Defunct Brand Owners Shun GM and Ford

There are some three million former Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer customers in the United States, all of whom will unlikely ever have the pleasure of buying a newer model of their current make again. These are some of America’s defunct brands, all gone the same way as Plymouth, DeSoto, Packard and many others. These latest additions were culled following General Motors bankruptcy reorganisation in 2009. And Mercury owners are in the same boat.
Now, Ford and GM are desperately trying to hold onto these “brand-less” customers. Accoriding to a report from the Wall Street Journal, in this year alone, 70% Pontiac owners, 71% of Saturn owners and 65% of Mercury owners who traded in their vehicles left with something other than a Ford or GM product.
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Saturn Vue Comes Back to Life as the Chevrolet Captiva Sport for Rental Fleets

Meet General Motor’s newest offering in the world of rental vehicles; the Chevrolet Captiva Sport. Even though GM makes no word of the Saturn brand in the press release, most of you will probably see the Vue hiding behind the Chevy bow-tie on the grille. And that’s about the only difference between the Vue and the 2012MY Captiva Sport, which is also sold under various nameplates in more than 50 markets across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and South America.
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Saturn Sold to Penske, What About the Hybrids?

As Saturn is sold off to Penske Automotive Group, headed by Roger Penske, we're left with some questions about what will happen to Saturn.  Although the deal includes all of the Saturn dealerships (350 or so) and GM will continue to build Saturn cars for two years, it's unclear about how the future will unfold.  In my case, I'm left wondering a great deal about how GM will handle their hybrids in the future.


Saturn has been a test-bed for GM, with the Aura and Vue receiving the mild hybrid system (BAS) developed for GM cars.  The Vue was supposed to get the dual-mode hybrid system, turning it into a full hybrid vehicle, as well as becoming one of the first plug-in hybrids from GM.  But both of those are off the table now.

That leaves Penske with the mild hybrid Vue and Aura, but no ability to develop the next level of hybrids.  If Penske has dealers, but no production, what then?  What if he turns to other automakers in the future to build hybrid cars?  Will it be like the Nissan Altima Hybrid built with the Toyota Hybrid System?  Or will Penske stick with GM after two years to building whatever they have in stock, just with a different brand name?

Some would say this leaves Penske (Saturn) with all the options in the world.  Able to pick and choose what to build and what to sell, Saturn could do very well in the future. 

But GM is losing something here.  The hybrid technology isn't going anywhere, but their test bed is.  How will that affect future line-ups?  Is the Volt the pre-cursor to a change in how GM goes about their future?  If Saturn used to be the testing site, will Chevy now be considered first in line for any future vehicle propulsion?

Lots of questions and few answers...Source URL: https://ashesgarrett.blogspot.com/search/label/Saturn
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Saturn Buyer Wants to Build Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids Only

As GM moves to sell off Saturn, one of the bidders is thinking they could capitalize on the Saturn brand by turning it into a hybrid and plug-in hybrid brand. (Source: GM set to send terms of sale sheets to potential Saturn buyers | detnews.com | The Detroit News)

Gint Federas et. al. know that a hybrid/plug-in hybrid brand might be hard to sell with gas selling at $2 a gallon. But they believe oil prices are only going to continue to rise. 

"When it comes time and gas prices hit $3 or $4 a gallon, we'll differentiate ourselves," he said.

Eventually, Federas would turn Saturn into an electric car company.

It's an interesting idea and one that would appeal to the old buyers of Saturn, who were looking for something different from an American car company. It's also not a unique idea. Fisker is looking to build a low-cost plug-in hybrid (Source: Fisker CEO has plans for smaller electric car in 2010 - The Oakland Press Business).

“We’re first doing the four-door and then we’re doing the convertible and then we’re planning some third derivative off the Karma platform. Then we’re planning a high-volume vehicle for a lower price. We’ve applied for a Department of Energy grant. If that loan comes through, we’ll have this vehicle on the road in 29 months,” he said.

No word on what he means by 'low cost,' however.  The Chevy Volt, the highly touted E-REV from GM due out in 2010 will cost $40K or more, while the Prius and Insight are coming in at half the price.  If real world fuel economy reports from plug-in hybrids continue to come in at 60-70 mpg, rather than the 100 mpg people are hoping for, that price difference is going to make it hard to sell a high production plug-in hybrid.Source URL: https://ashesgarrett.blogspot.com/search/label/Saturn
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Saturn Review

Saturn has become a premier brand for General Motors with price points for all budgets and is a perfect car for the first time buyer.

