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February 20, 2009

Goodbye Saturn

By Bob Balderston

Bob Balderston

Well, our friends at GM finally sent out the word, via e-mail, that the lifeline to the ship Saturn is about to be pulled, and that no further models are to be had, at least from the GM product lines. We all knew this was coming. Short of the Sky, Saturn was pretty much a dead player in the marketplace. The only saving grace was the dealer network and their way of selling cars. In years to come, when MBAs are studying failure models in classes taught by bitter professors who own these quirky cars, the reasons why GM came to this crossroads, and why they let them go so long, may finally be understood. God speed Saturn, we barely knew ya.

Goodbye Saturn

Posted at 1:05 am in ,

Comments

Cal26stang
Feb 25, 2009 at 5:29 pm

I will miss the saturn sky…that is all

john
Feb 22, 2009 at 6:51 pm

finally they are gone. i had nightmares about tupperware on wheels

David Lejour
Feb 21, 2009 at 2:36 pm

Thank god!

Justin
Feb 20, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Keith, thanks for that info. I don’t know what kinda fiats they are gonna be doing but hopefully its something good. Dodge did wrong by getting rid of the Neon one of thier best selling cars.

retroman
Feb 20, 2009 at 4:27 pm

I think GM should have repositioned Saturn to compete with Scion. It could have been a very youthful brand, but GM is running tight right now so the ax is a more cost efficient solution at the moment.

Brett
Feb 20, 2009 at 4:10 pm

Well thats a shame. But they felt kinda cheap.

Keith
Feb 20, 2009 at 11:12 am

justin, the plans with nissan are dead, the small cars are going to be fiats

Don
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:47 am

Here is the E-mail in question as it was delivered to me. It was delivered to Saturn Owners who purchased Saturn’s new or used from authorized dealers…

Dear Donald:

From our very beginning, Saturn has always sought a better way. We pioneered no-hassle, no-haggle shopping, built dent-resistant cars, set a new benchmark for customer service and forged a unique relationship with our retailers, workers and customers. From the beginning, Saturn was launched as a “Different Kind of Car Company.”

Well, here we go again.

You may have read that General Motors delivered a plan to the U.S. government that outlined the corporation’s plan for long-term viability.In that plan, GM stated that Saturn would work with its retailers to investigate options for the future of the Saturn Brand. We said that all ideas were on the table and we meant it.

Today, we confirmed that Saturn and GM would further investigate one of those options: a spin-off of an independent Saturn Distribution Corporation.

The Saturn Distribution Corporation already exists as an indirect subsidiary of GM. It’s the entity with which our retailers currently have their franchise agreement. An independent Saturn would still have its great retailers, and it would continue to source current products from GM through 2011. If successful, SDC at that point would source products from other manufacturers.

The goal—from a product perspective—would be to find future vehicles that match the Saturn Brand: fuel-efficient, safe, reliable and affordable. From a retailing perspective, we would build on our core strength of unmatched customer service. The same hassle-free experience that is a hallmark of the brand could be taken to even higher levels.

While this process proceeds, we will continue to do what we have always done best: sell great vehicles and take care of our customers. We have a fresh portfolio of award-winning, fuel-efficient vehicles and a network of retailers that is second to none. And our new vehicles are still backed by a 100,000-mile/5-year (whichever comes first) Transferable Powertrain Limited Warranty. When you add Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation programs, we believe it is the industry’s best overall coverage. It is coverage that GM and Saturn will continue to firmly stand behind, and GM will support the continued availability of Saturn parts and service as needed.

This is an exciting time at the Saturn Brand, and I have to confess, it feels a bit like it did back in the 1980s when the original Saturn project was being developed. As loyal Saturn owners and enthusiasts, I know you support this brand, and you can believe we are working toward a vibrant future. Difficult times sometimes yield the most innovative solutions, and those who are willing to take on the challenge will emerge victorious. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Jill Lajdziak
General Manager, Saturn

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i_luv_dusty
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:13 am

Thanks, Rob!

Justin
Feb 20, 2009 at 7:40 am

I heard that saturns dead and that so are Saab and Hummer if nobody buys them up… I also heard that nissan is going to do a smaller sedan for Dodge and that Dodge in turn is going to do a full size truck for them. In my opinion the only two that should team up are Mitsubishi and Dodge just look at what they’ve done in the past, Starion/Conquest, 3000/Stealth, Laser/Eclipse.

Josh
Feb 20, 2009 at 5:49 am

My second car was a ’97 SL2 with 5spd, manual locks & crank windows! It’s funny you say joe, that Saturn was supposed to be GM’s tuner line, but you wouldn’t suspect that from the way they were advertised…”So, how do you like your Saturn?”!!!

i_luv_dusty
Feb 20, 2009 at 5:30 am

I see no reference or source for this information, nor can I find anything on Yahoo or Google.
.
The closest thing that I could find is that GM is considering SPINNING OFF Saturn, not closing it:

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090219/AUTO01/902190455

joe
Feb 20, 2009 at 4:41 am

you know, saturn was initially created to be a “tuner section” of GM, kind of like scion was to toyota, but since the begining..they never really provided us with anything good, except the sky. But hey, seeing any manufacturer die of right now is going to be a sad thing, hope their employees can find jobs

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