GM is working hard to ensure that its newest automotive division, Saturn, is considered cool, hip and edgy. In this day and age, that means the interwebs, specifically a blog and social networking site. According to a post by Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak on GM's FastLane blog, www.ImSaturn.com will feature news about Saturn along with photos and videos you haven't seen anywhere else. Like other social networking sites, you can join in on the fun by starting or joining groups where people with like-interests gather together and talk. The first 400 members get a free t-shirt, but if you want one you'd better hurry 'cause there are already 300-plus members.
What uber-hip marketing strategy would be complete without internet speak? Saturn's got that covered too. I M Saturn and U R 2!
News of the Saturn Ion's ignominious demise have been met with cheers in the street, as it was truly the brand's last embarassing model. Though most of us eagerly await the arrival of the Saturn Astra from Opel, there is one person in the galaxy who still holds the dear departed Ion close to his heart... Tek Jansen of Alpha Squad 7! If you're not familiar with Tek Jansen, then you don't watch the Colbert Report on Comedy Central and should therefore be chastised. A few days ago Stephen Colbert introduced Episode 5 of Stephen Colbert Presents: Stephen Colbert's Alpha Squad 7 – Operation: Homecoming's Doorstep: Cat on a Luniharp, a Tek Jansen Adventure. Despite having deinduced the cardioid thrusters on the Bizlarnian Battle Wedge, Tek's only response to being fired upon by the enemy ship is, "Saturn Ion!" Seriously, I've laughed at this clip all day, which means either that I'm working too hard and have gone crazy or Stephen Colbert is a comedy genius.
In an obvious effort to keep its readership alive (and in turn circulation numbers up) Forbes magazine has made a list of the least safe cars of 2007. Before the flame wars start, note that cars on the list are not necessarily unsafe, but instead are not as safe as other cars available. Therefore, they are the least safe 2007 model year cars.
Most of the vehicles on the list are there because they don't have standard side air bags. But three -- Saturn's Ion, as well as Suzuki's Aerio and Forenza -- made the cut even with side air bags. To understand why these particular vehicles were named in the article, Forbes outlines its methodology, which includes crash tests, injury claims and the opinions of Consumer Reports' researchers.
The seven models named by Forbes are after the jump.
OK, time to have some fun and speculate. We already know that the Opel Astra will appear here in the US as the next Saturn Ion. Until now, Astra was available only as a hatchback, wagon, and C+C, all of which are appealing to the eye, and an improvement over the current mess wearing the Ion badge by several orders of magnitude.
We also know that for the American market, automakers insist on offering their small cars in notchback sedan form in addition to (or instead of) the other body styles. This is where the Astra/Ion saga gets interesting. Opel has unveiled a new Astra sedan for "growth markets," particularly Eastern Europe, where like the US, there is a demand for the notchbacks that don't get so much love in Western Europe, where hatches rule the roost.
The guys over at Autoblog Spanish immediately noted that this car and the Brazilian-market Chevrolet Vectra sedan are one and the same, so despite Opel releasing only two photos, we can show you what the car looks like from every angle. As small sedans go, it's quite good-looking. Much better than the Ford Focus and Nissan Versa notchbacks, if you ask us. So take a good look and familiarize yourself with this car.
We're willing to bet the farm you'll see this exact vehicle as the next Ion (assuming that remains the name). We just hope the General gives us the hatchback, too.
They miss the Yugo, godblessum. Those wacky guys at Slate long for the days when a new car could be had for less than the price of a modern television set. Surveying the bargain basement offerings of the automotive world, they found that only the Chevy Aveo can be had for under 10 grand, let alone the four thousand bucks a Yugo stickered for 20 years ago. Even at an adjusted-for-inflation price of $7500, the Yugo GV earns its initials and indeed represents a Great Value. Well, you get what you pay for. Anyway, Slate rounded up a field of econoboxes for a brief comparison test to see what you can realistically expect at the bottom end of the scale.
