workers in Detroit.

GM extensively negotiated with the UAW and was allowed to set Saturn up as its own entity operating out of Spring Hill, Tennessee. The lower wages and less bureaucratic structure allowed these cars to be produced at a competitive price and to in theory turn a profit in the long run. Other differences in the business model included company owned dealers which meant that the manufacturer set the prices on the car, doing away with the traditional haggling that so many people found stressful and an emphasis on continued customer satisfaction long after the sale.

Saturn emerged with 2 models, a small sedan, the SL and a sporty coupe, the SC. The cars had 4cyl engines and dent resistance plastic body panels rather than the traditional steel ones. The bodies were easily repaired from minor fender benders, were scratch resistant and light weight, leading to high gas mileage. Unfortunately they were not as refined or smooth as the imports. The 1992 Honda Civic was a potent combination of high quality materials, well assembled structure, and lots of features. The Toyota Corolla added further refinement in 1993. To make matters worse GM shot itself in the foot by reselling a rebadged Toyota Corolla, The Geo Prizm at Chevy dealers.

Saturn’s no haggle price and emphasis on customer service garnered a cult-like following. Saturn owners thought of themselves as a “family” The company encouraged this by sending monthly newsletters, and having a big get together for Saturn owners in Tennessee on an annual basis.

Unfortunately for the Saturn, the American public can be very fickle. With the prosperity of the Clinton 90’s Americans turned to bigger vehicles, especially SUV’s and Saturn, with its two compact models languished as GM turned its attentions elsewhere. Saturn sales began to plummet.

In the late 90s under the cry of its dealer network, GM gave Saturn its first mid-size car the L300. This was an Opel based vehicle that was hastily reengineered for the American market. Saturn launched an aggressive marketing campaign against the 2 midsize heavy weights, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Dealers would bring Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords into the dealerships for comparison, confident they had a better car. (Of course Saturn tried to stack the deck by bringing in the lowest level models of these cars and comparing them to the most decked out L300) The tactic unfortunately backfired as the L300 was not as agile and sporty as the Accord, and could not compete with the Camry in terms of smoothness and overall refinement. Many buyers left the test drives and headed straight to the nearest Toyota of Honda Dealer.

To make matters worse Saturn replaced the SL and SC with the Ion. The Ion’s poor build quality and lack of engineering refinement led to a universal dislike by the press and the public. Ion sales were never as good as the cars it replaced. A hot redline model (with a supercharged engine) was brought in to shore things up. The chassis was massaged and re-badged as the Chevrolet Cobalt.

Saturn also launched its first crossover, the Vue, this was meant to be a CRV/RAV competitor. Eventually a redline model with Honda’s 3.5L V6 (A deal between Honda and GM which involved Acura getting Onstar systems) Saturn sported a full lineup and sales began to pick up.

GM replaced the lackluster L300 with another Opel redo, the Aura. The Aura garnered a lot of praise for its solid structure, European ride and powerful engines. It was still missing some critical refinements that would have put it on par with the Camry and the Accord. Ultimately GM made further refinements to the hardware and launched a companion model, the Chevy Malibu.

The Ion was replaced by the much superior Astra (again from Opel) and GM allowed Saturn to have a version of its new full size Lambda crossover platform. The Outlook along with the very sporty Sky gave Saturn at last a fully competitive lineup of cars. Unfortunately Saturn sacrificed much of its uniqueness to compete with the imports. The cars were now all steel bodied and the family atmosphere mostly vanished as the cars were being built in different places.

To make matters worse, the economy hit a brick wall in 2008 and the Auto business took a nose dive, with GM turning to the taxpayers to survive. GM ultimately went through chapter 11 and needed to shed brands. It shuttered Pontiac, sold Hummer and Saab. Saturn went under review. Roger Penske contacted GM about a possible buyout; GM would continue to make three models for 2 years while Penske would shop for another manufacturer in the meantime. Unfortunately GM and Penske could not work things out and Saturn will be shut down by early 2010.

So Saturn, a noble but misguided experiment, in marketing has fallen. Saturn could have gone places, but time simply ran out on the division. While the Saturn name is gone, its spirit will live on. The forth coming Chevy Cruze is based on the Saturn Astra. The Aura’s “Epsilon” platform lives under the current Malibu, the new Buick Lacrosse, and the forth coming replacement for the Cadillac DTS.

[jbug]

I too was sadden by the choice to shut down Saturn. I drive an older model Saturn an SL1 which has a few other bells and whistles than the regular one I guess. The one I like the best is the button I can push and it turns my 4-cylinder into a V-8. I love the feel of the V-8 but I only do that if I need to speed up to pass something then I push the button agan and go back to the 4-cylinder.

The guy I bought it from put on a remote start so that's cool on a cold morning knowing my car will be toasty warm for me when I get there.

I also have the remote key thing but the battery is dead in it as in the remote start.

I am concerned that as the time goes by it will be harder to get parts for my car because it is so old it's a 97.

Rex drives an Astra and I like that one but it's so small I feel closed like I'm riding in a tic tac.

Jan

[Timgt5]

Originally Posted by jbug

I too was sadden by the choice to shut down Saturn. I drive an older model Saturn an SL1 which has a few other bells and whistles than the regular one I guess. The one I like the best is the button I can push and it turns my 4-cylinder into a V-8. I love the feel of the V-8 but I only do that if I need to speed up to pass something then I push the button agan and go back to the 4-cylinder.

The guy I bought it from put on a remote start so that's cool on a cold morning knowing my car will be toasty warm for me when I get there.

I also have the remote key thing but the battery is dead in it as in the remote start.

I am concerned that as the time goes by it will be harder to get parts for my car because it is so old it's a 97.

Rex drives an Astra and I like that one but it's so small I feel closed like I'm riding in a tic tac.

Jan

No worries, Saturn produced many SL models, so parts will be readily available for several years.

[nowheretorun]

Saturn had a good product, im glad to see the competitors picking up and building on its innovations.. sad to see them go but they played a big part in turning the tide to more economy and personal service to its customer base... maybe future competitors will learn from its positive points and the auto industry will continue to evolve....

[Timgt5]

Originally Posted by nowheretorun

Saturn had a good product, im glad to see the competitors picking up and building on its innovations.. sad to see them go but they played a big part in turning the tide to more economy and personal service to its customer base... maybe future competitors will learn from its positive points and the auto industry will continue to evolve....

Very well said!!

[nowheretorun]

guess i only repeated what you said