The Car Connection gives excellent saturn reviews for all the models. Some popular Saturn models and reviews of the 2008 and 2009 Astra, the 2008 and 2009 Saturn Aura, 2009 Saturn Aura Hybrid Sedan, 2009 Saturn Outlook Crossover SUV, 2009 Saturn Sky Convertible, 2009 Saturn Vue SUV, and the 2009 Saturn Vue Green Line.

You can also sort your search on the Saturn from 1997 to 2009. You can sort from Sedans, Vans, SUVs, 2 doors, Green Cars, etc. You can sort from price range of under 15k, 15-25k, 25-35k, over 35k. You can even sort by gas mileage. This is a very useful and well put together site for the review of Saturns. You can even check on financing, find a local dealer, even check on insurance, so this is truely a one stop shop for all your Saturn information.

This is a great site to find Saturn Reviews along with price quotes, photo galleries, trims and specs on each vehicle. When shopping for a car, it is always a great idea to do your homework. If you are looking for a Saturn, you can do all of your homework from one location. Detailed reviews are given of each vehicle along with reviews from those who have drove and tested the different Saturn models.Source URL: https://ashesgarrett.blogspot.com/search/label/Saturn
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Saturn Astra To Come Soon

Saturn Astra To Come Soon
By Ryan Thomas

In an effort to revitalize the Saturn brand, General Motors looked in the direction of the continent of Europe. With the help of its Opel brand, General Motors has so far successfully reinvented Saturn. The Outlook and the Aura are just the early offering from Saturn with European influence. Come fall of this year, General Motors will introduce a rebadged Opel Astra as the Saturn Astra in the United States auto market.

According to General Motors, in order for the European Astra to be accepted in the United States, it has to be both attractive in appearance and very driver-friendly. The first criterion, of course, is to ensure that the Saturn Astra can attract the younger generation of car buyers. The second attribute is to makes sure that upon test driving the Astra, potential car buyers would have a hard time walking away from the car.

The hatchback is designed with European styling cues. The trapezoidal headlight configuration and the wide open air intake grill accentuate the front end of the Astra. Sporting the Saturn emblem on its narrow grille accents the gentle slope of its hood. According to General Motors, the Astra will be available as a three-door hatchback, a five-door hatch and yet another three-door hatch but given the Sport Hatch classification.

According to the manufacturer of the Astra, these are built at General Motors’ assembly facility in Antwerp, Belgium. Both the three-door and the five-door hatch versions of the Astra share the same platform with a 102.9-inch wheelbase. Oddly though, the three-door hatch is longer than the five-door version by 1.5 inches. There is also a difference in ride height as the three-door hatchback is 0.6 inches lower than its sibling says General Motors.

Powering the Astra in Europe and possibly in its introduction in North America is a 1.8-liter Ecotec in-line four-cylinder engine. Fitted with Saturn head gaskets and other engine parts, it can produce as much as 140 horsepower. Torque output is rated at 129 lb-ft at 3,800 revs per minute.

The engine can power the Astra to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just 9.5 seconds. Top speed according to General Motors is 129 miles per hour. As far as gas mileage rating, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is yet to test the Saturn Astra. In Europe though, the Opel Astra is given a gas mileage rating of 38.7 mpg on combined city and highway driving. For pure city driving, the Opel Astra gets 28.5 miles from a gallon of gasoline.

Since Saturn is sure to produce a Red Line trim for the Astra when it hits North American dealerships, it is expected that a more powerful engine will be made available for the Astra. It is speculated that the Saturn Astra Red Line will be equipped with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with an output of 178 hp. Another candidate for the Red Line trim is the engine used on the Vauxhall VXR and the Opel OPC versions of the Astra. The power plant is a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with a power output of 237 hp.

According to General Motors, the Saturn Astra will replace the Saturn ION in Saturn's lineup. The Astra will join the redesigned Aura, the Vue, the all-new Outlook and the convertible Saturn Sky in Saturn's 2008 model year lineup.

Ryan Thomas is a native of Denver, Colorado. He grew up in a family of car afficionados. He now resides in Detroit where he owns a service shop and works part time as a consultant for a local automotive magazine.You can also visit Saturn head gaskets for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Thomas
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