  Ashdetroit Member Username: Ashdetroit Post Number: 52 Registered: 08-2008 |
http://www.freep.com/article/2 0081204/COL14/812040407/?imw=Y I just gave up my Saturn this year...it was a 1998 with 140,000 miles, and served my grandma, my brother and I quite well. I only put about $600 into that car too...so sad. I think it makes no sense for GM to get rid of an arm that's producing low-cost and fuel-efficient vehicles. What do you think? Who drove a Saturn? Would you consider purchasing one if GM stays in business? | ||
Border5150 Member Username: Border5150 Post Number: 283 Registered: 03-2004 |
I still drive a 2002 SL2 135,000 miles and still going. I have driven that car to both oceans & it has served me well. 6 years ago, it was the ONLY American brand I would even CONSIDER buying. (Message edited by border5150 on December 04, 2008) | ||
Mike Member Username: Mike Post Number: 1525 Registered: 11-2003 |
the problem is that GM threw a lot of money into Saturn and the American buying public just did not seem to want any. sad thing is that in this country, whether at fault of the BIG 3 or not, has always had the panache for things foreign. And it seems that no matter how nice the vehicle compared to its import counterpart, they seem to want to buy an import. | ||
Digitalvision Member Username: Digitalvision Post Number: 1482 Registered: 11-2003 |
I've driven a relative's Saturn and for the money it seemed like a good car, and a friend's mom loves her Astra. She likes it because it "feels European at a lower price." They're not really US cars anymore - they're basically import designs from Europe (Opel, which is GM owned), and half of them are made in Mexico and Europe and shipped over here. Personally, I think GM bungled Saturn and it does have a strong brand presence which could make it worthwhile for a foreign to buy it for the brand name; and if they do like Lenovo did when they bought IBM's laptop division it could be a very good entree' into the market. The Saturn should of been the Prius-killer. The original EV-1, I remember looking at the dash, was technically a Saturn. Even fast forwarding to today, I have no idea why they're not matching 1-for-1; and I think it's because GM North America dealers don't know how to sell a small car. It didn't have it's own strong identity and it could of been their "green car" without suffering their so beloved machismo in their Chevy and truck marketing. | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 888 Registered: 11-2007 |
Saturn has never had a strong dealer network in terms of numbers. I understand GM wanted to separate the Saturn brand in the minds of consumers, and I think they were successful with that, but a lot of smaller towns and cities do not have a Saturn dealer. It's going to cost GM a fortune to kill the brand. Maybe they could sell alongside Buick if Pontiac is cut but I think they've already decided to cut both. | ||
Cinderpath Member Username: Cinderpath Post Number: 937 Registered: 05-2006 |
Saturn Sl-2, 286k miles!!!! Simply Amazing, also have a Vue. | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 939 Registered: 07-2006 |
I don't see that Saturn really offers anything that the other divisions don't, or can't. Maybe rebadge some models, at best, but there is no reason to continue marketing the Saturn division or engineering different body panels and interiors, when GM desperately needs to save cash. DV, although the Saturns have Opel styling, only the Vue and the Astra are Opel rebadges and are the only models built outside the US. The Aura resembles the Vectra but is actually a different vehicle, and is built in Kansas City. The Sky came first, and was rebadged as an Opel, and is built in Deleware. And the Outlook is strictly North American, and built in Lansing. Overall, I think GM is making the right moves, although I'm not sure what they exactly envision for Pontiac as a niche brand (I think it could be cut, despite my affinity for it). Saturn is definitely expendable. Did they make mistakes in the past with the brand? Certainly. But that doesn't mean they should keep throwing money at it to fix it. GM just doesn't have the money to do that. | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 940 Registered: 07-2006 |
401don, actually, not having a dealership in every town will probably make it much cheaper to kill Saturn than some of the larger brands like Buick or Pontiac. (both of which will remain, btw, although Pontiac will be a 'niche' brand) | ||
Ruxy17 Member Username: Ruxy17 Post Number: 26 Registered: 08-2007 |
i <3 my saturn! she's quite good to me. | ||
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman Post Number: 409 Registered: 02-2006 |
