Protestors Demand Return Of Saturn Brand
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Founded in January of 1985 as a subsidiary of General Motors, the Saturn automotive brand lasted 25 years before it was axed in October of 2010. Now, however, a small group of protestors are demanding that GM brings Saturn back.
Per a recent report from Jalopnik, “dozens” of protestors congregated outside General Motors’ headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit demanding that GM reintroduce the Saturn brand.
“We need cheap sh-tboxes again,” read one of the protestors’ signs. “I want to be able to afford a car, damn it!”
The protest was put on by participants from the Lemons Rally, an ancillary event to the notorious 24 Hours of Lemons amateur racing event. Offered as a sort of joke, the protest called for the revival of Saturn as a way to get into a new car for cheap – exactly the kind of thing the 24 Hours of Lemon racers would love.
For those readers who may be unaware, the 24 Hours of Lemons is an endurance racing series pitting amateur competitors in inexpensive cars on a series of road courses. The cars are limited to a $500 budget, and participants are encouraged to make their vehicle as outlandish and ridiculous as possible.
Back in June, GM Authority featured a 1987 C4 Corvette dubbed the “Rat-Chet,” which is adorned with whiskers, two large front “teeth,” and occasionally, a large tail as well.
Although pulled off as a sort of stunt, the recent protest outside Renaissance Center in Detroit managed to attract the attention of local news stations.
Even so, there is something to be said about offering bargain basement cars these days, with or without the Saturn brand attached. As GM Authority covered before, used car prices are skyrocketing, with the average used vehicle price recently reaching $25,000 for the first time, according to one study. The outrageous prices are spurred on by low inventory and high demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing global microchip shortage.
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This is satire, right?
Am I reading The Onion? 😂
This is laughable.
The Problem is Pontiac was never understood by GM and really was a shadow of what they really were back when Pontiac’s were Pontiac’s.
Back in the day the Pontiac engineers and John Delorean broke rules and really did some great things. GM stopped them from using Radial tires in 1965. They pushed Composite headlamps, FI, DOHC and SOHC along with electronic ignitions in the 60’s.
They had built their own engines like the 455 SD in 74 when no one else could find performance and GM took it away.
They tried to do the Fiero but GM and Chevy stopped them.
Pontiac was left to FWD and really bad CUV models based on Chevys.
Lutz arrived and asked a Performance division with no RWD and he never understood the Aztek as most of us.
Right now the market is not stable and it is heavy with CUV and truck models. Most cars are not selling well and I still don’t see GM understanding Pontiac. Let’s face it they are not even able to get the Chevy car line exciting outside the Vette.
I have been a life long Pontiac fan and owned many Pontiac’s but to be honest I rather see them saved till they could be operated correctly. Sadly that day may never come.
True that, but Pontiac may be exactly what people are looking for if done correctly. The problem is too many “experts” are claiming that CUV’s are in. The reason CUV’s are in is economy cars are too small and land barges are too expensive. GM’s secret to success in the first half of the last century was largely due to people like delorean. Build a fantastic vehicle and people will buy it. Go ahead, reintroduce Pontiac with new land barges and passsionate vehicles and it will be a success. “Market trends” are BS to me. People can only buy what’s out there. Make the best car and you will be the trend.
Steven it is not the experts but the buying public that is buying CUV models. Automakers are building what they want.
You are very correct that the smaller FWD cars have driven people to the CUV.
The only large sedans that sell are mostly RWD Luxury sport sedans. The Impala and The two Buick sedans were great cars but no one bought them. They rotted on the dealer lots.
Even the Accord and Camry sales are in decline.
Market trends are not BS. When you have to invest $6 Billion Dollars you have to spend it on something that will sell not might sell.
It is a tough market and risks can sink a company fast. It is not like the old days where you can afford to throw anything against the wall to see if it sticks . That is no longer a option anymore. Every move counts.
The impala didn’t sell because they wanted over $32k for it lol
Bingo 👆 it’s not worth that. Go up a size to a traverse for that price. Everyone I know who rents a large sedan loves how they drive, but no one can afford them. They can afford a midsize or compact, but then their storage is significantly less. That’s why it’s CUVs! Nobody wants them, but they fit the utility and the budget. Buick had the wagon a couple years back, but it cost almost 40K!!! No wonder CUV’s are popular, it’s what we can afford.
Pontiac can totally come back as an performance niche brand with an EV Firebird, an ICE sedan and a EV CUV. Value buyers can always hit Chevy.
What about Oldsmobile?
Oh Hell Yeah
Olds lost their mojo with the RWD Cutlass. They melted dow to not not even being better than. Heavy or Pontiac.
It is sad as 5hey were such a great company that GM again lost their way with in the 80’s.
Pontiac was the division getting cut till sales dropped like crazy in the 90’s at Olds.
The real sign of trouble was when they put the Cutlass name on three different FWD cars like it was going to bring back the old RWD Supreme owners.
The same thing that hurt Olds was the same thing that hurt Pontiac. Not having their own reliable V8 really hurt.
