[MelvinJ]

Originally posted by desmo9@May 17 2004, 04:40 PM
Cowger's branding solution for Saturn is pathetically weak. More European? What's Pontiac, then? There is absolutely nothing Saturn can offer that shouldn't already be available in Chevy, Pontiac, and Buick showrooms.

Pontiac is supposed to be "American Performance", not European. Oldmobile was supposed to be the more European brand, so that slot is open for Saturn to take.

 

[MelvinJ]

Originally posted by SmallBlock@May 18 2004, 06:30 PM
I think that the whole Saturn = Opel idea has some merit.

Look at Opel's product line:

Corsa - possibly too small for North American consumers (1.0-1.2L engine).

Astra - Should be Saturn's bread and butter vehicle (not the Ion embarassment). Small, affordable transportation.

Vectra - It's just a matter of time before Saturn gets Epsilon.

Meriva or Zafira - A better solution than the Saturn CSV.

But the most important part of this solution is the choice of engines. On the whole, mostly smaller displacement engines with a good number of Diesels.

In GM's line up, there is a glaring need for a family of smaller, more fuel efficient cars. This is where Saturn could step in and make a name for itself. By leveraging the already existing Opel engines and architectures, Saturn could distinguish itself as the "efficient car brand". That dovetails nicely with it's whole "touchy-feely" advertising style.

Saturn = small, cheap, reliable, fuel efficient cars? Sounds like a winner to me. GM can do this. The stock is already there is Europe.

I like the sound of this. It would keep Saturn unique. I don't know how many lines they could produce in the U.S though, and I don't want them to be an importer rather than manufacturer. Perhaps the Astra and Vue (I think they should keep that - the hybrid fits in with your plan) could be made in Spring Hill, the Vectra could be made at another U.S. Epsilon plant, and the Zafira imported.

I don't know how much it would cost to certify these cars for the U.S., and the announcement from Ford makes case for small diesels sound bleak unless some changes are made to proposed emission regs, but hopefully they could get by with minimal changes and just see how the U.S. responds.