I love my Saturn. Going on two years now with my Vue. The car is great, the dealers are great...honestly it's been the best car owning experience I've had. | ||
Detmsp Member Username: Detmsp Post Number: 37 Registered: 08-2008 |
scottr you're 99% right about the origins of saturn's current line up... the only saturn that is truly opel sourced is the Astra. while the VUE is also sold as an opel, it actually is a GM Daewoo designed/engineered vehicle. It's sold around the world as the daewoo winstrom, chevy captiva, gmc terrain, opel antera and saturn vue. the rest of what you said is dead on. | ||
Scooter2k7 Member Username: Scooter2k7 Post Number: 164 Registered: 10-2007 |
I think that Saturn can serve a purpose. The Aura is one sharp looking car! What they should kill of is GMC. Seriously what is the difference between a Silverado and a Sierra? And if I am going to spend that kind of money on a GM suv, it is going to be a Cadillac. GMC to me is nothing but Chevys with some chrome and leather. | ||
Flyingj Member Username: Flyingj Post Number: 363 Registered: 08-2006 |
My Saturn's an SL-2 '95 around 160K miles-runs okay despite 2 accidents. Had some thermostat sucked into it but that was really more an idiot mechanic than a design problem | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 941 Registered: 07-2006 |
Detmsp, you are right about the GM Daewoo connection. I had forgotten that, having remembered first seeing the Antara GTC cncept, then the PreVue concept shortly after. Thanks for the correction. I can't help but point out, however, that the Captiva and Winstorm have slightly different styling, whereas the Antara and Vue are identical so far as i can tell, as is the middle east Terrain (i'm not sure about the US Terrain, as I haven't seen it yet). | ||
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289 Post Number: 748 Registered: 08-2007 |
When my beloved Ford Ranger lost its timing belt 4 yrs ago, It was my Aunts Saturn that got me home from northern Mich and that car had like 150,000 on it then, Last year it came up for sale my cousin bought it back from my Aunt, That car has served my family well, I shoulda bought it. I,d hate to see GM kill it. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 6829 Registered: 10-2003 |
I drive a 2001 SL1. Great car. I used it for a couple of years as a traveling salesman, driving all over Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. It's only got 81,000 miles on it, and it's a great car. Since I bought it in 2004, I've put about $350 into it. About $250.00 of that was a break job. Great car, really reliable. My mom has an Astra and she loves it. I have driven it, and it's a great car. The Opel version is a great car as well. My Dad drove an Ion until a few months ago. His lease was up, and got nothing but double talk and grief at the dealership when looking ofr a replacement. So... Now's he's in a VW Jetta. The end is sadly near. Once GM decided to shift production from Spring Hill, TN, and make it no longer a Saturn plant, that was the beginning of the end. | ||
Ericdetfan Member Username: Ericdetfan Post Number: 299 Registered: 02-2007 |
love my 2001 sc2 | ||
Chrissy_snow Member Username: Chrissy_snow Post Number: 372 Registered: 07-2008 |
I also had two Saturn LS series, and they were both my favorite cars of all time. Bought them both used and never had any major problems compared to other cars. And you always see those S series Saturns on the road and they're old and still going strong. So I don't understand when I hear that the line is not doing well because to me it seems like it would be one of their best products, especially for the price. If anything, they should kill one of the more expensive lines and try to keep the more affordable lines. | ||
Civilprotectionunit4346 Member Username: Civilprotectionunit4346 Post Number: 774 Registered: 06-2007 |
Yeah Saturn is hurting right now and their quality now isn't as good as it used to be(trust me folks I work for onstar and get tons of vehicles that people call in about wanting a diagnostic probe ran on there vehicle). But speaking of brands that should get the axe...more over GM should have killed Hummer(it was a dead duck when the gas prices started to hike), Buick needs to go the way of the Dinosaur and become extinct, and get rid of GMC...there trucks are just rebadged Chevy pickups with more goofy luxury features and more gadgets that no one needs in the 1st place. Speaking of afforable saturns...have you seen the price of a loaded Vue? Are they insane? I would rahter buy something else then that little bubble looking vehicle. | ||
Cman710 Member Username: Cman710 Post Number: 571 Registered: 07-2006 |
