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Old 11-12-2008, 05:13 PM   #10 (permalink)
nadepalma
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Re: Wagoner: 'Saab is not for sale'

Quote:
Originally Posted by sigma View Post
Yup I kind of agree... although I think you could position Saturn as a subcompact, compact car company. Dump the midsizers and just bring over Golf and Jetta competitors. Offer all the variants, the convertibles, the wagons, the sedans, the coupes and the hatchbacks.
I think that there was a time when positioning Saturn as you have outlined would have worked - but not today. After billions of dollars in investment, sales have climbed only a small amount. There isn't enough to justify keeping the brand around to me.

Intead, just end the gimmick and bring over Opels - as is. Some of the models they could build here, but to the specs as they havae them overseas.

If they did this, at the very least it would be "justification" for paying the higher prices associated with products like the Astra due to the exchange rate.

And since ther eare only 400/425 Saturn stores as of right now, the dealership footprint wouldn't be about right for selling a more upscale, premium marque from Germany.

But again, that's just me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quickening View Post
Saab should be coupled with Saturn or Cadillac depending on location. Yet in the past year, Houston area, a major metropolitan area lost all three of its Saab dealerships...
They were stand alones though.
The goal was for all Cadillac stores to pick up Saab as well, but it has been a slow process. After GM focused on cobbling BPG stores together, Saab/Caddy/Hummer was next. I'm sure we'll see a further Caddy/Saab consolidation later on at some point - but have a feeling GM has a lot on their plates right now to focus on much.
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Last edited by nadepalma : 11-12-2008 at 05:16 PM.
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