Saturn is losing its identity
GM swallowing up division with recent labor, production changes
By SCOTT REEVES
Associated Press
01/30/2004
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Saturn, once billed as "a different kind of company" making "a different kind of car," is losing its distinct identity and becoming just another division at General Motors Corp.
GM is forcing Saturn to adopt common practices for design, production and labor, a change that had to happen, analysts say, to cut costs and make Saturn competitive.
Saturn officials are downplaying the changes - "We simply negotiated a new [labor] agreement," Saturn spokeswoman Sue Holmgren said - but analysts see it as the end of Saturn as a separate entity.
The Saturn Corp. was an experiment launched in 1990 to compete with low-cost imports like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. All the cars were made in the small town of Spring Hill, about 30 miles south of Nashville, and more importantly, about 500 miles away from Detroit.
The company had its own managers who reported to the Saturn executive board rather than to GM, and the United Auto Workers signed a separate contract with GM to create a cooperative environment between labor and management.
The cars - there was initially only one model - were offered at a fixed price, with no haggling. The company developed a reputation for customer loyalty that rivaled higher-priced brands.
Cris Thomas, who runs the computers at a private school in Cambridge, Mass., is on his third Saturn and has put down a deposit on the new Ion sedan without even a test drive.
"I've got to have the Ion," Thomas said. "I'm attracted to the vehicle. I like the looks of the older S series, especially when compared with Honda and Toyota. I think Saturn is more reliable than the Japanese cars."
But after a promising start, Saturn let the car's look and technology get stale, said Mike Wall, an analyst for SCM Worldwide in Farmington Hills, Mich.
"Saturn's coupe and sedan stayed on the market a lot longer than they should have," Wall said. "Automakers get bursts of activity by tweaking the design, but that didn't happen with the Saturn S series."
New models were finally introduced to mixed results, and the company has plans for more, including a minivan, another sport utility vehicle and possibly a sporty coupe or roadster.
The Saturn plant near Newport, which employs about 1,170 assembly workers, will stop making the L-series sedan and wagon next year and begin making the Pontiac Solstice for the 2006 model year.
Production of the new Saturn Relay minivan will begin next fall, but not in Spring Hill. Instead, it will be assembled at GM's plant in Doraville, Ga., using a standard GM frame.
"Flexibility is king," Wall said. "You've got to have flexibility of production in the current market. This isn't a bad sign for Spring Hill ... GM isn't turning away from the Saturn brand - it's injecting more flexibility."
"They committed to seek significant improvements at the Spring Hill facility that will allow us to build multiple product lines, including non-Saturn products," Martinez said. "We can build other cars if that's what it takes to keep membership secure."
GM wants to create a global network of flexible manufacturing plants based on common practices to let the automaker shift production of different lines and models to various factories as needed to match the competitors, especially the Japanese companies, Wall said.
To survive, Saturn had to become part of this strategy. And for the union, it was adapt or die.
"We didn't want to put all our eggs in one basket," Martinez said. "I don't think Saturn is being folded into another brand. I think we'll continue as a unique facility that allows union participation, but it won't be the 50-50 partnership we had before."
Last year, Saturn represented only about 6 percent of the GM vehicles sold in the United States, and it has made money in only one of the last 13 years.
Full Article Here
![Image]()
GM swallowing up division with recent labor, production changes
By SCOTT REEVES
Associated Press
01/30/2004
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Saturn, once billed as "a different kind of company" making "a different kind of car," is losing its distinct identity and becoming just another division at General Motors Corp.
GM is forcing Saturn to adopt common practices for design, production and labor, a change that had to happen, analysts say, to cut costs and make Saturn competitive.
Saturn officials are downplaying the changes - "We simply negotiated a new [labor] agreement," Saturn spokeswoman Sue Holmgren said - but analysts see it as the end of Saturn as a separate entity.
The Saturn Corp. was an experiment launched in 1990 to compete with low-cost imports like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. All the cars were made in the small town of Spring Hill, about 30 miles south of Nashville, and more importantly, about 500 miles away from Detroit.
The company had its own managers who reported to the Saturn executive board rather than to GM, and the United Auto Workers signed a separate contract with GM to create a cooperative environment between labor and management.
The cars - there was initially only one model - were offered at a fixed price, with no haggling. The company developed a reputation for customer loyalty that rivaled higher-priced brands.
Cris Thomas, who runs the computers at a private school in Cambridge, Mass., is on his third Saturn and has put down a deposit on the new Ion sedan without even a test drive.
"I've got to have the Ion," Thomas said. "I'm attracted to the vehicle. I like the looks of the older S series, especially when compared with Honda and Toyota. I think Saturn is more reliable than the Japanese cars."
But after a promising start, Saturn let the car's look and technology get stale, said Mike Wall, an analyst for SCM Worldwide in Farmington Hills, Mich.
"Saturn's coupe and sedan stayed on the market a lot longer than they should have," Wall said. "Automakers get bursts of activity by tweaking the design, but that didn't happen with the Saturn S series."
New models were finally introduced to mixed results, and the company has plans for more, including a minivan, another sport utility vehicle and possibly a sporty coupe or roadster.
The Saturn plant near Newport, which employs about 1,170 assembly workers, will stop making the L-series sedan and wagon next year and begin making the Pontiac Solstice for the 2006 model year.
Production of the new Saturn Relay minivan will begin next fall, but not in Spring Hill. Instead, it will be assembled at GM's plant in Doraville, Ga., using a standard GM frame.
"Flexibility is king," Wall said. "You've got to have flexibility of production in the current market. This isn't a bad sign for Spring Hill ... GM isn't turning away from the Saturn brand - it's injecting more flexibility."
"They committed to seek significant improvements at the Spring Hill facility that will allow us to build multiple product lines, including non-Saturn products," Martinez said. "We can build other cars if that's what it takes to keep membership secure."
GM wants to create a global network of flexible manufacturing plants based on common practices to let the automaker shift production of different lines and models to various factories as needed to match the competitors, especially the Japanese companies, Wall said.
To survive, Saturn had to become part of this strategy. And for the union, it was adapt or die.
"We didn't want to put all our eggs in one basket," Martinez said. "I don't think Saturn is being folded into another brand. I think we'll continue as a unique facility that allows union participation, but it won't be the 50-50 partnership we had before."
Last year, Saturn represented only about 6 percent of the GM vehicles sold in the United States, and it has made money in only one of the last 13 years.
Full Article Here
