Opinion: What should happen to Saturn, Vauxhall and Opel during GM's reorganization?
Amidst all the recent bailout talk, one question being asked is what role GM's Opel division will serve in a new-and-hopefully-improved General Motors. More succinctly, will Vauxhall and Saturn soldier on unchanged or will they simply fade into automotive landscape? Automotive News seems to think the question of Opel and how it relates to Vauxhall and Saturn is so important that it's worth devoting three separate editorials to the issue, with varying levels of clarity.
Richard Truett maintains that shuttering Saturn would be a "monumental mistake that would alienate many of the most loyal buyers GM has," but thinks that "Saturn fans would be cool with a transition to Opel." We think that the cars might be well-received by Saturn buyers, but that the prices need to be more budget-minded and that the overall focus of the brand needs a thorough work-over. Some Autobloggers believe that shutting down Saturn altogether would be a mistake, while some are in favor of doing away with the brand as soon as possible. Regardless of where on that fence our staffers sit, we all expressed doubt that changing the name to Opel in the U.S. would serve any constructive purpose. Clearly, if it is going to keep Saturn, GM needs to show more support for the brand, as evidenced by the Malibu/Aura situation.
So what about killing off Vauxhall, which is essentially a UK-only rebadge of Opel? Well, here we see some dissent as well. Wim Oude Weernink says that the nameplate is superfluous and thinks GM should be reduced to just Cadillac, Opel and Chevrolet worldwide. That would leave GM with premium, near-premium, and mainstream lineups, placing it in line with other successful automakers like Toyota and Ford.
Colleague Mark Appleton, on the other hand, thinks it would be stupid to kill off Vauxhall. He argues that the General should keep the storied British marque, pointing out that there is no competition between Vauxhall and Opel and that the existing line-up would be very costly to replace with a brand that has never been successful in the UK. It's much like the Saturn/Opel equation except Saturn isn't as old, by a long shot.
This author thinks that Saturn could survive and possibly thrive as a rebadged Opel line, but recent history proves otherwise. The success of Vauxhall shows that the formula can work in other markets and now that smaller, more fuel-efficient Euro cars are gaining a foothold in the States, Saturn would be an ideal brand to market Opel's wares to American buyers who want to feel like they are ahead of the curve. And the same philosophy could be applied to Ford, with Mercury getting an infusion of the Blue Oval's Euro models.
It's expensive to shut down dealerships and to change brands, and the added cost of marketing a new or unfamiliar marque is considerably more expensive than manufacturing extra badges. So keeping Vauxhall and Saturn but streamlining the offerings and manufacturing some of the cars here could help bring jobs to America and stabilize prices when the dollar and euro (or pound) are going in opposite directions. Of course there are still some who think Saturn should just die already, but Alex is always cranky after a Knight Rider liveblog, and we don't know what to make of Paukert just yet. What say you?
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
JCUOIT 4:09PM (1/05/2009)
Just call them Opel. one brand, one idea, one set of cars.
More turbos!
JC
Reply
Torrent 4:37PM (1/05/2009)
Same thing I was going to say. I mean, it would cut out a lot of confusion . There are 3 brands that sell essentially the same thing? Oh sorry that's Toyota.... But that's not the point! The point is I agree with you. I think every one of their cars should be Turbo'd/DI'd. Maybe except for the base models. Have 3 trims, XE (base model) XR (Maybe a DI engine) and RL (Redline-All Turbos.) But you know- They never listen to what the consumers want.
limeman 5:15PM (1/05/2009)
As Bob said... "...consolidate and market the crap out of them!"
Kattleox 5:01PM (1/05/2009)
Except for one problem: Saturn is, by most people, thought to be japanese. Just ask some friends or perhaps grandma. And, since people think it's japanese, it must be a quality product.
I wouldn't change any of it. Opel, Vauxhall, and Saturn all have their own image associated with the badge. The cars are mostly the same, yes, but if someone will buy a Saturn Sky, but not a Pontiac Solstice (said people exist) then you are losing a sale: one you could have had for so little as the dollar it costs to make a badge.
Samus Aran 6:05PM (1/05/2009)
People think Saturn is a Japanese brand? Are you kidding? Who would be that dense?
Noidor 6:18PM (1/05/2009)
I've been saying this since 2003! Opel must be a worldwide brand, and to me it has a lot more value than Saturn and Vauxhall combined. I need to run this car business nonsense I swear. Not first or last time when things I predicted/suggested came to realization or at least topic of major discussion.
Maverick128 1:59AM (1/06/2009)
@ Kattleox
I'd buy a Sky instead of a Solstice any day. The Sky looks like a sexy, mini Vette while the Solstice looks like a, well, a suppository. I HATE that front end with a passion.
Joel 7:43AM (1/06/2009)
Samus Aran:
The same people who thought Daihatsu was a Korean Brand,
and forced its closure here in Aust.
JCUOIT 11:52AM (1/06/2009)
Aside from looking foolish for killing off its youngest brand, GM will likely keep Saturn because it cost them around 6 billion to kill off Oldsmobile. Killing off a brand costs way too much for them to deal with right now.
If it is a benefit for GM that some ill informed customers believe Saturn to be Japanese, then so be it.
