It is tough to keep up a winning streak, as Saturn may soon realize. After boasting a 12.6-percent increase in retail sales, and average transaction prices up by $7,000 compared to the previous year, GM expects their Saturn division to continue their growth for the next five years.
It most likely won't be that easy. Last year, Saturn presented an entirely new model line responsible for the fresh faces pouring into showrooms. This year, things are a bit different. The Saturn Outlook, the slowest selling of GM's three Lambda CUVs, heads into its second year having to compete with now a fourth Lamda-platform crossover, the Chevrolet Traverse. The Saturn Aura, perennially living in the shadow of the Chevy Malibu, carries over with just minor changes for 2008. Even the all-new Saturn Astra, fresh from Europe where it is sold as an Opel, may fight for domestic sales if American buyers don't warm to its Euro-designed interior.
There is hope. As Saturn is GM's "green" outlet, there are a couple of innovative vehicles on the horizon. We can expect to see a Two Mode hybrid Vue by the end of this year which should be followed by a plug-in Vue by 2010.
[Source: Automotive News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tbss_in_the_D @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:16AM
I was in a Saturn dealer looking at a new Aura about a year ago. I was in one two nights ago and could not believe the difference. It is really weird seeing a Sky and knowing it is the oldest model they offer. I think Saturn has a winning lineup and all they need to do now is get over the perception that Saturns are small crappy plastic cars. I have driven all of the new Saturn models in the last year and I hope they keep going in the right direction.
My Broken down Caddilac @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:16AM
The fact that GM axed Oldsmobile for Saturn still irks the hell out of me. Then again GM still gives money to losers like Saab and Suzuki (maybe even Pontiac if you want to get technical) while killing important programs like the new super V8 and Zeta cars which would do a hell of a lot more for GM than this measely startup brand that was napping for the entire 90's decade and early 2000s.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/saturn-a-different-kind-of-car-company-indeed/
Good read.
geo.stewart @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:07AM
I agree Saab is a mistake. I think Olds was a mistake, their cars were better than Buicks at the time (Aurora, Intrigue vs the Century)) but maybe GMs perception of Olds was that it was too close to Cadillac ( I always thought it went Chevrolet, Buick,Olds, Cadillac). Buick is certainly hitting on better cylinders now.
But Saturn was never going to be what it was supposed to be. Cheap plastic cars that could not compete on performance, price, or amenities sullied the excellent dealer experience reputation that Saturn had.
Long after Olds was killed off, the US public went global and started calling for Euro cars. GM looked at Saturn and said hey we have this dealer network that people love and no cars worth putting on those floors. Why dont we use that as an import arm? SMART move. Ddi you read that the average transaction price has gone up SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS? That my friend is the sound of success. Saturn is still different, just that now its being successful at being different.
icu812ru469 @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:30AM
I think much of Saturn's success, much like Scion, is the fact that buying a new car can be very scary. All the wheeling and dealing can be daunting. Going in and buying what everyone else paid for the vehicle is "comforting" for many. I think as long as the Saturn group does not overprice too aggressively the vehicles, then they'll be healthy and strong.
jhen @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:47AM
It seems to never surface that Saturn sells the (respectable but not huge) amount of cars it does through a much smaller dealer network. Chevrolet, even Honda and Toyota have how many dealers to push the higher amounts???!!! Saturn does very well considering that it only has 400 dealers.
Steve_S @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:51AM
They need to do the Sky/Solstice coupe already.
What?! @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:33AM
Thinking out loud: with the improved lineup, GM should change the brand from Saturn into Opel.
Personally, I never was a big fan of the Saturn marque (and the craptastic Ion), let alone that the "experiment" back in the '80s has transformed into another brand as far as auto architecture goes.
TriShield @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:58AM
8 brands, 50 models and 26% US marketshare and falling do not add up to growth. GM competes against itself more than anything else.
Phasing out Oldsmobile was the right move, selling Saab would be the right move, attempting to recreate Cadillac was the right move, killing off Pontiac, Buick (in the US), Saturn, and every other brand outside of Chevrolet would be the right move.
GM is still structured like it was when it owned over 50% of the US market. GM will eventually cave in on itself with all of it's brands.
Saturn is a canary in the mineshaft. It has a completely new product lineup and a remade image yet all of it's new models are pretty much sales duds. That should be a stark warning sign to GM about just what kind of shape their brand image is in and a lesson that they shouldn't blow billions on a niche brand.
