High fuel costs, its affordability save Saturn Ion

[Flybrian]

High fuel costs, its affordability save Saturn Ion

August 11, 2006

BY KATIE MERX

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Link to Original Article @ Detroit Free Press

High gasoline prices seem to have saved one small car from the chopping block -- at least temporarily.

General Motors Corp. had planned to stop production on the Saturn Ion in December. But the carmaker confirmed Thursday that it will continue making the car at its Spring Hill, Tenn., plant through the end of March to meet market demand.

"It gets good fuel economy and it's affordably priced," said Jim Hall, vice president of industry analysis at AutoPacific. "It would be foolish of them to get rid of it."

The Ion 2.2-liter sedan gets an EPA estimated 24 miles per gallon in the city and 32 on the highway. The base suggested retail price is $13,060.

Ion sales are up 2.5% this year. That's a big increase over last year during the same period, when sales were off 7%.

Many automakers are seeing small cars sell faster than expected because people want fuel-efficient vehicles as gas prices remain above $3 per gallon, analysts said. But for an automaker to see sales jump for a model that's in its last year of production is remarkable.

GM sold 60,969 of the 4-cylinder Ions this year, up from 59,505 in the first seven months of 2005.

Carl Galeana, president of Saturn of Warren and Saturn of Lakeside, said gas prices are only one factor in increased sales. The car's safety ratings, engine and low price are other reasons it's selling. And Saturn executives think the Ion is benefiting from buzz created by Saturn's new convertible, the Sky.

But a big reason GM decided to extend production is likely that the company won't have a replacement for the increasingly popular entry-level car until the end of 2007.

Allowing Saturn, commonly regarded to be an entry-level brand, to go without an entry-level car for nine months would have put dealers in a bind, said Joseph Langley, a market analyst at CSM Worldwide in Northville. Extending production should allow the automaker to make enough cars to meet demand until its replacement car, a rebranded Opel Astra, comes to the market.

In 2004 and 2005, GM built about 110,000 Ions, Langley said. This year, the company is on track to build at least 120,000.

"The decision to extend production is great news," Galeana said.

[Satty]

Good move. I didn't look into an ION because my dealer didn't have any Quad Coupes in stock, and that would have been the only model I'd be interested in.

[CARBIZ]

This is a good move for Saturn. GM has done this too many times and it hurts the brand. The Cutlass was discontinued a year before the Intrigue was ready and that undoubtedly hurt Oldsmobile.

[BlkHhr104]

The Intrigue came out in 99?

[pow]

The Intrigue came out in 99?

179389[/snapback]

'97 as a '98 model

[PurdueGuy]

It's a good call.

a) Saturn needs a small car. Saturn was CREATED for small cars! lol

b) The Ion is a solid car, especially for the money.

[wjfox]

The Ion isn't such a bad small car. I think the thing that hurt it right out of the starting gate was bland to ugly styling inside and out. The 2 door is more conservative that either of the 2 previous 2 door versions and the original Delta based 4 door front facia was just ugly. The update with a real grill looks much better, but the side view is kind of heavy handed and ugly.

On the inside it looks cheap and wierd with the center mounted guages. If there were a lot of right hand drive Saturns made it would make some sense, but since GM doesn't appear to market the brand outside of North America it didn't make sense to design in weirdness when flexibility of right or left hand drive wasn't needed.

The Delta platform seems capable of getting some good press, so maybe with high fuel prices headed higher a redone ion makes some sense. But it sounds like the decision is already made to bring in the Opels.

[daves87rs]

So it survives a few more months...woopee....

Can't hurt GM to milk it for a while longer though...

[thedriver]

Seriously, how hard would it be, (or have been) to replace the awful dash with the one from the Cobalt? Underneath they are probably 95%the same, I think it would have helped sales if they had done this when the changed the fascia.. .

[CSpec]

So if the ION stays on dealer lots for an average of 70 days or so, that means there will be IONs around until May or June 2007, and the Astra starts arriving in the Fall. That's not ideal, but not the end of the world either. The Lacrosse will be in the same situation in 2009.

[LTB51]

Well that was an overly positive spin on the situation. Media bias???

It is good that the article eventually got around to stating the real reason that the Ion hasn't been put out of its misery. GM should have replaced it by now. Surely they could have at least G5'd up a Cobalt for Saturn too?

[ketch]

Sorry, cannot stand the dash and styling. I'll take a G5 GT, red please.

[FAPTurbo]

Last I checked, Boo-ya was spelt Booyah.

[PurdueGuy]

Well that was an overly positive spin on the situation.  Media bias??? 

It is good that the article eventually got around to stating the real reason that the Ion hasn't been put out of its misery.  GM should have replaced it by now.  Surely they could have at least G5'd up a Cobalt for Saturn too?

179819[/snapback]

BWAAHAHA... Oh sorry... The Cobalt & Ion are practically the same car already. Same platform & drivetrain. Difference is in the panels, in & out. Oh, and the Ion came first, so it's not that far-fetched to say they "Cobalted an Ion".

Granted, the Cobalt & G5 share a lot more than the Ion & Cobalt, but all the Ion could have used is a bit more thorough refresh when they did the refresh, including a regular-mounted speedo to appease all those who won't even try getting used to the center-mount. (I prefer the standard-mount too, but the center-mount isn't the abolmination that some make it out to be).

[daves87rs]

Well that was an overly positive spin on the situation.  Media bias??? 

It is good that the article eventually got around to stating the real reason that the Ion hasn't been put out of its misery.  GM should have replaced it by now.  Surely they could have at least G5'd up a Cobalt for Saturn too?

179819[/snapback]

or Heck-at least rebadge an Aveo and send it to Saturn?

[turbo200]

Both the Accord and Camry get better gas mileage than Ion, 24/34 and 24/33 versus 24/32. GM could stand to improve the mileage on thier 4 cylinder engines. It makes sense to keep their fuel efficient car around for one more year, especially if it makes them some extra money and keeps plants humming.

[PurdueGuy]

Both the Accord and Camry get better gas mileage than Ion, 24/34 and 24/33 versus 24/32. GM could stand to improve the mileage on thier 4 cylinder engines. It makes sense to keep their fuel efficient car around for one more year, especially if it makes them some extra money and keeps plants humming.

180130[/snapback]

The Ion's fuel economy is underrated - a guy I used to work with used to get better than 35 regularly commuting to work.