Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak Retiring

[V8GMT360 Guy]

Originally Posted by Millefune

I'm pretty sure he was following the sarcasm of my post. So I think we should be asking you, "Seriously? Wow..."

Sarcasm or not, it's an extremely ignorant and immature statement to make. I see absolutely no correlation between a person's physical appearance and their ability to effectively manage a business or produce quality automobiles that people will want to buy.

Same for Susan Docherty.... I fail to see what her physical appearance has anything to do with her professional abilities. Even suggesting that it does in a tongue-and-cheek manner is beyond reproach as far as I'm concerned.

[Novak454]

Originally Posted by Masospaghetti

I don't know a whole lot about her but the only encounter I had with her left me with a bad impression.

I was working at the Fairfax assembly plant when Aura production was starting. I remember asking her if a manual transmission would be available. She replied, "We offer a 6-speed with paddle shifters that will give you the experience of a manual transmission."

Yeah, right. Either PR BS or she has no passion for cars and doesn't understand the difference.

If that is how she truely was, then good bye to another "old GM" manager...

[Hunid Racks]

If this is going to turn into a dump on Jill thread, I'm in on that. That she rose to the level she got to is IMO part of why Saturn is dead today. I guess what turned me of about her was a photo op she exploited with Jon Bon Jovi. Saturn was getting kicked around and Jill just looked so goofy.

It's been alluded to early in this thread and I feel that if it wasn't for Lutz, GM would not only be bankrupt, they would be liquidated. There are still too many Jills running around the company that are all image and no knowledge.

[Rocket 88]

Originally Posted by Masospaghetti

I don't know a whole lot about her but the only encounter I had with her left me with a bad impression.

I was working at the Fairfax assembly plant when Aura production was starting. I remember asking her if a manual transmission would be available. She replied, "We offer a 6-speed with paddle shifters that will give you the experience of a manual transmission."

Yeah, right. Either PR BS or she has no passion for cars and doesn't understand the difference.

Clearly she should have answer: "No, a manual won't be available. The 12 people who want an Aura and a Manual are S.O.L."

I get your point, but what were you expecting? GM offers so few vehicles with a manual. If you had asked about Navigation she would have answered ON STAR etc. For better or worse thats what these folks (kind of like politicians) do with questions like that.

[Masospaghetti]

Originally Posted by Rocket 88

Clearly she should have answer: "No, a manual won't be available. The 12 people who want an Aura and a Manual are S.O.L."

I get your point, but what were you expecting? GM offers so few vehicles with a manual. If you had asked about Navigation she would have answered ON STAR etc. For better or worse thats what these folks (kind of like politicians) do with questions like that.

My point is that she is 1) just regurgitating (sp?) GM corporate speak OR 2) she doesn't fundamentally grasp the difference between an automatic with paddle shifters and a true manual transmission. Either is troubling, since a division manager should be able to tell an inquiring employee (or anyone for that matter) a straight answer not laced in corporate bovine feces, and if she doesn't appreciate the difference of driving a stick-and-clutch manual over an automatic, I think that speaks pretty strongly on her personal passion for cars and driving.

I don't think its possible to have a good division manager, especially for a brand like Saturn that was designed to sell sporty, fun to drive vehicles (many with manuals) without personal passion for it. The person in charge has to love cars and to love driving - that's how the details get sweated and the little things done right. Likewise, a manager needs to be able to say stuff other than crap right out of the GM corporate book.

I know the demand for manual transmissions is low but its already offered in similar configurations with manual transmissions. In this day and age, its ridiculous that the assembly line cannot accomodate more than 2 engine choices with no transmission choices. And even though the number of people wanting a stick is small, its immediately alienating them and sending them to shop the competition. Even if its 5% - your sales have just dropped 5%, no matter how good your car is.

Just for the record, this is how I feel about most of GM's vehicles - let the consumer decide what he/she wants, at least as far as powertrain goes. A modern assembly line should be able to handle this without any issues.

