REPORT: Saturn's death likely to hurt GM CAFE numbers
Saturn Vue Hybrid - Click above for a high-res gallery
The ultimate fate of Saturn as an automotive brand remains uncertain, pending the outcome of the offers currently being made to buy it from a shrinking General Motors. One thing is certain though, it will not remain a part of GM. One of the primary reasons that Saturn is being disposed of is poor sales. There is, however, one exception to that sales record: hybrids. So far, Saturn has accounted for about a quarter of GM's sales of hybrids. Saturn also had the best CAFE numbers of any GM division, thanks to the absence of any full-size body-on-frame vehicles or fuel-thirsty V8 engines in brand showrooms.
Removing those sales from GM's total will likely have a negative impact on GM's overall CAFE numbers, at least in the short term. Looking more closely at the sales, though, shows that the automaker's big two-mode hybrid trucks have been taking an increasingly large proportion of GM's hybrid sales over the course of 2008. The powertrain of the two-mode Saturn Vue will almost certainly be migrated to other GM vehicles such as the new Chevy Equinox and Cadillac SRX, helping the entire porfolio's numbers as well. Another factor offsetting the loss of Saturn is the end of HUMMER and Pontiac, both of which have a number of lower mileage vehicles.
Gallery: ABG Garage: 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid
[Source: Automotive News-sub req'd]
Photos copyright 2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs. Inc.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
srDRIVEN 6:37PM (4/29/2009)
but death of HUMMER likely to help....
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srDRIVEN 6:38PM (4/29/2009)
sorry...didn't catch that last line on the first pass, my error
flat6turboGT1 10:33AM (4/30/2009)
If GM was SMART they'd actually be able to see some Saturns these days. Decent cars with good gas mileage, half of which used to be Opels, they're stupid if they think no one wants these cars. Problem is they obviously don't know how to market them. Don't know how many dealers around here have MAD amounts of Astras just sitting there ...at a time when the market wants small, fuel efficient cars.
AND ...why they don't put a redline turbo motor in one of those cars to compete with the GTI, Speed3, and STi I'll never know. GM needs to learn to SELL WHAT THEY HAVE or they're never going to make money...
zamafir 6:48PM (4/29/2009)
We should get rid of CAFE, not even ford has managed to reach their unlikely standards, what with their mid sized hybrid only getting 40mpg or 80 while hypermiling. I just don’t get why obama and California want to destroy everything American.
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homunculus 6:54PM (4/29/2009)
"I just don’t get why obama and California want to destroy everything American."
Excuse me while I laugh in your face.
PJ 2:09AM (4/30/2009)
Given the gov't loans GM's burned through, with no indication of being able to pay them back, I'm sure that CAFE is the least of the government's concerns regarding GM right now...
fixitfixitstop 10:16AM (4/30/2009)
You're blaming Obama for CAFE? What drugs are you on?
TriShield 6:54PM (4/29/2009)
GM's hybrid sales overall are laughably low. If Saturn was the bulk of it then it still only comes out to a few hundred units which is virtually nothing.
CAFE though is a really terrible regulation and should have been completely scrapped instead of increased.
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jpm100 7:33PM (4/29/2009)
Its Saturn's mainstream vehicles that helped GM's CAFE. The hybrids are an interesting footnote, but GM has good fuel economy on its cars. It just sells more trucks than cars so its average looks bad.
Smegley 7:28PM (4/29/2009)
Moot point. Now that the feds own GM they will exempt them from the regulations anyway.
The government always holds itself to pathetically lame standards while imposing stringent ones on the private sector.
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David Wiles 7:29PM (4/29/2009)
CAFE is terrible but the latest increases were passed under the last President, not the current one, and the first ones in the 70's were passed under a Republican as well.
We would have been better off in my opinion with a gas tax that would have put a floor under gas prices when they started to go down in the 80's. But this is America where we want always want lower taxes but not necessarily cheaper government.
That said, CAFE is a dead letter. One of the things that GM and Ford will no longer be able to afford is having entirely different lines of vehicles for the domestic and international markets. They will both have to build cars that can be sold worldwide, like their competitors. That means normalizing them to international standards and that means using fuel more like the Europeans and Asians do and less like we always have.
Add to that the the innovations taking place in power trains, both IC and alternative and the long term trend is towards less gasoline and higher mileage in those vehicles that use it.
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Other Man 7:46PM (4/29/2009)
Even if the death of all three actually did manage to worsen GM's CAFE numbers, the new Cruze and Spark should help markedly. The next Malibu is due out in like what, 2013 or so guys? A Malibu Hybrid done as thoroughly well as the 2010 Fusion Hybrid would also help, as well as something to battle their Escape Hybrid.
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jv2k 8:14PM (4/29/2009)
Speaking of CAFE, how the hell does GMC manage to get by? You'd think having a brand of nothing but rebadged trucks would hurt those numbers.
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Dan 9:39PM (4/29/2009)
Because CAFE is applied to manufacturers and not individual divisions.
jv2k 1:22AM (4/30/2009)
Exactly so that would mean that GM's SUVs count twice without any changes.
BigWill 8:20PM (4/29/2009)
At this point in time, CAFE numbers are the least of GM's problems.
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AMcA 8:22PM (4/29/2009)
This is exactly what they should have done with Saturn long ago: it should have been the green brand. Hybrids galore. Dealer LPNG conversions. Recycled carpeting. Hemp seats.
Instead, GM made Saturns that were rewarmed GM cars with . . . drum roll . . . Saturn badges!
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Tsunami Racer 8:23PM (4/29/2009)
if GM doesn't meet CAFE numbers, what is the federal government going to do? Impose penalties on itself????
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Seminole 12:36AM (4/30/2009)
It wouldn't be the dumbest thing they've ever done...
Matt 8:59PM (4/29/2009)
Make saturn just purely hybrids
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