No pressure: Lutz says Saturn will be GM's hottest brand this year
General Motors' Bob Lutz has high expectations for Saturn this year -- he says it will be the company's hottest brand. While Chevrolet should see the biggest growth in terms of overall units, Lutz says that the company's floundering progeny from Spring Hill will represent GM's highest percentage of growth thanks to new models like the Sky roadster and Aura sedan. Saturn sales were up 1.2 percent through April over the same period in 2005.
[Source: Automotive News via AutoWeek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ryan 3:34PM (5/23/2006)
"General Motors' Bob Lutz has high expectations for Saturn this year -- he says it will be the company's hottest brand."
That's not saying much. A Saturn? The Aura? The Vue? The Sky? I'm not seeing hottest BRAND. Mabye the hottest GM car (Sky) but not BRAND, that's just silly.
If I had to choose the most exciting GM brand, it would have to be Pontiac DUH. LOL
After all, they're driving excitment, right?
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Michael Karesh 3:36PM (5/23/2006)
When I first saw the Sky and Aura in concept form at the show I felt that Saturn had a very bright future. Now I'm not so sure. The products are among GM's best. But so were Oldsmobiles. And by offering Pontiacs with more import-like exteriors and interiors, Saturn's strategy is very similar to Oldsmobiles. And we all know how well it worked for Oldsmobile.
Articles on the Aura tend to stress the relationship with Opels off the same platform. But it shares far more with the G6. Compare the rear quarter views. The 3.6/6-speed combo is the standard powertrain in the G6 GTP this year, so that's also not a Saturn exclusive.
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Proud Japanese 3:41PM (5/23/2006)
The Sky looks like just any other boring opels.
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Corey W. 3:42PM (5/23/2006)
I guess I would like a clearer definition of what the Saturn brand is suppose to be.
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Trevor 3:56PM (5/23/2006)
I get the feeling that GM has slowly been trying to reposition the GM car ranks as follows:
Chevrolet/Pontiac -> Saturn -> Buick/Saab -> Cadillac
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Ryan 4:03PM (5/23/2006)
"5. I get the feeling that GM has slowly been trying to reposition the GM car ranks as follows:
Chevrolet/Pontiac -> Saturn -> Buick/Saab -> Cadillac"
Trevor,
I think your correct, but are they doing a good job of it? (Think G5, Torrent,Rainer,etc.)
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Ryan 4:06PM (5/23/2006)
"3. The Sky looks like just any other boring opels.
Posted at 3:41PM on May 23rd 2006 by Proud Japanese 0 stars"
Well, looks better than a Corolla or Yaris or Toyota for that matter, not so much with Honda but for sure Toyota.
I'm not saying Saturn does not have a HOT CAR (sky), I just don't buy the HOT BRAND part of it.
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Proud Japanese 4:16PM (5/23/2006)
Well Ryan, neither of them are meant or touted to be a car that will turn around the brand.
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Cameron 4:16PM (5/23/2006)
Ryan, the Corolla and Yaris are not roadsters...
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richard elsbree 4:17PM (5/23/2006)
It looks to me as though GM is unsure which of its brands it wants to survive.
The question will be mute if it is unable to obtain massive concessions from
the UAW. I gotta admit that Saturn is finally getting its act together, about 10
years late.
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Ryan 4:24PM (5/23/2006)
"8. Well Ryan, neither of them are meant or touted to be a car that will turn around the brand."
-Due to the fact neither one of those could turn a brand around.
"9. Ryan, the Corolla and Yaris are not roadsters...
Posted at 4:16PM on May 23rd 2006 by Cameron 0 stars"
-Who said they can't look like one? There is nothing to compare this to a Toyota with, so this IS a smart move on GM's part, this was my entire point. The Sky is FAR from borning looking.
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P.L. 4:25PM (5/23/2006)
The problem is how do you get a company like GM with a fractured reputation, as in burnt to ashes, to instill renewed consumer confidence on shoppers? Maybe they should have name the Sky instead as the Phoneix: "GM rises from the ashes"
Unfortunately this is a case of too little too late.