GM's core business is Chevrolet and it's really a shame Chevrolet has not recieved the lion's share of GM's investment. Without Chevrolet taking it up GM isn't going to go anywhere. The majority of sales and the majority of growth will always be with GM's most famous and mainstream brand.
The sooner GM realizes this the better off the company will be.
Teebo @ Feb 22nd 2008 10:08AM
So is Saturn the Vauxhall of America? To me, it was a great idea changing the whole brand from plastic paneled cars(my first new car purchase was a '98 SL) to fun Euro cars. I woudln't mind a Sky, even though vowing never to buy American again.
Richard Warren @ Feb 22nd 2008 10:26AM
14 years and counting, no profit yet. Kill it, spend the money on the established divisions.
Rick @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:08AM
They have the most interesting (and non-traditional GM) line up in GM, yet GM doesn't advertise them. That's mismanagement.
RockStoneSteel @ Feb 22nd 2008 10:55AM
With my car in the shop recently, I had the opportunity to rent a new Saturn Aura for a few days. Overall, it seemed to be a high quality, excellent performing vehicle with the V6 engine. Unfortunately, the interior was a bit tight with the usual ridiculously wide radio instrument stack that bangs against the driver's knee and robs valuable leg side room. The driver's leg must somewhat contort around this stack to reach the accelerator. Unfortunately, this same problem of the wide center console plagues many, many new vehicles. Another problem with the driver comfort was a steering wheel too close to the dash. It needed to come back toward the driver literally another 4 to 5 inches. With the seat back far enough to accommodate the legs, the steering wheel was simply out of reach (I am 6'2" tall). This is another plague of new designs, even though this Saturn and most new vehicles have "telescoping" steering wheels, they only move perhaps 1 or 2 inches. This lack of adjustability in new cars is mind boggling given that drivers may vary in height by over a foot and a half. The last problem for driver comfort is the fact it's a 4 door! This means the doors are shorter and the B pillar is planted in the driver's shoulder and also blocks the side view.
Make this a 2 door and fix the space issues and I'd seriously consider the vehicle. And no, the Astra won't do. GM's decision to go with the cheap, lame torsion beam rear suspension (just as with the cobalt) is a total deal breaker, even though it is an otherwise attractive vehicle. When will auto makers quit confusing small cars with cheap cars? I want a small premium 2 door car with excellent drive train, suspension, and features of larger cars. The Honda Civic and BMW Mini are about the only choices out there.
As for Saturn's new Vue, it suffers the same interior space issues, if not worse than the Aura. No matter how large vehicles get in their exterior dimensions, it seems manufacturers often puff up the interior panels to "conform" to their pre-conceived driver size (and no, I'm not a fat American). And in the case of the Vue, this is to the extreme so that even the rear seat leg room is seriously lacking. If manufacturers would focus on making plenty of room for passengers, particularly in the rear seat, instead of often times attempting to squeeze in an even more cramped third row, they might have better sales success.
The Outlook is a shining star in Saturn's lineup with fantastic space for all occupants. It even has the sliding second row of seats to accommodate more leg room (finally). The fit, finish, and attractiveness of the interior and exterior far exceed that of any vehicle I've seen at the auto shows, including the higher Benzes, BMWs, Lexus, and Acura (most of which are plagued with the ridiculously massive center consoles clear to the firewall). If I were shopping for a people hauler of this size, the Outlook or Acadia would be my first choice.
In general, I'd say GM, Saturn, and most auto makers are seriously lacking in their premium small car offerings and 2 door coupe and hatch offerings. There has been such an obsession with family haulers such as SUVs, station wagons, and 4 door sedans, that the small and 2 door market has been neglected for the past decade. Fact is, most vehicles are used for 1 or 2 passenger commuting. Many families have multiple vehicles for the commuting to work and for hauling the family.
In general, GM is providing better products, but needs those higher quality small car offerings.
Richard S. @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:43AM
If GM wants to continue Saturn's renaissance by brining an "Euro" halo, then it should complete the job by providing modern Diesel engines in its lineup. Could you imagine an Aura and Astra turbo-diesel? Lots of torque and great mileage. This way you are not stuck having to buy VW if looking for an affordable diesel car.
Frank @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:09PM
Here is the real reason Oldmobile was killed intsead of Buick and why Saturn will NEVER be killed.