[TiburonJT]

Originally Posted by ByTheLake

(The nature of the commentary within this thread exemplifies how GMI has slipped, unfortunately.)

I was thinking the same thing, but I thought it might be just because I am several years older than when I started posting on this board.

[mbukukanyau]

Susan Douschery impressed me with Buick La Crosse. Told to choose between more marketing dollars and more technology for the car, she choose technology!!

[Millefune]

Originally Posted by V8GMT360 Guy

Sarcasm or not, it's an extremely ignorant and immature statement to make. I see absolutely no correlation between a person's physical appearance and their ability to effectively manage a business or produce quality automobiles that people will want to buy.

Same for Susan Docherty.... I fail to see what her physical appearance has anything to do with her professional abilities. Even suggesting that it does in a tongue-and-cheek manner is beyond reproach as far as I'm concerned.

Boo-f***ing-hoo. You and the other whiners need to quit being prudes.

[Bravada]

Jill was extremely passionate about her brand, don't expect her to go like "Oh no we won't offer a manual because we're a bunch of fakkin losers". She gave you a diplomatic answer both you and her could understand - she said "no, we won't offer a manual, but that's not something that would ruin the car".

Jill was with Saturn since the very beginning, and she was instrumental for creating the greatest asset that Saturn had (no, not the polymer panels) - the dealer body. From what she said you could really feel she is deeply involved with the brand and tried to turn every negative into positive, or at least opportunity. All in all, I believe GM threw out of the window the best things they've had, Saturn dealerships and Jill, without much thinking.

I strongly support Susan Docherty in her mission to turn the ship around after Mark LaNeve's fruit stand tacticts, but I would have actually much more prefer Jill to have been chosen - obviously, not with the distribution model adopted by "new GM". If the "new GM" kept Saturn dealers and did away with most of the underperforming BPG dealerships (they've had the lowest sales per dealership accross the line despite having THREE brands and the broadest model lineup), trying to massively boost the average volume per dealer and dealership+service quality by consolidating and picking only the best to go forward, this would have actually meant change.

GM opted for slow evolution of the current model. Susan Docherty is great for the job as she's been there all along, gaming the quirks of GM's huge old-style dealership body on every level. But still, don't you need more to fend off falling flat on your face again?

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by Bravada

Jill was with Saturn since the very beginning, and she was instrumental for creating the greatest asset that Saturn had (no, not the polymer panels) - the dealer body. From what she said you could really feel she is deeply involved with the brand and tried to turn every negative into positive, or at least opportunity. All in all, I believe GM threw out of the window the best things they've had, Saturn dealerships and Jill, without much thinking.

Well put, Bravada, and pretty much summarizes how I feel as well.

[V8GMT360 Guy]

Originally Posted by Millefune

Boo-f***ing-hoo. You and the other whiners need to quit being prudes.

Excuse me, what? I'm FAR from a prude... but I have enough sense to know when a situation calls for maturity and professionalism. If you want to talk dirty about an older woman, go look for granny porn and leave the adults to have their conversation here.

[Quixote88]

I met Jill at a dinner after our Saturn store won its fifth straight Summit Award. She gave a short but excellent pro-Saturn speech. But afterwards, we had an impromptu Q&A with her which lasted about 25-30 minutes. She came across as open, honest, and extremely knowledgeable. Granted most of the questions were from those who didn't have much knowledge of the other GM Division's products... But there were a couple of us who asked pretty straightforward questions and she didn't hold back on the answers.

