[geeks] Saturn (was: job hunt)

[Andrew Jones]

On 04/07/2012 02:03 PM, Phil Stracchino wrote:
>
> This is part of the reason Saturn's fixed-price model was such a huge
> success in the marklet place.  And that in turn is why the other GM
> divisions were so threatened by it that they gagged it, chained its
> ankles together, then eventually chained it to Hummer and threw it off a
> bridge.
>

Saturn died because the independent car platform and factory was more 
than $5 billion dollars in the 1980s. GM couldn't afford to make that 
investment in ANOTHER Saturn-dedicated platform in the 90s -- the first 
one never paid for itself.

As a result, Saturn was forced to sell re-badged versions of the 
conventional GM platforms, like every other GM brand. Buick, Cadillac, 
Chevrolet, Daewoo, GMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, and Suzuki were all 
competing for this business.

That left Saturn and GM in a really bad place:

1. On shared platforms (rebadges), the fixed-price model wasn't going to 
be cheaper than conventional dealer pricing without cutting the legs out 
from under GM's other brands.

2. The unique models in Saturn's line-up were captive imports.  European 
exchange rates and European labor costs dictated extremely high prices 
for these.  Who was going to pay $18k for an Astra when a Ford Focus 
could be had for $10k?

3. Saturn's core audience had been simple, economical cars for young 
people.  Its new niche was above Chevrolet/Pontiac and below Buick/Olds. 
The fixed-price, low-pressure sales process probably didn't work as well 
for the fancier, higher-sticker cars.