Because of franchise laws if you want to kill off a brand you have to pay out big money - especially if the franchisees' have standalone stores. Of all GM's brands Oldsmobile had the least Olds only stores. Less than a hundred if memory serves me right. Yet GM still had to pay out BIG money to close down Oldsmobile. It had nothing to do with Oldsmobiles product viv a vie Buick's or any other division.
Now remember that Saturn was originally designed to go toe to toe with the Japanese. Roger Smith and his crew were well aware of the perception problem that some people had with GM cars. So it was setup as an independent car company within the company. It had it's own unique models and engines. None of the marketing mentioned that it was part of GM. And of course it required it's own stand alone dealerships. If you wanted a new Saturn franchise, you couldn't pair it with Pontiac, Chevy, or whatever. You had to build a complete new facility.
So forget about GM (outside of bankruptcy) ever closing Saturn. With all those standalone dealerships they could never afford it.
Xcountryflyer @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:09PM
They need to do a mid-model update on the Aura. The Aura needs a better interior and some slight changes to the exterior. The Malibu team learned from the Aura's mistakes. I hope the Astra sells so GM doesn't turn away from importing their interesting Euro vehicles.
TriShield @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:13PM
Saturn's lineup is all rebadged American cars with Opel styling cues, the only exceptions are the the Astra and the VUE.
The Astra is an actual Opel exported from straight from Europe with a badge change. The new VUE is a rebadged Daewoo. The Astra and VUE are the only vehicles that are truly unique to Saturn in the North American market. Of everything new Saturn sells the VUE seems to be doing the best.
Modern diesels are a nice dream but Opel's diesels do not meet US emissions requirements. They also add substantial cost to the MSRP of a car. The other big problem with Saturn is that typical Saturn customers are coming in to find a cheap and cheerful car like the $13k ION. When they arrive they are faced with an impractical roadster, $18k Astras, $23k-$25k Auras, $27k VUEs, and $27k-$40k Outlooks.
GM has a big mess on their hands, all other brands included too.
Noidor @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:24PM
1) Watch how GM will fail with Astra because they won't properly advertise it. Mark my words. Then they'll come out and say, "ehh it failed because it is a hatchback."
2) TriShield, VUE is a rebadged Vauxhall/Opel Antara, there is also a cheaper version intended for Eastern Europe badged as a Chevrolet Captiva. Daewoo did a bit of engineering work on it.
Perry @ Feb 22nd 2008 2:13PM
I drive a 2007 AURA, my 1st american car after a loooong time. I could not refuse the 0.9% financing and the monthy payment of only $215 a month for a fully equipped Aura XE (after a few promotions and GM incentives). The car is a solid highway cruiser, it has nice features and looks good when washed (although with this winter we are having in my neck of the woods - Montreal - it has not seen a car wash in months!).
Having said that, I do agree with some that GM should bring over the complete OPEL lineup unchanged and rename it all Saturn. After all all they need to do is print some letterheads and change their signs.
This is the route GM should have taken (As well as FORD but thats another subject). Their Opel division has great handling cars with excellent built quaility. Fix the emissions problems and bring over the diesels and all their other engines for that matter. DO NOT change the interiors. Have you seen the VECTRA interior??? Light years ahead of my "parts bin" Aura. Why do they keep doing this? Why copy the front and ruin the back? Why change the dash? Do you see BMW, Merc, Volvo etc. change their dash for the different markets? How about their lights? No. They are all the same worldwide.
Less money spent on this stupidity means more for other departments...like handling..engines..etc.
GM has the other brands to cater to the American tastes. They should go full force after the Euro market with Opel/Saturn. Let the company reinvent itself. Build a good product and people will come.
500 @ Feb 22nd 2008 1:10PM
Get rid of the failed experiment named Saturn. Has it ever made a dime? To keep the dealers happy, rename it Oldsmobile, and give it the RWD products GM's been debating for years (while market share continues to free-fall and now even HYUNDAI introduces mainstream RWD cars.) Keep the best Euro platforms too.
Frylock350 @ Feb 22nd 2008 1:52PM
Oldsmobile is historically the polar opposite of Euro. They're luxury muscle cars. If Olds ever were to come back they'd need to be RWD, reasonably large and V8 powered. But that won't happen so leave it dead. Don't disgrace the name anymore than the 90s FWD cars already did.