My opinion (having owned 3 and still owning a 2007 SKY REDLINE) is that the SATURN could not be used up. My VUE was 9 years old and was like new. I only changed because, honestly, I wanted something newer. You can’t make company profits on a light bulb (or car in this case) that lasts and lasts.
I have friends who are driving SATURNS with hundreds of thousands of miles.
My 2001 Saturn SL2 5-speed has 426,000 miles on an untouched engine and transmission. I would buy a new one tomorrow if they were made again. As it is, I’ll buy a Honda. GM screwed up killing off Saturn.
I also have a 2001 SL2 with a 5-speed that I bought new. As I was driving to work yesterday in the 92 degree heat, I was impressed with the A/C still blowing cold air…it’s never been charged or serviced. I would also buy another Saturn. My next car will be a Honda or Toyota, but I’ll still drive the Saturn to work!
Please
Bring back the Pontiac GTO with 6.2 supercharged and make it look like the 1965 modern
And bring back the elcamino with 6.2
If Dodge can do it with there great cars like the Challanger or Charger why can’t G.M
Yet Dodge was bought by the Italians and now the French as they were going broke several times.
Yes it is a cool car but Dodge needed to get their house in order first before they went to supplemental income models. These are not profit centers.
Get their house in order??? Lol what are you smoking? The challenger constantly outsells the crap Camaro lol did you mean to say GM needs to get their house in order?
But still owned by Mario and Pierre. Plus performance cars don’t keep a company afloat.
Saturn Ion 2006 was my dream car but it turned out to be a lemon bomb. Bought it in ’08 It had already spent much time in shop. It has had so many problems when it finally completely dies I don’t know if I can even pay somebody to take it away. It has many electrical problems. Windows wouldn’t rollup then after wire harness replace; the mirrors don’t move. The computer had to be replaced ; now it gas gauge runs backwards. Yes when full dings it’s empty. It has a broken something in air vent which has a very loud hard click. Transmission went bad. The ignition switch that was recalled and replace; now after class action suite; is breaking the same way it did before. The ignition sticks; and it will not release the key for several minutes after the engine has been turned off. Door hand plastic pins are broken only way to get in is by remote. Oh and the plastic frame; had fender sides and bumper replaced as well as lots of plastic pieces undercarriage. Plastic snaps together until snaps get broken. The airs I believe should have gone of a few times but didn’t They probably should have been recall. It rides so low scrapes lots. Told shocks can’t be aligned nor replaced, need rebuild. It looks good and has super low miles only because it has not been run much and because fear to take it far. Ok Saturn lovers come on how could a ” well built ” car have that many problems
Originally Saturn’s were built without union politics in Tennessee on separate lines , separate engines and different platforms than their Chevy counterparts. They originally were better built than even Hondas. The first gen Saturns never died and their owners bragged on them and these outlived their second gen counterparts that were rebranded chevys, but thrown together with less care than their Chevy counterparts. If Saturn was to return, it must be done like the original Saturn’s
I love my rare saturn ion redline supercharged but leave saturn dead unless you do it right and telling by what chevy/gm did with the blazer leave it dead.
I have a 06 Saturn vue an if it was not for my moms car an since she passed away is the only reason y I keep this car other then that i have put so much money in this car an still having problems with it
Eventually all the GM brands will come back.
The problem with Saturn is GM left them to rot till Lutz showed up. Changes came much too slow and too few. If they had stepped up these cars from the time they appeared they would have really done well in my estimation. But GM left them just the same for too many years.
The whole “protest” was just a joke.
I’m all for bringing Saturn back. Some of the best GM and American cars ever made by far. And it also had some of the highest customer satisfaction in the industry.
Pontiac, in my opinion, is what GM needed to stay exciting. Remember the old Pontiac slogan? “We Build Excitement”?
Had they kept to sporty, possibly all RWD, cars with unique characteristics they would have been fine. Not only did Pontiac have sporty cars (Firebird, Fiero, GTO, Tempest) they also had reliable regular everyday cars like the Grand Am, Grand Prix and Sunbird/Sunfire.
Pontiac always had a good reputation (the Fiero was mis-understood) and could have been the bread winner for GM to really stand out.
All we have left now are the now boring Chevy, Buick and Cadillac with an honourable mention for GMC. My Grand Prix has been going strong for 12 years with no major work done and my Fiero is over 35 years and going strong.
I understand that my GP will one day die and I would LOVE to head to a GM dealership and get a new car but what is left is not what GM used to be and I feel there are, unfortunately, better choices out there now.
Who in the hell want’s Saturn back, you must be kidding!!! If anything, bring back Pontiac and the Trans Am and GTO.
you got it wrong. Saturn #1
Is this like desperation for something to write? It’s entirely laughable, the brand that was spawned by Roger Smith which wasn’t total garbage but was just boring and poorly executed I believe the same amount of money was used to start up Lexus and look at that ended up, want to bring a brand back bring back Pontiac, then again wants to lower your left GM never understood the brand and did whatever they could to sabotage it.