According to GM's bailout plan (you can get it on their website), 83% of their total sales are from Chevy, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. Also, since Pontiac-GMC-Buick dealers are mostly all linked, I doubt they will get rid of both Buick and GMC. But you are correct that they need to start cutting brands, even if it causes some short-term pain. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 2031 Registered: 08-2006 |
I just recently bought an '04 LW300 and I love it. GM should keep Saturn and re-invent it as thier import fighter division. I wish GM would make station wagon versions of the Astra and Aura. Chevy would be the value brand, pontiac would be the performance brand and Buick would be the brand you would see all the new innovations and inventions tried out. and of course Cadillac would be Cadillac. These were what the divisions where started for. De pyramidize GM, undo the doings of Roger Smith,and give the creative powers back to the divisions. Dump Saab and GMC. (Message edited by cambrian on December 05, 2008) | ||
Publicmsu Member Username: Publicmsu Post Number: 792 Registered: 11-2003 |
For all of the VUE/LS/LW owners out there... how about those perimeter lights or delayed locks... You can thank yours truly for those wonderful features. ;) | ||
Detroitpetanque Member Username: Detroitpetanque Post Number: 195 Registered: 09-2006 |
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Ltorivia485 Member Username: Ltorivia485 Post Number: 3238 Registered: 08-2004 |
GM should get rid of Pontiac instead of Saturn. Pontiac been deteriorating for years. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 640 Registered: 06-2007 |
A lot of people who bought Saturns have mostly bought foreign cars. They rivaled the imports well. I think Saturn has one of the more individual identities and would be a greater loss than Pontiac. I never understood why GM rebadged Chevys as GMCs.Especially since Chevy has more models in their truck lineup. Cadillac is an icon and a legend. Its unforgivable to axe them. Buick is only staying because its such a big seller in China. GM never should have bought Saab. Its synonomous with Sweden.I feel they stripped it of its heritage. Chevy has entire lineups in the middle east and south america that arent sold in the North American market.Chevrolet is their world car. Whats Pontiac? they rebadged Corsicas in the 90s as "Tempests".In the 80s, they sold Chevettes as "Acadians". They sell tweaked Holdens for the US Market.I like Pontiacs, but I admit that their lineup looks pretty "recycled". Hummer only sells different variations of the same vehicle. My take: get rid of Buick in this market, leaving it to the chinese market only.Get rid of GMC altogether. Get rid of Pontiac (reluctantly).Make Hummer a model in the Chevy lineup, or if they insist on keeping GMC, give them the Hummer so that they will offer something unique to that division.Its fairly distinctive but not worth being its own seperate division. Give Saab back to the swedes. Try to expand Cadillac more globally to compete with Mercedes.Keep Saturn, but overhaul their dealers. They have the pushiest, most persistent salespeople of any I have experienced.I have had the misfortune to cross paths with several and they have sunk to new, desperate measures to move a product. I visited the used car section of a Saturn dealer an HOUR before they opened to avoid them. I wanted to check the price on a used Pontiac vibe they had. An hour before opening, and a guy comes out, pulls me inside, and tries to sell me a Vue on the spot. Maybe they could sell more cars if people werent so afraid of the salespeople. | ||
Parkguy Member Username: Parkguy Post Number: 349 Registered: 04-2007 |
I have owned three Saturns,and they have been as good as any cars I have owned. My wife LOVES her Vue (with a Honda V6 by the way-- GM diesels are in Honda models). I have never had anything but positive with the sales people at Saturn dealers. In fact, I bought my first one after walking out of a VW dealership after the sales manager ("I'll have to get this OK'd by my manager...") was literally screaming at me to sign off on his final offer. I went to the Saturn dealership and left with a new car. The dealerships are the strength of the Saturn line. | ||
Craggy Member Username: Craggy Post Number: 362 Registered: 10-2003 |
parkguy... That wasn't by chance Livonia Volkswagen was it? | ||
Bibs Member Username: Bibs Post Number: 735 Registered: 10-2003 |
Saturn competes well on both coast compared to other GM brands so I would hate for GM to get rid of the Saturn brand. Because Saturn is a separate legal entity and the dealers are separate, it would be cheaper to eliminate this brand. Keep in mind the little silver GM logo on the side of all GM vehicles. Will you end up with one brand like Toyota? The GM Volt, GM Acadia etc. |
