Is Saturn Really a Success Story?

When GM sends out their press release each month with the prior month’s sales results, they (like other automakers) try to spin the positive and downplay the negative (“our sales were down 12%, but we’re working toward reducing fleet sales,” etc.). For example, here’s the most recent one:

The product renaissance at Saturn continued to accelerate with total sales increasing almost 69 [tee hee] percent compared with a year ago, highlighting the tremendous public acceptance of the new lineup of Saturn vehicles including SKY, AURA and AURA Hybrid, OUTLOOK, VUE and VUE Hybrid. Saturn's ION small car is soon to be replaced with the popular ASTRA. Saturn is the fastest growing brand in the industry this year.

According to Automotive News, Saturn’s sales are up 75.3% in May 2007 compared to May 2006 (must be a different way of counting, versus the press release). Year to date through the first five months of 2007, sales are up 30.5%. Sounds good, right?

Well, before we declare victory too early, let’s look at what makes up those numbers. The lineup in May 2006 was:

• Ion
• Sky
• Relay
• Vue
  

The lineup in May 2007 is:

• Aura
• Ion
• Sky
• Relay
• Vue
• Outlook
  

Granted, the Relay is on its way out the door (don’t let it hit you in the ass on your way out), but its insignificant sales in May 2007 (235 units) is not far from its slightly less-insignificant sales in May 2006 (460 units) as the model is phased out and replaced by the Outlook. Also, Saturn’s website still promotes the Relay, so I consider it a legitimate member of the May 2007 lineup.

So, the number of vehicles in the lineup went from four to six – or an increase of (ahem) 67%, or about the same percentage that Saturn’s sales went up in May 2007. When you look at each model’s individual sales, however, it shows that most of the sales increase is coming from the newly launched models and not from the old stalwarts.

Ion and Relay sales are down (but those two models are on the way out later this year) and Sky sales are way up YTD – but the Sky was barely available in the early part of 2006 as its production ramped up. For the Sky, we’re comparing an established model to its launch period.

The Aura was not sold in May 2006, nor was the Outlook, but after Aura sales began in August 2006, sales (excluding the first two months) have been about 4,500 sales per month, give or take a few hundred. There’s no sign that the Aura will suddenly sell at Camry, or even Malibu volumes.

Vue sales look great YTD and for May, but May was the first month of wide availability of the new model…as of April, the figures told a different story, when Vue sales were down for the month and YTD.

Basically, we’re in the absolute sweetest part of Saturn’s lineup life cycle (the upcoming Astra will only sell about 30,000 units per year maximum, less than the Ion’s worst year, because GM can only afford to lose enough money on the Astra to sell that many with their plan to import cars from Europe in the current weak dollar environment). It won’t get any better from here, folks, without increasing incentive spending, increasing the marketing budget, and continually improving the models they have now. They’re not going to go from six to ten models in May 2008 (in fact, next year at this time, the Ion will be mostly a bad memory and the Relay will have been forgotten by all except for the poor souls who bought them and those of us who use them for punchlines), so the lineup will be five models. The Vue, Outlook, Aura, and Sky will be a year older, and the Aura’s sales have already leveled off months ago. We won’t be seeing near triple-digit sales increases; in fact, I predict that Saturn’s sales will be nearly flat in May 2008, especially as internal competition from the new 2008 Chevy Malibu starts eating Aura sales for breakfast. Outlook sales may continue to improve, but the Astra won’t reach Ion sales volumes.

Still, launching new models and increasing sales is the name of the game, right? Well, Saturn has sold almost 104,000 vehicles through 5/12ths of 2007, in spite of a 75% sales increase this year, but those seven models combined don’t make as many sales as the following individual model cars: Chevy Impala, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Corolla. Even Kia outsold them (with a similar truck-free lineup, though Kia is more focused on higher volume smaller cars)!

So, while Saturn is doing what it should in expanding its lineup, sales increases through lineup expansion can only go so far. Next comes the hard part of building those models’ sales figures without adding more products. It is possible – Saturn’s competitors do it all the time. For now, though, being outsold by the Impala or Kia does not make what I’d call a successful brand, nor the savior of GM. They need to keep plugging away if they want to beat Kia and start throwing victory parties, but otherwise, keep their mouths shut, heads down, and keep working.

Blast From The Past- Mags And The Aura

The first in a series of classic but still relevant Mags reviews.

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Insert Darth Vader music here.

I copped a ride in Toronto today. Black on black with silver accents instead of the grotesque wood, AT6 and the 3.6.

