GMI Exclusive: Saturn May Go To BPG, Why Aura ≠ Insignia

[Murrow]

Originally Posted by steve333

Oh man............Opel produces a hot car and then GM will change everything about it for Saturn!?

Just sell Opels here. Keep the same designs. Drop the Saturn name altogether.
OPEL OPEL Chant along with me...................

Opel, Opel...

[Quickening]

I'm so f'n frustrated with GM lately.

Not just doing a direct port of Insignia, Cruze not coming for years, Beat not complying to US crash laws, the Traverse, etc, etc, etc.

I'm slowly beginning to join the camp of wanting Saab to be sold just so it can have a company that doesn't just f' around.

[steve333]

Originally Posted by wescoent

I almost spat out my coffee when I read this today.

Remember a few weeks ago when the GM bankruptcy talks started swirling, and I posted my ***GREAT IDEA*** for reorganizing GM's retail sales network?

-Dump Hummer and Saab

-Chevrolet sales channel

-Saturn-Pontiac-GMC sales channel

-Buick-Cadillac luxury sales channel

Well, after I came up with this brilliant idea, I shot an email over to my inside man at GM with a little write up and my reasoning behind it. He said it seemed reasonable, and he'd pass it along. Could GM have actually LISTENED for once?

Though, in reality, it seems more likely that some VP at GM already came up with it on their own, seeing as it's a logical idea that doesn't take a lot of thinking to come up with.

I agree with this although I would still change the Saturn name to Opel.
Pontiac wont need smaller models to sell since Opel will have those.
Pontiac will be RWD only. Opel will sell all its models. The Outlook will die, the Acadia can live.
Pontiac needs to being back its names and carry..........
Solstice
Firebird
LeMans (small RWD Sedan-replace G6))
Grand Prix (G8)
Opel will have...........
Corsa
Astra
Insignia(Aura)
Meriva
Antara (vue)

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Quickening

I'm so f'n frustrated with GM lately.

Not just doing a direct port of Insignia, Cruze not coming for years, Beat not complying to US crash laws, the Traverse, etc, etc, etc.

I'm slowly beginning to join the camp of wanting Saab to be sold just so it can have a company that doesn't just f' around.

Did I miss an article that said Beat wasn't US crash worthy??
How is that even possible? Oh wait... they create a mini-car with no safety cage or something??
For crying out loud... if a Four-two can meet US crash specs with little modification... then dammit GM!! What's the friggin problem???

Not doing a direct port of the Insignia is a waste of energy, time, and money. I just do not understand the logic here. GM management says that it's "too close to the Buick." Well... then the problem is the fact that GM has built an identical car in the Buick in the first place?

Traverse? UGH....let's not go there....

Cruze? It's coming to market too late to be of any consequence!! By that time, Civic and Sentra will be overhauled. And Cruze will be DOA, behind the times, etc. Cruze needs to be on the market in 2009 to make any difference.

Saab? *sigh* GM has turned a Swedish brand into some weird facsimile of a Swedish brand. Like some facade at EPCOT Center. It sorta looks Swedish. It even has some Swedish things. But it is sooooo not Swedish!

[lam]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Cruze? It's coming to market too late to be of any consequence!! By that time, Civic and Sentra will be overhauled. And Cruze will be DOA, behind the times, etc. Cruze needs to be on the market in 2009 to make any difference.

Saab? *sigh* GM has turned a Swedish brand into some weird facsimile of a Swedish brand. Like some facade at EPCOT Center. It sorta looks Swedish. It even has some Swedish things. But it is sooooo not Swedish!

The Cruze is class leading, what happen with the Malibu ,will happen again with the Cruze(which is a homerun).

The new Saab 9-4 X, next 9-5,are the first Saabs of Saab being fully integrated into GM.
They are also the first Global GM Saab's.

[LeSabre]

Originally Posted by lam

The Cruze is class leading, what happen with the Malibu ,will happen again with the Cruze(which is a homerun).

The new Saab 9-4X, next 9-5, are the first Saabs of Saab being fully integrated into GM.
They are also the first Global GM Saab's.

This is a HUGE mistake of idiotic proportions!! Saab should be more or less operating on its own. The Swedes know how to make & keep Saabs' desirable & to maintain its prestige. GM doesn't!

Even though GM had a 50% stake in Saab from 1990 til 2000, when it bought the rest of the shares to buy it out completely. Seems like the latter was done in response to Ford buying Volvo. Though this could is only one possible angle to why GM went to buy up the remaining shares to wholly own Saab.

[CharlotteFirebird]

Originally Posted by SierraGS

What does a car brand like Saturn moving to B-P-G (terrible idea) have to do with GMC?

Saturn has never made money

GMC makes money - lots of money (billions of dollars).

Gas will be around $3.50 (thanks to drill, drill, drill) and the housing market is set to bottom with the $300 Billion housing bill so be careful about shooting GM in the foot with ill advised moves.

