Wrong About Saturn

[Flybrian]

NY Times Wheels Blog: Wrong about Saturn
By Kyle Johnson, Director, Saturn Communications | Link to Original Post @ GM FastLane Blog

There was a puzzling post by Jerry Garrett in the New York Times' "Wheels" blog yesterday. We were puzzled mostly because we were surprised to learn that we were dead, according to Jerry -- "killed off" in some sinister, if wholly imagined, plot. He called us "a different kind of car company, indeed."

Okay, Jerry caught us. We are different. We're not the Saturn we used to be. In fact, we are about to launch our fifth all-new product in the last 18 months – and we have expanded our strong customer treatment programs: no haggle/no hassle pricing, 30 day/1,500 mile exchange program, 24/7 live web chat, at home test drives, just to name a few.

Jerry's main concern seems to be our collaborative relationship with Opel , which baffles us, frankly, because there's not a company out there that doesn't borrow freely from itself when it sees opportunities to improve. And we strongly believe that the Saturn-Opel design and development relationship makes sense for both the European and North American markets, and gives both Saturn and Opel the strongest lineup possible. This kind of globalized product development process is working: Astra, Aura, Sky and Vue are all acclaimed, and Saturn sales are up -- even in a rough year in the overall automotive industry. So what's wrong with that?

Isn't being a good car company supposed to be about having great products and having retailers treat customers well? So why does Jerry think that it's bad that we’ve changed our business model so that we’re bringing better products to the market?

We'll continue our collaborative relationship with Opel. But Saturn is, was always, and will remain a North American company. Saturn and Opel will continue to have unique regional vehicles; you're probably not going to see an Outlook in Europe or a Zafira in North America.

We're confident that if Jerry actually had the opportunity to drive a Saturn -- any Saturn -- he'd think differently about us. By our records, Jerry hasn’t tested a Saturn recently. We'd like to remedy that. So Jerry, what kind of Saturn would you like to drive, and where can we drop it off?

--------------------------------
C&G Members, click HERE to respond to Mr. Johnson's blog post and make sure you tell them where you're from!

[AxelTheRed]

Saturn starts building well-engineered, desirable cars and people throw a fit. Was it a slow news day or is this strange vortex of media bias apparently neverending?

[plane]

Our Saturn is in the shop- Driving an Aura loaner right now.

Charcoal with metallic trim XE.

I always thought - if I were to buy an Aura, would have to go with the XR.

Not any more.

This car is that good.

Fit and finish, a well-crafted interior, center-console snobs be damned.

Quiet, great handling, and the 3.5L VVT in this tune, while not overpowering, has decent oomph.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I wanted the XR because of the extra flash that comes with that model (18" aluminum rims, better tires <Goodyear>, most of the options I wanted <and got on my XE> were standard, and the wonderful 3.6L V6 engine). But the voice of reason - aka "the wife" - felt the extra cost was unnecessary and she was right (well, I'd rather have the Goodyear tires than the crappy Hankook tires that are standard). The 3.5L V6 has just the right amount of power, never feels overloaded when there's weight in the trunk and/or 3+ passengers in there, and I find the 4 speead auto to work just fine. The cloth works well for me and the chrome wheelcovers add to the "bling bling" factor just right.

Our Saturn is in the shop- Driving an Aura loaner right now.

Charcoal with metallic trim XE.

I always thought - if I were to buy an Aura, would have to go with the XR.

Not any more.

This car is that good.

Fit and finish, a well-crafted interior, center-console snobs be damned.

Quiet, great handling, and the 3.5L VVT in this tune, while not overpowering, has decent oomph.

[K.C.]

Glad to see a good response on the GM Fastlane Blog. The blog was a great read. The automotive market is changing and GM is changing with it. They get slammed for not changing quickly enough, and then when they do they still get slammed. The media is out to tear down the American automakers. When will this treason end?

[Oracle of Delphi]

The media is out to tear down the American automakers. When will this treason end?

Excuse me, but aren't you Canadian?

[Aura XR]

I wanted the XR because of the extra flash that comes with that model (18" aluminum rims, better tires <Goodyear>, most of the options I wanted <and got on my XE> were standard, and the wonderful 3.6L V6 engine). But the voice of reason - aka "the wife" - felt the extra cost was unnecessary and she was right (well, I'd rather have the Goodyear tires than the crappy Hankook tires that are standard). The 3.5L V6 has just the right amount of power, never feels overloaded when there's weight in the trunk and/or 3+ passengers in there, and I find the 4 speead auto to work just fine. The cloth works well for me and the chrome wheelcovers add to the "bling bling" factor just right.

Ha, my "voice of reason" also wanted me to buy the XE. Actually, she wanted me to buy a Honda because she will only own Honduhs. Unfort, the XE we almost bought was totally stripped, like in not even the $100.00 mats. It's the only time I seen a car with the base price on the website as the final cost on the invoice. Thankfully, I shut her down 2 days later and ordered the XR instead and have not regretted it one bit.

Matter of fact, Sunday (9/9) will be one year since we took delivery of the XR

[Drew Dowdell]

Matter of fact, Sunday (9/9) will be one year since we took delivery of the XR

and how does she like it now?

[Intrepidation]

All I have to say is Jerry got

[K.C.]

Excuse me, but aren't you Canadian?

Your excused, and actually, I hold dual citizenship. So really, I'm both.

[Aura XR]

and how does she like it now?

It's too fast for her, she does 80 MPH in 55 all the time.

Her civic is the next to be replaced and we can look at anything, as long as it has the Honda H on it. I even suggested looking at an Acura and she said no (I don't think she fully understood that it is a Honda even though I explained it to her).

[RJB]

This guy is just another N.Y. Times liberal ass puppet who doesn't deserve a column. The N.Y. Times exists only to piss people off and most of the time it works, just look at us getting riled up...LOL!!