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Automotive News & Views What if you were in charge of GM?
874 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 04, 2009 1:53 pm) If they can't sell the Astra competitively in the US against VW's Golf, with your huge network of dealers, but they can in Europe, maybe the question is whether GM's management could find its a** with a map - or perhaps they were too busy polishing the corporate jet... |
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"...Astra - but you would have to ask why GM can't sell the thing over there..." In a word, it's price. It's too expensive compared with the competition. The pricing suggests that GM is more concerned with margins than volume with the Astra, in large part because the value of the euro vs. the dollar doesn't permit GM to make a profit on this car at lower prices. Price isn't the only reason the Astra isn't selling well in the U.S., but I believe it's the primary reason. Another important reason is a very small marketing budget. Reason #3 may be that the future of the Saturn Division is up in the air. I don't doubt that the Astra is a good car, but is it better than, say, a VW Golf/Rabbit or Honda Civic, just to mention two competing models?
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 04, 2009 5:11 pm) I like what GM planned to do with Saturn (Opel designs) but GM starved Saturn for so long that they destroyed the brand. To save all the research dollars, GM should move the products scheduled for Saturn to Pontiac. But I just read the current Motor Trend and it appears that Buick may be the recipient of the Opel 's designs which leaves Saturns future in question. Well, not really. I think we all know how this story ends, it's a matter of when and how. I have a feeling that by the end of this month, we should know more about GM's fate. The fat lady is already warming up on Chrysler.
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 04, 2009 8:06 pm) I still think that if GM wants Pontiac to survive and improve it is going to have to go its own way in design and engineering. In the plan I laid out in an ealier post, Pontiac would be an all rear wheel drive, performance oriented niche seller much like Toyota's Scion. Again Saturn no longer has a clear mission and is now a waste of research and marketing dollars. |
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 04, 2009 8:06 pm) Which car is that? I'm confused on Saturn's offerings. The L-series cars weren't based on the Malibu. They were based on the Opel Vectra B and manufactured at a GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware.
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Jan 05, 2009 6:54 am)
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The L-series was heavily based on the Opel Vectra. SO in some ways, the Malibu connection is legit as it is now based on the Saturn Aura which in of itself is also a Vectra. Good thing about the Saturn is that while the Malibu makes its living off supprting the rental market, the midsize Saturns do relatively little fleet sales. |
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 05, 2009 9:52 am)
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Replying to: fezo (Jan 05, 2009 10:28 am)
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As the owner of 3 Saturns, the past 10-12 comments on this thread strike a nerve with me. Currently, the Saturn product portfolio is as strong as it's ever been. I will admit, however, that there have been some missed opportunities in the past 5-10 years. 1) L-series. I own a 2003 L300 (with the V6) and chose it over an Accord or Camry because of the value it represented to me. Yes, it is quasi-European (which I'm reminded of every time I spend $400 to have the brake rotors replaced), but, with the 16" wheels and tires, it handles quite nicely. I've got 77K on mine at the moment and while it's had its fair share of issues (aforementioned brakes, plus two replaced BCM's) it's never left me stranded. 2) VUE. I've had two - an '05 and an '08. The '05 was the first year that GM offered the Honda sourced 3.5L V6 and the 5-speed automatic. My wife loved that car - up until the day it simply stopped running. Towed to the dealer, who couldn't find anything wrong. Picked it up from the service side of the dealership and immediately traded it in on a redesigned '08 - which is orders of magnitude better in every respect. 3) ION. My step-daughter drives an '06, and while it's no head turner in terms of looks, it is a competent little car that does what we ask of it. We took it from Denver to St. George, UT last Memorial Day weekend and loaded up with 3 teenaged girls and all their stuff, it averaged over 30MPG through the Rockies. One thing that used to make Saturn different was the use of the polymer panels. Both the ION and L-series have them, and it cannot be underestimated how good they look when clean. I used to drive to downtown Denver and park in public parking, so I don't know how many door dings I've avoided. Same with the ION at the college campus my daughter lives on. The other aspect of owning Saturn is the service experience, both before and after the sale. When we bought my L-series in November 2002, my wife was absolutely blown away by how easy it was (before that, we drove Fords almost exclusively). In the 6 years that I've owned Saturns, I cannot remember one bad service experience - the dealers that I've worked with have gone above and beyond the call of duty on more than one occasion to accommodate us. The Astra, while a fine little car, suffers from a couple of issues that have doomed it here in the states. The first, already noted above, is that the exchange rate has made it quite pricey compared to the competition. Hard to justify $20K for a compact that really has no pedigree here in the US. The second is that it was hastily converted to the US market and doesn't come equipped with an AUX jack or XM radio (as almost every other GM car, truck and SUV has). Little things, to be sure, but the little things often push a consumer to a different brand. I'm hoping (for obvious reasons) that GM keeps the Saturn brand alive, but I will admit that I'm not too optimistic about it. I've heard that the franchise agreements GM wrote with the dealers are different and give GM more control, allowing GM to close the brand without the same amount of overhead that plagued GM when they discontinued Oldsmobile. Time will tell.
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