It would give PBS a Theta.
It would keep PBG from becoming just PB.

[dallennium]

Saturn as part of BPG?? That would be a mistake, thats all.

[tripowergto]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Saab? *sigh* GM has turned a Swedish brand into some weird facsimile of a Swedish brand. Like some facade at EPCOT Center. It sorta looks Swedish. It even has some Swedish things. But it is sooooo not Swedish!

...but it is built in Sweden!!

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by lam

The Cruze is class leading, what happen with the Malibu ,will happen again with the Cruze(which is a homerun).

The new Saab 9-4 X, next 9-5,are the first Saabs of Saab being fully integrated into GM.
They are also the first Global GM Saab's.

Cruze might be class leading now. but in 2011... it won't be. At best, it will be at par. The competition has already picked up on the Cruze.

9-4X is not an attractive car, nor does it look like it was designed in Sweden. It looks like it was designed by that Asian dude GM hired.
No signs of the 9-5 thus far.
And being "fully integrated into GM" is NOT a comfort in any way, shape or form.
I will gladly be wrong, if GM does justice to Saab. But I've been waiting 8 years for GM to do something right, and they just haven't done it.

Saab has run its course at GM. It's best GM sell the brand while it still has some brand equity left.

Saturn moving to BPG is a disaster of epic proportions. Everything that made a Saturn a Saturn.... will be gone.
Gone is the fanbase. Gone will be the experience. Gone will be everything that made Saturn special.

I think it's about time GM got fresh management at the top. Someone with vision. And someone who isn't senile.

[HummerTech]

Too many dealers competing for the shrinking slice of pie, Toyota has caught us with half the dealers and 3 brands. Time to reform

Chevrolet: Bread and Butter brand (Toyota)
Caddy: premium (Lexus)
Pontiac or Saturn: youth, sporty, entry to mid level (Scion)
Badge the trucks 2500 series and up as GMC and make them available at Caddy and Chevy dealers
Buick: the brand has cache over in Asia, offer it over there and keep the brand in some form. The domestic near-luxury market between a Chevy and Caddy has evaporated. My dealer still has '07 LaCrosses on the lot for pete's sake.

and this is coming from sombody that works at a BPG store, I admit there is alot of redundacy.

[Htay7500]

I fell in love with the new insignia. this was a great direction for GM. now with their disruptions for coming here stateside has changed.

[SierraGS]

Originally Posted by CharlotteFirebird

It would give PBS a Theta.
It would keep PBG from becoming just PB.

B-P-G has Theta now in the Torrent and will get the Terrain so it does not need another one.

B-P-G also already has the Vibe which sells well on is a good compliment to the Torrent/Terrain.

Buick would get the Zafira as a Rendezvous replacement adding to the DeltaII, Epsilon SWB/LWB and Zeta cars.

GMC will have Jimmy 2D and 4D to replace the H3 that will be joined by an Alpha based Canyon, X-treme (Urban Buggy) and Envoy with a new Zeta based Acadia (Range Rover), new Denali XT/Cross8 (Ridgeline) and GMT900 Safari H2 (Land Cruiser) all an expansion pf the Savana, Yukon Denali, Sierra, Sierra Denali

Sorry no room for Saturn at B-P-G.

[LeSabre]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Cruze might be class leading now. but in 2011... it won't be. At best, it will be at par. The competition has already picked up on the Cruze.

9-4X is not an attractive car, nor does it look like it was designed in Sweden. It looks like it was designed by that Asian dude GM hired.
No signs of the 9-5 thus far.
And being "fully integrated into GM" is NOT a comfort in any way, shape or form.
I will gladly be wrong, if GM does justice to Saab. But I've been waiting 8 years for GM to do something right, and they just haven't done it.

Saab has run its course at GM. It's best GM sell the brand while it still has some brand equity left.

Saturn moving to BPG is a disaster of epic proportions. Everything that made a Saturn a Saturn.... will be gone.
Gone is the fanbase. Gone will be the experience. Gone will be everything that made Saturn special.

I think it's about time GM got fresh management at the top. Someone with vision. And someone who isn't senile.

Again, I concur. Though for the last 8yrs that you refer to, Wagoner has been the CEO, as you know. Which kinda answers your 'thoughts' as to why GM hasn't really done anything w/Saab.

As to top management(CEO) someone who isn't or has been a beancounter! Mulally was an engineer.
I would say someone who has an interest in how things work is more likely to be a visionary or to have a vision for the company he/she works for.

[Uzzy]

Originally Posted by LeSabre

Again, I concur. Though for the last 8yrs that you refer to, Wagoner has been the CEO, as you know. Which kinda answers your 'thoughts' as to why GM hasn't really done anything w/Saab.

As to top management(CEO) someone who isn't or has been a beancounter! Mulally was an engineer.
I would say someone who has an interest in how things work is more likely to be a visionary or to have a vision for the company he/she works for.

Alright, alright fine! I'll do it.