Slate's Seth Stevenson, an admitted cheapskate who drives a '96 Saturn with 103,000 miles on it, laments the fact that the lowest rung of the car market actually spans $12,000 to $17,000 nowadays. But what exactly do you get for that much cash? More than some might guess in a few cases. Mainly in response to escalating gas prices, several automakers have brought thrifty new models out to make the bargain hunters happy. Slate tried out the Saturn Ion, the Kia Rio, the Nissan Versa, the Scion xA, the Toyota Yaris, and the Honda Fit. When he went in to rent a Chevy Aveo, the counter agent told him, "You do not want to drive that car." So he skipped it. We don't want to spoil the rankings, but after trying cars that were too boring, too jerky, and even too flashy, he finally found one that was a perfect fit. Click through for the car-by-car reviews.
The Vauxhall Corsa has officially broken cover in Europe after dozens of spy shots had been snapped over the last few weeks. Those spy shots didn't do this small car justice, introduced first as a hatchback in GM Europe's first official batch of shots. Developed alongside the already successful Fiat Punto, the Corsa is longer and wider than the car it replaces. A five-door hatch is also in the works that will resemble the recently redesigned Astra, the car upon which the next Saturn Ion will supposedly be based. The Corsa, however, will be getting a 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4-liter gas engine along with a 1.3 and 1.7-liter diesel. A performance variant tagged VXR with 195 bhp is also in the works.
As we speculated in our coverage of this year's New York Auto Show, Autoweek confirmed Monday that General Motors will fire up the Badge Engineering Works to import the Opel Astra compact to replace the soon-to-be-discontinued Saturn Ion.
The imported Astra will fill the upcoming void in Saturn's lineup left by the cancellation of the "Evoke," a proposed entry-level Saturn based on the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Although Ion production will cease at the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant in December, the Astra will not arrive in U.S. Saturn showrooms before late 2007. General Motors has not said whether the entry-level Saturn would retain the Astra name.
Interestingly, Reuters reported today that GM Europe is considering scaling back production of the Astra ahead of the anticipated slowdown in sales as the car moves into the middle of its product life cycle. The Astra is produced at plants in Belgium, the U.K., and Germany. Opening up a new export market for the car could be a move to keep the European production facilities running at capacity for a while longer.
The Astra will start at about $16,000 in the U.S. The Opel Astra sits in the number two slot in the European sales charts, right behind the top-selling Volkswagen Golf. It will be interesting to see how well it does in the U.S. market.
Mercedes Sprinter a bit too big? Renault Kangoo a mote... quirky? Well, General Motors of Europe might have just
the thing: The Vauxhall Astro Man Astravan. The UK-built panel wagon debuted Tuesday at the
Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England.
Set to go on sale in September, the two-seat Astravan has been fortified to carry more handyman detritus than
previous iterations, and a range of turbodiesel fours make time with a single 1.4-liter gasoline powerplant to ensure
thrifty (if deliberate) progress. Saturn Ion commercial wagon,
anyone?
Sibling site Adjab reports that Saturn will be taking a different tactic in marketing its new
vehicles: the Aura, Outlook, and Sky. According to the linked article Brandweek, the marketing
campaign will be promoting all the vehicles as a unit with the "Like...." tagline instead of, just
the Sky roadster, for example. The advertising company that developed the campaign feels it better reflects Saturn's
'togetherness' philosophy.
Will it work? Certainly the division's products are becoming more compelling, but Saturn has clearly moved away
from its brandspace as the egalitarian small car company 'with a heart of gold' into a world of 8-passenger crossovers
and such. Critics argue that the brand's identity is becoming very muddy in its quest to enter other segments and find
profitability, and that the "Like..." campaign is a tad disingenous. Who's right? Have your say in
comments.
GM is working hard to ensure that its newest automotive division, Saturn, is considered cool, hip and edgy. In this day and age, that means the interwebs, specifically a blog and social networking site. According to a post by Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak on GM's FastLane blog, www.ImSaturn.com will feature news about Saturn along with photos and videos you haven't seen anywhere else. Like other social networking sites, you can join in on the fun by starting or joining groups where people with like-interests gather together and talk. The first 400 members get a free t-shirt, but if you want one you'd better hurry 'cause there are already 300-plus members. 
"Like always, like never before."
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