Saturn, GM’s Niche Brand, Appears Doomed

Saturn's concept Flextreme may never see the light of day if the brand is shut down. Then again, it would make for a really nice Buick!

As far as automotive brands goes, Saturn is truly unique among them all.

Started in 1985 as an idea hatched by General Motors’ management, the first cars hit the market five years later to consumer applause. The compact “S Model” was created to compete against Honda and Toyota, doing a job that no GM car could do previously: win the hearts, minds and wallets of drivers who were attracted to small, cheap Asian imports.

The brand’s success started out with a bang as Saturn attracted a cult following. Owners would gather for annual meetings at the company’s Spring Hill, TN factory, showing off their cars and enjoying each other’s company. But, the brand’s long term viability never was assured and as parent GM began to pour more resources into building larger sport/utility vehicles for its other brands, it took nearly a decade before Saturn received a second, larger model.

By the early 2000s, the Saturn brand was absorbed into the GM fold as just another GM brand. Previously, Saturn was a wholly owned subsidiary, a company with separate union work rules, dedicated assembly plant, and management structure. Instead of killing the Saturn brand, GM chose to end its ancient Oldsmobile line, deciding that Saturn’s customer friendly dealer network was much more suitable to bringing in sales than any other brand.

For awhile, it looked as if Saturn would survive, even thrive under its new arrangement. New products arrived, fair offerings at first, which were then replaced by an improved and more desirable mix of cars, minivans, and sport/utility vehicles. By 2007, GM announced that the direction of the Saturn brand would mostly mimic the success of the company’s European brand, Opel, with both brands sharing a wide variety of products by 2014.

Alas, Saturn’s promising feature appears to be the victim of a new reality: parent General Motors is going broke and has asked the federal government to intervene by offering billions of dollars in loan money to shore up its operation. Lawmakers, as part of the government’s effort to aid GM, Ford and Chrysler is laying down some rules before the money is dispensed. One of the requirements the government is mandating is for GM to revisit its corporate structure and reorganize. Saturn has been mentioned as a brand that could be ended.

If Saturn were to end up being canceled it would end a 25 year experiment that never fully received the support it deserved from General Motors. Part of that neglect was due to a big push back from Chevrolet dealers who, rightfully so, saw Saturn as being a threat to their operation. As good of an idea as Saturn was, the brand was a challenge to Chevrolet and other GM divisions who were feeling the neglect as the automaker held resources from them in favor of Saturn.

Ultimately, Saturn’s demise can be assigned to a decades old problem with General Motors: there are too many brands for the company to maintain.

The verdict on Saturn isn’t final, but in all likelihood it will go away along with Saab, Hummer and perhaps GMC and Pontiac. The idea behind Saturn was a good one, but it was poorly executed. Whether its demise will help save GM is unknown, part of a painful restructuring process that the automaker must implement in order to have any hope of surviving.

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary, North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including third brake lights and colored bulbs.