These were my 3 questions and her answers in June of 2007:
1. Will there be an Aura Redline model? We sell many of the VUE Redlines.(I was looking to lease an Aura at the time, so this was for me. There had been rumors that a Redline model would come to fruition, with an appearance like the original Aura concept)

Jill: (Paraphrased, but really, really close to what she said) The short answer is "no." Honestly, when the Aura was conceived for Saturn, we did envision a Redline model. The VUE Redline was a surprise hit for us, but it's little more than an appearance package on a crossover. After the ION Redline and the Sky Redline, the performance aspect for the Redlines was enhanced. If the Aura Redline was to be built, we felt it would have to be along the lines of those two where performance was emphasized over just being an appearance package. The costs of the performance modifications on the ION and Sky were shared with the Cobalt SS and Solstice Turbo(she did not call it GXP). As you may know, the new Chevy Malibu is going to be built alongside of the Aura in Fairfax and it will share many of the same components. GM is focusing on making both the Aura and Malibu mainstream cars, not performance machines. There is no SS version planned for the Malibu, so there will be no shared costs for a Redline Aura. Maybe in the second generation, but as for now, no. (I leased my Aura XR the next day... Seriously)

2. Will we see the Corsa as a Saturn model?

Jill: (smiling)Ahh, you know your Opels? Well, you know we're getting the Astra, I'm assuming? (Yes) The Astras will be built in Belgium at first, then here in North America sometime down the line. The Corsa, as you may know, is an even smaller car that sells well in Europe. After we established that the Astra was going to be sold here as a Saturn, we immediately looked at also bringing over the Corsa. As of right now, the Corsa will not meet U.S. crash safety standards. We've determined that under the current platform, the costs to federalize the Corsa for U.S. use would allow for pricing that is just too steep for a sub-compact car in the U.S.. But it looks like we may get it when it's re-designed next time around.

3. The question that I'm asked the most is: "Will Saturn ever have a truck?" So Jill, will we ever sell a truck model?

Jill: (smiles again) If you only knew how long I've wanted Saturn to feature a pickup. A couple of us have wanted a truck in the Saturn lineup for quite a while. Nothing like a Silverado or F-150, but a compact pickup that would fit in with the rest of our lineup. When the Chevy Colorado was on the board, we designed a mock up of a Saturn version. (Did it have the polymer panels?) Yes, but only on the sides, much like the VUE. We did that for the Saturn tradition, but we would have also opted for steel all around to keep costs down as it would have to be built in the same plant as the Colorado and not in Spring Hill. Ultimately, the board at GM decided they only wanted to sell trucks in two Divisions, Chevrolet and GMC. What can you do? We fought for it, but didn't get it. So no, a Saturn pickup has never been beyond the design stage. It would be cool, though, wouldn't it?

No, these were not riveting or hard hitting questions... How could they be? Saturn was riding high at the time. But Jill answered them straight without trying to blow smoke. She didn't shy away from saying "the Corporation didn't want or approve." I found her to be refreshingly "common" for being an executive at a massive corporation like GM. She was always passionate about her brand, and fought for every dime for research and advertising. In the end, the brand ultimately was killed off after posting the highest sales per store average for any GM brand... Much of that was Jill's doing. The brand was not profitable, that was GM's doing. Jill was an asset for GM, not a liability. Best wishes for your future Jill...

[Millefune]

Originally Posted by V8GMT360 Guy

Excuse me, what? I'm FAR from a prude... but I have enough sense to know when a situation calls for maturity and professionalism. If you want to talk dirty about an older woman, go look for granny porn and leave the adults to have their conversation here.

Yes, because a GM fansite of predominantly male readers is absolutely not the place for casual humor? We MUST be a bastion of professionalism, as if we're at work, and are forbidden to talk about how women look! We are required to be eunuchs! Wahoo!

Seriously, you're no more adult than I am. I'm just not all sensitive and have a different sense of humor than you do. Turn your nose down... prude.

[Aura XR]

Originally Posted by Rocket 88

Clearly she should have answer: "No, a manual won't be available. The 12 people who want an Aura and a Manual are S.O.L."

Wow....I'm one of 12

I'm kind of glad that Jill bowed out of GM and did not just get swallowed up in some other division.

Good Luck Jill.