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SUVs Saturn VUE What if GM Dumps Saturn?
88 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 7:58 PM
You are in the Saturn VUE Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Looks like Penske has walked away from buying Saturn and GM will be closing down the brand: GM Closing Down Saturn Brand
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Replying to: michaell (Sep 30, 2009 1:12 pm) tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper
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Replying to: tidester (Sep 30, 2009 8:41 pm)  I'd guess what's going to happen will be very similar to what happened when other auto-makers went out of business, or when other companies and industries fail. And life will go on. |
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Replying to: tidester (Sep 30, 2009 8:41 pm) It means that the next time there's a local orphan car tour, something normally reserved for the likes of DeSotos, Hudsons, Studebakers, Nashes, etc, I'll suddenly start seeing Saturns...along with Plymouths, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobiles.
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Replying to: tidester (Sep 30, 2009 8:41 pm) Like Olds, I bet these buyers are not going to just pick up and move over to Buick or Chevy, so will they migrate to makers like Mazda? Subaru? Hyundai? Are they going to join the growing ranks of Honda owners or even Toyota? Hmmmm... |
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Replying to: anythngbutgm (Oct 01, 2009 4:16 am)
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Replying to: anythngbutgm (Oct 01, 2009 4:16 am) As for Saturn, I don't think there are really that many buyers to worry about anymore. Here are the sales figures for the first 6 months of 2009... Outlook: 8,237 (down 36.9% from first 6 months of 2008) Vue: 17,985 (down 60.7%...however, wasn't this one off the market for a few months to make way for the redesign?) Astra: 4,210 (down 3.6%) Aura: 10,661 (down 67.6%) Sky: 1,659 (down 70.6%) And there were a few Ions and Relays left to account for 24 more sales. So, a total of 42,776 over the course of 6 months. I could actually see Outlook buyers going to GMC, Chevy, or perhaps Buick, as all three sell the same basic vehicle. The Saturn cars aren't so vastly different anymore, so a lot of buyers just might not care. Ditto the Vue...isn't the new Equinox basically the same thing? And I'm sure that GMC will get a version as well. I think Aura's are mainly getting dumped into rental fleets these days, and I'm sure that the Malibu would serve just as well. Personally, I prefer the style of the Aura though, and would have bought one before I'd buy a Malibu. However, all these models do have worthy alternatives at Ford, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan...and a lot of people bought Saturns not for the cars themselves, but for the buying experience. So GM probably will lose a lot of these customers. I've heard it said that Saturns are cars for people who don't like cars, but I've also heard the same said about Toyota...so maybe Toyota will be the biggest beneficiary here? It got to the point that the Sky and Astra were the only models that were fairly unique. I could see Mazda benefiting the most here, as Astra buyers go for the Mazda3, and Sky buyers opt for the Miata.
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Replying to: andre1969 (Oct 01, 2009 4:40 am) Ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner! Having bought 4 new Saturns in the past 7 years, I can tell you this is the number one reason we went with the brand. The cars (and SUVs) are really nothing special - well, the polymer panels on my L300 and my daughters ION are pretty neat - but the treatment we received from the dealership was something unique. Ah, well. Guess I'll be going to my local Chevrolet dealer for warranty issues on the wife's '08 VUE. If nothing else, it saves me about 35-40 minutes on the drive. Will I miss Saturn? No, not particularly. Will I stay a loyal GM customer? Depends on what my needs are for my next vehicle.
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Replying to: michaell (Oct 01, 2009 5:17 am) Oh, and one of my cousins had a 2nd-gen S-series until just a few months ago. He was out of work, and had the idea of trying to work for Saturn, using his personal car to shuttle customers around who had their cars in for service. He also had around 240-250,000 miles on the car by this time, and his thought was that if the customers got to ride in his high-mileage Saturn, it would be good PR for them, showing just how long would last. Well, he never got the job, although I thought it was an interesting idea. And the engine pretty much "blew up" (his words...I don't know the details) not long after. So, maybe it wouldn't have been a good idea to shuttle customers around in it, after all.  Honestly though, at that mileage, I'd say he got his money's worth out of the car. My cousin is also pretty negligent when it comes to caring for mechanical things, so the fact that it lasted to 240-250K miles in spite of him is a true testament to its durability! |
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"Tennessee Senator Bob Corker released this statement to Volunteer TV, saying quote "We're very disappointed and know that this decision will affect many people across the country. Hopefully someone else will be interested in the brand and the dealer network that comes with it." Sen. Corker lament Saturn demise (volunteertv.com) Corker was one of the most vocal skeptics of the automaker bailouts, is a union buster, and didn't much like Cash for Clunkers either. The GM/Saturn Spring Hill plant now making the Chevrolet Traverse is to be idled Nov. 25 when they move production to Michigan. Chicago Tribune I guess he's getting his wish. |
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