But, in these economic and patriotic times, it may be a greater danger for Saturn to seem Un-American. This may counter act any sales from any illusion of Japanese quality.
GM could just swap Saturn out for Opel, thus saving itself the costs of killing a brand in North America. With Opel comes the illusion of German Quality, which is the best kind according to Richard Hammond.
Regardless of What GM calls its vehicles, Opel Saturn or Vauxhall, they just need to make better cars, put more emphasis on perceived quality, customer satisfaction and market the Ba-jesus out of their cars.
While I don’t care much for what they call a vehicle, far too many consumers are lazy and associate certain brands with certain traits such as quality engineering, great handling, sportiness, luxury, or utility. Far too many consumers are disconnected from the products they buy and the system they live in. Especially when they are purchasing a big ticket item like a car.
Too many consumers put too little time and effort into this purchase than is truly required of a product they may depend upon daily for transportation, a product that they relate to like a member of the family, a product that reflects who they believe themselves to be and how they wish to project their ideals to others, and a product that holds such a social and sociological symbolism in North America and around the world.
It may be ludicrous to me, but most people don’t buy a car because the engine is on Ward’s top ten list, or because the chassis is 30% stronger than its competitors. The majority of credit-wielding consumers look at the exterior, sit in the car, feel the materials, breath in that toxic smell, and base their decisions on whether it looks good from up close and afar, feels good when they sit in it, and generally fills them with that strange unknown feeling that connects us with our vehicles. More cars are sold by “that force” than quality, engineering, or salesmanship.
In closing, i believe that GMNA needs more turbo engines, less people whining about perceived quality, and fewer obviously Badge-engineered vehicles to fill gaps in a brands vehicular portfolio, case in point last gen Pontiac Torrent and Chevrolet Equinox.
JC
Beat-it-nerd 4:12PM (1/05/2009)
Agreed. Combine into one brand. Then Sell the brand. Get back to your roots.
Reply
Dondonel 4:27PM (1/05/2009)
Why would GM drop Opel? GM bought this brand before ww2, and for most of the time was a very important player on the European market. In 2007 had almost 10% of the European market. GM should make a plan of capturing at least 15% of the European market, based on Chevrolet, Opel and Cadillac, they cannot grow anymore in US. Selling Opel now is stupid.
On the other hand Saturn and Vauxhall should be dropped. Opel should be sold in US in Buick dealerships in limited numbers. It makes no sense to import Opel cars in US, they come here at a higher price than their direct competitors. For this price bracket GM should focus on developing Buick into a desirable brand.
Torrent 4:40PM (1/05/2009)
Dondonel: Then Maybe killing Saturn and bringing over Opel would be good. Then Maybe they could keep Vauxhall and retool Vauxhall's factories for maybe a Luxury Brand. (not in America, though. Buick and Cadillac take that title.)
David 4:50PM (1/05/2009)
They need to drop Cadillac in Europe and put all that marketing money into SAAB since they sell far more SAAB's in Europe than they do Caddy's. That is a no-brainer. SAAB is all ready a world brand and trying to force Cadillac on the rest of the world is far to costly at this point in history.
JB 4:13PM (1/05/2009)
It's daft to suggest closing down Vauxhall and renaming it Opel. The two companies are not the same and operate on mutually beneficial level. Vauxhall contributes a lot of research and design... ensuring that the chassis are capable of handling the most demanding roads in the world by road testing in the UK with it's notoriously picky consumer base and twisty country lanes.
Reply
AZZO45b 4:29PM (1/05/2009)
My understanding is that Vauxhall is different due to right hand drive cars required for the UK. The Saturn Sky is the Opel & Vauxall GT in Europe. Other models also share common platforms (like all GM brands...)
JB 4:33PM (1/05/2009)
The saturn sky is based upon the lotus elise...
Vauxhall simply built a different body around a lotus tuned chassis.
Opel and Saturn had very little input.
ibinubu12 4:40PM (1/05/2009)
Um... no.
The Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT are based on GM's Kappa platform and built in Delaware, USA. There is no Elise components at all in them. The Kappa platform was basically hobbled together from parts of many other GM platforms.
The Vauxhall VX220, which was built from 2000-2005, was based on the Elise, not sold anymore, and most definitely never had a Saturn or Pontiac badge ever put on it.
AZZO45b 4:40PM (1/05/2009)
Throw a source or link for the Opel GT being a Lotus chassis. The Sky/ Solstice/ GT is a "world" GM car. Believe Daewoo sells one in Korea too.
That car is the modern example of "badge engineering"... nothing wrong with that. GM gives everybody a good 2 seater package in all of their world markets.
Problem?... companies like Mazda & Lotus sell one version WORLDWIDE & save on tooling costs for multiple brands.
JB 4:44PM (1/05/2009)
hmm... you have my apologies, I was under the impression they were based upon the VX220 platform.
tweek 4:59PM (1/05/2009)
Also, vauxhall designed the concept that would eventually become the solstice/opel gt (the VX Lightning Concept) it was supposed to be the successor to the VX220 but GM decided it would cost too much to do a RHD version.
Oh and all the hot Opels, bar the opel gt and the monaro, were originally done by vauxhall under the VXR brand.
So they're certainly not worthless.