Saturn: GM's New Bright Spot

[nsap]

Originally Posted by PontiacBixler

So is the Outlook a conceptual piece for the NY show or is it production ready as is?

I wish the PreVue was production ready as is though!!!

The Outlook is all production.

[darknight9]

Mom and Dad were going to dump the '99 Montana for an Upchucker until I showed them the Outlook! They have worked for GM over 40 years between the two of them and I have never seen them so excited for an upcoming product! My dad even fired up his seldom used Dell to gloat about the Outlook to his Toyota-hugging friend.

[1BadPig]

Saturn came out swinging at the NY Auto Show. I hope Pontiac is next on the GM division makeover list.

[01cavalier]

So Saturn is getting what they deserved all along...great product. Please get them a compact car to fit in with everything.

[ChevroletRevived]

The Astra is on it's way, 01Cavalier.

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by 1BadPig

Saturn came out swinging at the NY Auto Show. I hope Pontiac is next on the GM division makeover list.

Yes they did! Saturn will lead GM out of this slum that they are in now!

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by darknight9

Mom and Dad were going to dump the '99 Montana for an Upchucker until I showed them the Outlook! They have worked for GM over 40 years between the two of them and I have never seen them so excited for an upcoming product! My dad even fired up his seldom used Dell to gloat about the Outlook to his Toyota-hugging friend.

Upchucker??> LOL

[cfch3399]

Now they have to work on getting the Astra over here ASAP. Had GM introduced a refreshed Ion, with an instrument panel on the driver's side, without that weird carving along the side, a more attractive C-pillar, etc. Saturn would be on a roll. Saturn will always be associated with small cars, that was its mission.

[superstreet]

i hope that the new saturns sell well

[CRBoyd91]

Originally Posted by superstreet

i hope that the new saturns sell well

I think that will take care of itself.

[mgescuro]

I think it's a great article.

The one point of contention i must make is the fact that I don't believe Aura will "steal sales from Camry." More specifically, I don't believe Camry sales will decline or plateau.

I've made the argument before that people who buy Camrys simply want a solid, reliable car that gets them from point A to point B. In short, they want a low maintenance appliance. No other car in teh world offers that.

Aura will make a significant impact on the mid-size sedan market. it won't steal sales from Camry. It's not good enough to steal sales from Passat. But Aura will make heads turn. And it will make every single mid-sized car buyer pause and think about it for jsut a minute. And THAT is where Saturn's legendary customer service and buying experience comes into play.

Aura will be successful, and I expect it to outsell the G6 sedan in 2 years. (Yes, I think it will be that good.) But I don't expect it to have an impact on the segment leader.... not yet anyways.

[Proetus]

Saturn is probably the only GM brand that could pull off a diesel car in the US. Bring over the Astra 1.7CDTi rated at 6.2/4.0 (38/59mpg).

[91Saturn]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

I expect it to outsell the G6 sedan in 2 years. (Yes, I think it will be that good.)

Maybe, maybe not. The wildcard is PRICE. The G6's sales have picked up recently due to the addition of the 4-cylinder model which is a true bargain. I worry that all the positive reaction to the Aura is going to go to Saturn's head and they're going to start thinking that they're Audi and shoot for a premium price. To be the big hit we all want it to be, though, the Aura needs to be priced very aggressively. They need to come in at prices that make people stop and say, "Wow, you can that car for that price?!"

[sigma]

The sooner that Astra makes it over here the better for Saturn.

I think the Aura will steal sales away from the Passat because it will undoubtably be more reliable than VW is. VW has also undoubtably left many customers of the old Passat behind in its upmarket push. Plus most reviews say that the new Passat isn't as engaging as the old one.

With the Nissan Altima, I also don't think its quality or durability is up to par with GM's. It will be a much better car dynamically than the Camry which has suspension set up from the Celebrity era. I think its major competition will be from the Accord, which is a well built midsize sedan. GM better be able to give it some updating for the MY2008 model, to battle the new Accord.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by 91Saturn

Maybe, maybe not. The wildcard is PRICE. The G6's sales have picked up recently due to the addition of the 4-cylinder model which is a true bargain. I worry that all the positive reaction to the Aura is going to go to Saturn's head and they're going to start thinking that they're Audi and shoot for a premium price. To be the big hit we all want it to be, though, the Aura needs to be priced very aggressively. They need to come in at prices that make people stop and say, "Wow, you can that car for that price?!"

I admit... it's a debatable point. But I believe the way the market is right now, I think Saturns will convince more buyers to buy GM instead of POntiac. I also don't believe pricing will be that much of an issue, as Saturns will be "value" priced to make good on the no-haggle pricing. So it will be very aggressive.

I forsee a $22,000 average base price out the door for the base Aura. And at least $25-26K for the 3.6L. No haggling.