The Outside

Styling is subjective. This I know. But much like anyone with half a brain can see that N'Sync was a derivative version of the Backstreet Boys, who were a derivative version of NKOTB, the Aura is a derivative of, well, everything. The ass looks like the G6, the tail lights look like the Fusion, the front looks like a mashup of the Accord and Malibu, and the side profile looks like a Sebring. All in all, it's not ugly per se, but it's definitely not pretty. More like generically fulfilling. You won't notice it, and you won't notice that you didn't notice it. It's like the Phillip Seymour Hoffman of midsize front wheel drive sedans. It's a shame really, because the concept was just a touch sharper enough that it stood out with its more distinct creasing and wheel arches. Add in generic wheels as well, and you've got something along the lines of the Lucerne rather than something that will stir your soul.

The Inside

I'll be upfront about it. The Aura has a great QUALITY interior. Soft touch materials, smooth operations, generally hefty feel to things. Dig deeper however, and a slew of parts bin atrocities and simply weird design decisions come to the forefront. The metallic trim version is definitely the one to go for if you've got any taste at all (read, aversion to swaths of fake wood). My issues dealt mainly with the center stack, which looks as though 3 different people designed it, who were all overseen by the unseen hand of a beancounter. The top portion is reminiscent of the Malibu, the middle portion with it's plug and play corporate radio is all Impala, and the bottom portion is truly the only modern part. Combined together they seem mismatched and haphazard, with the top portion angling out, the middle in, and the bottom neutral. It lends a surreal melted effect, and is simply out of place in a vehicle costing nearly 37k. On the plus side, the electro gauges are a nice upscale touch, and as I said earlier, the ergonomics are spot on... it's just that the overall execution is lacking.

Spacewise, the Aura is a tad bigger inside than the G6, with a touch more shoulder/thigh room, and a backseat that features more legroom than headroom, although with the fastback roofline of the G6 eliminated, the Aura is a tad friendlier in that respect. The trunk is vintage G6- all length, no girth, and a high liftover and small opening that makes it useless for much more than grocery bags filled with spongecake.

The Drive

Ah, the drive. Two things of note- the Aura is splendidly smooth and it's splendidly powerful. The 3.6 V6 is a willing performer up to the redline, and has more than enough oomph to scoot with the best that the competition has to offer. Matched with a smooth 6 speed auto, I felt as though I was not driving a GM vehicle. This is a good thing. People muttering about how all GM needs is a pushrod engine just simply have no idea. I'll give credit where it's due- the Aura has a powertrain combo that is finally competitive. Handling however, which is hydraulic rather than the shitforsaken electric found in G6 GTs is ponderous, with slow reactions from the suspension to sharp inputs, and a generally 'cushy' ride that can't keep up with the engine promises. It's not Buick bad mind you, but it's a step below. One can hope that the Redline version fixes this. I also noticed that the tires were quick to let their voices be heard under duress- also not indicative of a true sports sedan- there was resolute understeer at speed in corners, and with the fairly soft suspension, it would feel as though you were going to plow straight ahead if you weren't paying attention. Play with the Aura as though it's a boulevardier, and you'll be happy... but isn't this supposed to be a European import competitor?

So What?

Much like a lot of what the General offers nowadays, the Aura tries to be too many things to too many people. Plus it suffers from personality disorder. Is it a sports sedan because of the great powertrain? Is it a cruiser because of the suspension and steering? Is it a family hauler? Is it an entry level executive vehicle? It seems to take a little of every segment, without being a master of any. The powertrain, while great, is not 'better' than the ones offered by Honda/Nissan/Toyota, heck, even the G6 has the 3.6 option this year. The Camry has excelled at being a Japanese Buick for the last 15 years, and has the track record for quality. The Impala is a much better choice as a larger car if you want a sedan that has space. And finally, aspirations for being a competitor to VW and Audi are all fine and good, but sit in EITHER of those makes, and you'll scoff at the idea that this particular Saturn has a chance to gain entry into that market.

Simply put, the Aura is a half baked exercise that needed another 6 months to be fully formed. Seems to be a recurrent theme for GM. It IS the best of the Epsilon offerings, but that sadly is not enough.

The Stupidity of Saturn.

As GM remains curled up in a fetal position, prone to futile outbursts of 'we're still #1' and emboldened by their legions of suckers, err, fans, who have been proclaiming a rebirth for the struggling car maker, let's take a step back and look at just what the current darling of the GM stable, Saturn, is doing.

