PAG Ends Talks to Buy Saturn

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by The GMan

You don't have to be #1 to make a profit. They could have still been a viable company if GM hadn't turned them into a clone factory.

In the end this might be a good thing for the owners. Since the Saturns they own are clones of other GM parts, they will still be able to get service from any GM dealer.

[vwW12]

Originally Posted by The GMan

You don't have to be #1 to make a profit

100% correct.

However, no-one has yet proven that a car company can be successful selling "eco" cars. It is an untested idea.

Look, literally hundreds of dead "traditional" car companies litter the annals of history.

At this point, any dollars invested in "eco" car companies are highly speculative dollars, not too dissimilar from gambling.

[Duckhunter]

I think that car companies need to have a diverse line unlike the US manufacturers had. They relied to much on trucks and SUVs. When gas went up again they were not ready. Same if you only sell small cars. There will always be a need for trucks and SUVs, just not in the same numbers as in the past. If there are some very economical nicely made small eco cars there will be a segment of the market for them also. It does not have to be one or the other.

[jwight]

What's an "eco car?" Can't find a definition. A hybrid pickup? A hybrid crossover? A hybrid mid-size sedan? An electric smart? A turbo diesel smart that gets 60 mpg? When the CAFE fleet average goes to 35 mpg, all cars in the US will be more efficient for it and the companies that can't keep up will fall by the wayside. At present, smart is the only car line sold in the USA that already meets the 35 mpg fleetwide standard.

[Woody14619]

Having been a Saturn owner for 14 years before buying my smart, I can tell you that Saturn has been on a downward slide for quite a long time. Some of it may be local, but I can't help but feel a lot of the changes came from higher up. This is my Saturn story.

When I got my first Saturn, right out of school, I loved it. The staff was friendly, the no-hassle cost was lower than most cars in it's class and I loved a lot of the features, including the panels. Plus the fuel economy was actually really good for the era, something not many people were paying attention to at the time unless they were trying to figure out the "cost-to-own".

Seven years later I was doing well financially, but the car was having issues. I'd put a lot of millage on it and was ready for an upgrade. I'd taken my Saturn to the local dealership for all my maintenance, and as a result they gave me a great deal on the trade in. So I jumped to a new Saturn, and kept going there for the service (I even bought the "pre-paid" service plan).

A few years later though, things started to change. The cars started to get bigger, with a clear focus on the "VUE" and the luxury models. They started dropping the plastic panels, losing the one brand specific thing they had. Slowly the focus changed from making the experience of owning and maintaining the car enjoyable to making it "affordable". Not that the prices went down, in fact they went up, but the quality of the work and the feel of the place went down considerably.

By the 5th year in my second Saturn I barely recognized the dealership. Most of the people, both on the sales floor and in the service center, had turned over within a couple years. The look changed, and there was a regular push to upgrade to the new model vs repairing the existing car. I started looking for a local garage to handle my maintenance.

When I heard about the smart coming to the US, I jumped on it. It had everything I liked about the Saturn: The panels, the light feel, and a good fuel economy. I plunked my $99 down and waited... I wound up selling my Saturn a few months after getting my smart. The new owner works near me, so I see the car regularly and I know it's still doing ok. But I wouldn't want a new one, even before GM announced it was going away.

[Kermit]

You said it Woody. I agree the downward spiral started when they veered from the plastic body panels and the cars started getting worse mileage because they focused in "luxury".

[vwW12]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

I agree the downward spiral started when they veered from the plastic body panels

So, was this abandonment of the plastic body panels before or after June 1993?

[Duckhunter]

Originally Posted by vwW12

So, was this abandonment of the plastic body panels before or after June 1993, when (link removed)

the full quote, Of course its Al's fault

In June 1993, Vice President Al Gore visited Spring Hill and said he wanted to "Saturnize" the federal government, whatever that meant.

and further on in article

Meanwhile, Saturn wasn't faring much better at the hands of management. After GM almost went bankrupt in 1992, the cash-strapped company didn't give Saturn money to update its cars. The decision was understandable but unfortunate. By the time new models finally arrived, Saturn's sales had fallen dramatically and Saturn didn't seem so special any more.


To me it is just more of the same, The unions may have overstepped but the management did not put money into the brand and let it die a slow death. They had a great thing when it started but it got ruined.

[Woody14619]

Originally Posted by vwW12

So, was this abandonment of the plastic body panels before or after June 1993, when (link removed)

Can you stop being a political tool for just one thread? There is no talk of politics here, just talk about Saturn and it's history. There's no need to drag politics into this, and you trying to do so is both unwelcome and tactless.

[Dunerunner]

Play nice, follow the rules and have a nice day!