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Jared 4:32PM (5/23/2006)
#2 the pontiac only has a 3.9L (push-rod) V-6 and 6 speed manual, 4 speed automatic
the aura has 3.6L (DOHC) V-6 and 6 speed automatic. there is a big difference. One is a Cadillac motor the other is a chevy.
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Paul 4:33PM (5/23/2006)
what is this guy smoking
Europeans have grown tired of Opels as sales are dramatically down this year. Why is GM so stupid to think that americans want them rebadged as Saturns.
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LupeDupe 4:33PM (5/23/2006)
Hey PL,
Burnt to ashes? GM still sells over 9 million cars a year. You need to get a clue, like your rice-poppin buddy, Proud japanese. Good God are you a bunch of kids, or are you really that ignorant? If you're an adult, you need help, mental help, and lots of it.
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Juan 4:39PM (5/23/2006)
I am an unabashed Japanese lover who, after getting burnt by American cars, thinks that Toyota is the best thing since sliced bread.
That said, I want a Sky really, really bad. I don't care that an Mx-5 does a little better on the track, the Sky is sex on wheels. GM finally made a car I want, and IF I had the 25k, I'd gladly hand it over.
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Ryan 4:40PM (5/23/2006)
"Europeans have grown tired of Opels as sales are dramatically down this year. Why is GM so stupid to think that americans want them rebadged as Saturns."
-You answered your own question:
"Europeans have grown tired of Opels"
Americans have not had a chance to "grow tired" of Opels yet, they are all fresh and new to us.
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Ryan 4:41PM (5/23/2006)
"the Sky is sex on wheels."
Hell yeah it is!
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P.L. 4:41PM (5/23/2006)
LupeDope: GM's selling that many because they are giving off the biggest price tag discount in history. GM is losing on these sales. Speaking about who needs help you better review GM's largest ever posted loss in income. What you see is an illusion but we are capable to see through that dumb smoke screen.
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Trevor 4:41PM (5/23/2006)
Well, as far as "Is GM doing a good job in the repositioning?", it depends.
GM has to compete against the imports with the crutch of a higher labor rate. To do this GM has to share technology and parts across brands. For example, the Solstice/Sky. In order to make the Pontiac come in at a $19,995 price, they HAD to make the Sky, so that they could spread the expense of the platform over two different models and make more vehicles, lowering per piece costs. If just the solstice were to have been made, it couldn't reach that price since they would be ordering fewer chassis', at a higher per item price. Also, to meet that price they had to raid the GM parts bin. That's why cadillac rear differentials will fit the solstice/sky, etc...
Where the problems come in is when a platform is a unibody. Take the Saturn Outlook / Chevy Uplander / Pontiac SV6. No matter how much you change the front end (grille, lights, etc), it still shares the same doors, windows, etc, and it looks the same to the customer. So, why would someone buy a Saturn that is supposed to be a "mid-level" brand when they can get the chevy for cheaper? especially when it looks the same from the outside? The same is true for the Vue/Equinox.
So GM's dilemma is sharing parts/chassis' across numerous brands while differentiating the product enough for each to be unique. And this where they have failed in the past couple years. They focused too much on the cost savings - and sacrificed uniqueness.
Ok, that was a bit much, but now to the "repositioning". To make it legit, GM HAS to clearly separate the different brand's vehicles. Because, as of right now, half of Chevy, Pontiac, Saturn and Buick's vehicles look and feel the same.
To help Saturn repostion, they are borrowing more from GM's oversea's products, namely Opel. This will work, because the typical American consumer doesn't know an Opel from a Peugeot. So, when the Opel's show up branded as Saturns, people will be excited because it is new to the market.
For Pontiac, they are trying to rebuild their "enthusiast" core, and even tried to bring in the Holden Monaro as the GTO, but fell short on the styling changes (once again trading uniqueness for cost savings), which left America with a well built 4-year old design, which wasn't "exciting". The G6 has helped make changes, trying to introduce new ideas and thought into the GM crate vehicle mentality.
One exception was the H2 (which I despise). It shared the chassis of the Tahoe/Yukon, but was a completely different body, and therefore was a sales success, because it didn't look or feel like it's siblings. Which Hummer realized and brought out the H3. Completely different body, but it's still a Colorado underneath.
I'd keep going with the other brands but this gets my point across...
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