Think back like the Boot Camp song, to about 15 years ago. Such bright eyed optimism and verve. Saturn was to be the Zach Morris to GM's Screech of the 90's. Malaise had set in. The Japanese were in the process of obliterating GM and Ford in the compact and midsize car markets. But hey, profits were rolling in still because of truck and SUV sales. Someone must have had some inkling of what was going on, and decided that GM had to start fresh- thus Saturn was born. The different car company for the common person. No mention of GM anywhere. It was like a bigger version of those initial Infiniti ads, with the added benefit of GM actually talking about their cars in their commercials.

Look! Plastic doors! Look! Shopping carts don't ding them! Look! The sales staff clap when you buy their car! Look! They're cheering you out the door! Look! No haggle pricing! Look! It's just like a Japanese car, but it's American!

After a decent enough initial offering, Saturn quickly became a lame duck. An extremely expensive lame duck, but a lame duck nonetheless. And so it went for the next 14 years or so. Remember how the L-Series was supposed to be the saviour of the brand? Yeah, that worked out well. What about the Ion? Yeah, that was a chart topper too. The brand, to put it simply, stunk. And not so coincidentally, so did the cars.

A related side story to all of this is the fact that during this time, Oldsmobile was in their own death throes. Forced to move into the 'Euro' niche for GM, they had finally started making decent vehicles, but due to a number of debacles (the Aurora initially being released without an Olds badge on it anywhere being but one such example), the brand was headed for the history books. Keep that in mind.

Back to Saturn.

So fast forward to the last couple of years. The Saturn lineup- Ion, Vue, L-Thing, Relay, umm. Hmm. Yup. Quite the revolution. A small turd, a fake SUV turd, a minivan turd, and a bigger turd. In their infinite wisdom, GM decides to give Saturn a pipeline into Opel, their European mainstream division. Makers of the mundane Vectra, and a number of other German engineered vehicles. The strategy? To make Saturn the Euro inspired marque of GM.

Now think about that for a second. The Euro inspired marque for GM. GM, the company that owns Saab. GM, the company that already axed their previous Euro inspired marque. Saturn, the brand that started off as a fake Japanese brand, and had progressed to real American shit. Square peg, round hole, no?


The first fruit of their labour was the Sky. I will not be capitalizing all the letters in the name, mainly because I feel it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. To be honest, I have no issues with the Sky. Fantastic vehicle. It's basically an Opel Roadster/Pontiac Solstice, but it's still very nice.

From the Sky, Saturn really crapped their pants.

Said crapping came in the form of the Aura. Initial reports had it as a carbon copy version of the Opel Vectra. As were were soon to find out, such reports were false. What we basically got was a tarted up Pontiac G6. The same Pontiac G6 that sucked balls in just about every respect for the previous 3 years before the introduction of the Aura. Check it out- they're almost identical in width, length and interior volume. They have identical wheelbases. They use identical engine sets, with the Aura lacking a 4 cylinder option.

The zealots have bleated that they drive differently. Yup, they do. But not by much. And saying they drive differently is like saying a donkey is less headstrong than a mule. Where the G6 is firm with a cloying softness, the Aura is soft with a cloying firmness.

Through all this, GM has undertaken what I have to say is a somewhat amusing marketing strategy with the vehicle- nonstop 'Euro' commentary and descriptions, and planted pre-launch stories talking about people mistaking the vehicle for a Lexus, Acura or . All for what is essentially a G6 with a nicer interior.

Incredible.

Most amusing is that the Aura has been whipped in every comparison out there, besting only the Camry and Sebring. And sales have followed suit, not even coming close to 10k a month for a vehicle that has now been out for almost 6 months on dealer lots. Still ramping up production? Still not enough vehicles on lots? Are we supposed to believe this drivel? The little car company that could is now marking up vehicles over MSRP (see the Sky after it first came out), no longer offers dent resistant panels, and now has a name sullied by 15 years of neglect and misuse.

Why did they kill Olds again?

Saturn is a perfect example of how GM can do the right thing and still completely screw up the money. The brand should have been axed. Every Saturn you see on the road in the next 2 years should have been a Pontiac. Instead the geniuses at the Ren Center have decided to try and rebuild a dead brand with a limited amount of dealerships nationwide, while letting what used to be their second highest volume brand languish on the vine.

Figures.

I will give credit where it is due however- the next stage of the rebirth is to bring over the Opel Astra and the Opel Antara to be badged as the Astra and Vue in Saturn guise. Unlike the Aura, the vehicles will be carbon copies of their European ancestors. Probably only until GM stops importing them and starts making them in America.