Saturn Lives On Until At Least 2012

It appears General Motors won't give up on its import fighting Saturn brand despite slower sales this year, with GM promising

to a group of North American Dealer Association (NADA) members and the gathered media that production will continue through to at least 2012 or 2013, said an Automotive News report.

The report is not all positive, however, as no new models are expected to bolster sales during this period. That means the lineup, which to Saturn's benefit is one of the freshest under the GM umbrella, will remain five-strong with the sporty 3- and 5-door Astra compact, Aura midsize 4-door sedan, Sky roadster in regular and turbocharged varieties, compact Vue crossover and full-size Outlook crossover, and relatively unchanged with only mild updates expected. It's an enviable lineup, for sure, but getting the news out about how truly good it is will continue to be Saturn's single greatest challenge if it plans on surviving past 2013.

No one

needs a reminder about General Motors' current financial health, least of all Saturn or its dealer body, therefore retailers had better break out the barbeques, bouncy castles, face painting clowns, balloons and streamers in order to entice passersby onto their lots and hopefully into one of their cars, or perceptions about the former Saturn's lackluster build quality and frumpy styling will remain with sales continuing to languish.

Of course, it takes more than just street-level marketing to woo today's sophisticated buyer, but in the same breath dealers have grown used to manufacturer marketing dollars supporting their cause, money that just won't be available at the same levels as it used to be, and it's going to take a more creative approach or two to get a smaller and more value conscious new car prospect body signing on the dotted line.

Getting

people seat-time is all Saturn should concentrate on, as there's generally a feel-good attitude towards the brand's non-commission retailers and high satisfaction ratings amongst its owners. Years of building plastic bodied A-to-B cars with poor panel fitment, less than ideal interior materials and merely adequate performance capabilities, Red Line models excluded, have left a sour taste in the mouths of the import buyers Saturn was initially trying to target. The new lineup, however, is mirrored to Germany's Opel brand, and therefore the cars and crossovers are some of the best in their respective segments, at the top for interior quality, comfort and refinement, driving excitement, plus they're downright stylish.

So, will you head to your local shopping mall next weekend and see a line of Saturns parked by the front door with a sign saying “Free Gas Coupon with 15 Minute Test Drive” anytime soon? That'll be up to the dealer and shopping mall to work out, but Saturn dealers might want to think long and hard about getting their cars into the hands of the end user rather than waiting for potential buyers to show up on their lots, because that's the only way the tides will turn for them. It's now or never, and GM is being pretty clear that Saturn will sink or swim on the backs of its dealer body.