The End of an Era: Reinventing Saturn

Saturn Continues to Shed its Polymer Body Panels in Favor of Stylish European Metal

If you keep up to date with automotive news, youll know that GM has recently been feeling the sting of shifting markets and slow sales (their employee discount sales event providing temporary relief). A myriad of economic pressures have forced the worlds largest car manufacturer to take a closer look at any ideas that could potentially help it cut costs and increase sales, and therefore profits. From cutting 25,000 jobs, and possibly more, to axing health care benefits for retirees, to closing down plants, GM is considering every possible option.

One victim of tightening the Generals belt wont be the Saturn plant in Tennessee, however, but dont expect it to continue its exclusive relationship with Saturn. The Spring Hill plant, which started life producing the SL and now builds the ION compact sedan/coupe combo and VUE compact SUV, is currently one of GMs most expensive plants to run as it creates the polymer body panels that, up until the 2005 model year and the introduction of the Relay minivan, have been Saturns signature.

With Saturn gradually being weaned off of plastic, however, it only makes that the black sheep of GMs production network be retooled to accept additional GM models. Saturns Relay minivan is being produced at the Kansas City, Kansas, plant, alongside its three GM mid-van clones. The upcoming Sky, also featuring steel body panels, will be made alongside its Pontiac sister, the Solstice in Wilmington, Delaware. Production of the all-new Aura will take place in Fairfax, Kansas alongside the Chevrolet Malibu. The new VUE, which has been spied testing in Germany, is based on the same architecture as the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent, and could easily be produced alongside those two at GMs CAMI Automotive Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.

So that leaves Spring Hill with only the ION. But wait, the ION is also being redesigned to follow Saturns new corporate digs and the new incarnation will once again share architecture with the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac Pursuit, both of which are assembled in Lordstown, Ohio. This leads to the conjecture that the ION will be made there too, and though the plan seems a no-brainer under the circumstances, GM has yet to confirm or deny anything on the subject. Despite sharing much with the Cobalt and Pursuit clones, the next-generation ION is expected to retain the Saturn brands new brand identity to a greater extent.

If Spring Hill survives it will not likely be as a Saturn plant. Unless it manages to absorb production of vehicles based on GMs upcoming Lambda architecture, of which one variant will be a Saturn crossover, it will likely be one of the casualties in the Generals campaign to return to profitability. Seeing as how Lambda vehicles are slated for one of the Lansing, Michigan, facilities, hope for a rejuvenated Spring Hill plant is slim.

What does all this mean to the average Saturn shopper? For starters, no more dent- and scuff-resistant plastic body panels. But how can a Saturn be a Saturn without plastic panels?

If you noticed any of GMs hype from the Detroit auto show, Saturn will try to make its name as the Generals North American-built Euro-sport/entry-luxury brand. Although that may get sticky with Saturn dealers sharing floor space with Saab, Saab is starting to make its push as a performance-oriented marque to match such brands as BMW and Acura.

What sort of credentials does Saturn have, originally GMs economy-import fighting brand, to make a stand against the likes of Volvo, Audi and Subaru. Not much, really, but I doubt that will stop plucky little Saturn from getting a step up and taking a stab at the Generals cookie jar. Most of Saturns newfound design language is derived from GM of Europes Opel, as well as its British outlet, Vauxhall. The upswept cat-eye headlights, the thick chrome bar with a bold center logo in the middle of the grille opening, the flared wheel arches and strong shoulder creases running along the sides of the car, all evident in the brand new Opel Astra and shared by the Saturn Aura.

Though the Aura leans to the midsize sedan segment and the Astra is a compact hatch, its likely that Opel, Vauxhall and Saturn will all be a big badge-swapping, panel-sharing happy family, with the biggest difference being that the Saturns will be made in North America.

So with the Sky expected to arrive in showrooms later this year and the Aura already slated for production, what else can we expect from Saturn? The 2006 VUE already shows that it is leaning towards the European flair of the Aura and Sky, but only the Red Line edition sports the new grille and chrome. The VUE is going to be completely new for 2007, and judging by spy shots it will sport the same arcing roofline and flared wheel arches of the Aura and Opel Astra, and no doubt the rest of the front end treatment.

For clues to the next ION, check out some of the Opel Astra photos and imagine a Saturn badge in the middle of the grille. Why mess with it? Its near perfect as far as I can tell. It will likely start as a sedan in North American markets, but keep your fingers crossed for the hatchback, which in European Opel trim is trimmed out in an OEM tuner edition known as the GTC, complete with a slammed body kit just begging for Saturns boys to drop in the Red Lines 205-horsepower supercharged Ecotec monster. Get in line!

The other big project already confirmed to be in the works is a crossover bred from Lambda architecture. Something to slot in between the VUE and the Relay, it would be logical to expect more of a tall sport wagon than a stretched SUV. The crossover will most likely also be sold in European markets as an Opel. Initial reports indicate it will compete with the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander, but surely Saturn should be aiming more at the Chrysler Pacifica, Subaru Tribeca, and at the top end, Volvo XC90. One of the possible names that Saturn has rights to is Outlook, but such a name could confuse the market considering Subaru is well established with its similar sounding Outback models. A little too much crossover? No doubt.

So that just about covers the upcoming Saturn range, unless GM can actually come up with a surprise like delivering a production car true to its concept form. Im not saying such a car would need to be identical to its prototype, but it should at least be able to check off the emotion boxes on buyers wish lists like GMs concepts often do.

GM offered an exclusive preview of the upcoming Saturns, as well as a host of other GM products to a select group of automotive journalists last month. According to reports, the completely overhauled Saturn lineup is one of the automakers highlights, but dont expect too much too soon. It will take almost two years for all of the products mentioned to make it to Canadian showrooms.

Until then, youll just have to make do with the excitement of dent-resistant plastic body panels.