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Climbing the Roadway to Heaven

Saturn sets off on the journey from which no car returns

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 19, 2008

Being a veteran Detroit auto executive, Lajdziak managed to put her message in positive terms: "An independent Saturn would still have its great retailers, and it would continue to source current products from GM through 2011. If successful, (Saturn) at that point would source products from other manufacturers."

In other words, Saturn is headed for General Motors' scrap heap, along with its walking-dead siblings Pontiac, Hummer and Saab, where they will be reunited with the already deceased but little lamented Oldsmobile.

Yep, it's the end of the road for Saturn, once touted as "a different kind of car company" building "a different kind of car."

Car enthusiasts and wise-guy columnists always insisted a more accurate description would be "the car for people who don't care much about cars." Saturn's current crop of buggies is a bit more exciting, but with a customer base interested in Point A-to-Point B transit, that doesn't necessarily buy you much.

What Lajdziak and Saturn dealers are hoping to do is convert what's formally known as the Saturn Distribution Corporation from GM subsidiary to free-standing company, maintaining its dealer network, which is generally well-regarded, and its brand, which is somewhat — well — smudged.

After all, if you have a nationwide chain of dealers and a well-known name, what else do you need?

Oh, that's right, you need cars. And just where would the Saturn Distribution Network get its cars?

Good question, and one that no one can answer right now. Chances are, it would contract with manufacturers in places like India and China to supply cars and SUVs to be sold under the Saturn name.

Such arrangements are not unusual. Some Mazdas are Fords. Some GM subcompacts are Daewoos, and so forth.

But would a Saturn made in Mumbai still be a Saturn? After all, Saturn has built its brand around the idea that it's an American product assembled by United Auto Workers Union members. True, the most recent batch of Saturns are based on GM's European Opel line-up but they're still slapped together in places like Kansas City, Kansas.

Well, it's a little early to worry about that

For now, Lajdziak and company must get through the next 60 days. In its federal bailout proposal, GM vowed to make a decision on Saturn's fate in that time period.

So what's the purpose of the letter to all those Saturn owners? Presumably, it's to keep them from immediately dumping their cars and creating an even bigger glut of Saturns on used-car lots. Long-term, it's an attempt to maintain brand loyalty.

Saturn buyers, after all, are more likely to be repeat customers than most other mainstream car buyers, which might be the one thing Saturn has going for it right now.

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