| Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| R.I.P. Saturn Auto | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 18 2009, 04:08 AM (591 Views) | |
| George K | Feb 18 2009, 04:08 AM Post #1 |
|
Finally
|
(and maybe Pontiac as well) A Painful Departure for G.M. Brands
|
|
A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
![]() |
|
| Phlebas | Feb 18 2009, 04:23 AM Post #2 |
|
Bull-Carp
|
They should expand the Saturn business model - good customer service, attractive to the market for small Japanese cars - at the expense of some of their other lines. I own a 1995 Saturn - not our only car, mind you. Can't find a good reason to get rid of it. Still runs great. |
|
Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D | |
![]() |
|
| Mikhailoh | Feb 18 2009, 04:23 AM Post #3 |
|
If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
|
I have thought for a long time they should ditch Saturn. I have driven a few as rentals and when I was test driving. Every single one I drove I thought was crap, and ugly to boot. Going the Toyota route seems to me a very good idea - stick to knitting. If you make a good enough car no one cares that there are a lot of them on the road. Edit: Phlebas and I crossposted. No offense, guy - I'm glad you had good luck with yours, and I do like their body panel ideas. |
|
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
![]() |
|
| TomK | Feb 18 2009, 04:33 AM Post #4 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
I would have though Buick would have been a candidate, but I guess old people need to drive something. |
![]() |
|
| Phlebas | Feb 18 2009, 04:40 AM Post #5 |
|
Bull-Carp
|
Not at all. I should have added "up the quality a lot." It was a decent cheap car when I got it. It always starts. It's still a decent cheap car. |
|
Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D | |
![]() |
|
| Mikhailoh | Feb 18 2009, 04:40 AM Post #6 |
|
If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
|
Buicks are doing better due to vastly improved design. They are also a hot commodity in China. Big status symbol. Whatever they do they have to make a car that seldom needs repair before 130K. The American rides I have bought in the last 20 years all start falling apart at 60K. |
|
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
![]() |
|
| Jolly | Feb 18 2009, 04:57 AM Post #7 |
![]()
Geaux Tigers!
|
It's their highest quality car. And, as Mik pointed out, a hot seller in one of the world's largest emerging markets. |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
![]() |
|
| George K | Feb 18 2009, 04:59 AM Post #8 |
|
Finally
|
Higher than Cadillac? |
|
A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
![]() |
|
| Jolly | Feb 18 2009, 05:06 AM Post #9 |
![]()
Geaux Tigers!
|
I'll have to browse the J.D. Power stuff, but for many years they were better than Cadillac. |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
![]() |
|
| TomK | Feb 18 2009, 05:18 AM Post #10 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
I never would have guess that. |
![]() |
|
| Larry | Feb 18 2009, 07:41 AM Post #11 |
![]()
Mmmmmmm, pie!
|
I've never been impressed with Cadillac. The quality just isn't there. Of the one or two models they make that *does* appear to be well made and decent looking, they're so overpriced they aren't worth looking at. I've owned one Cadillac in my life, and that was all it took to make me a Lincoln driver for the last 25 or 30 years. Every time I buy another car I go to the Cadillac dealer first thing hoping that *this* time will be different. Every time I leave wondering why they even bother to build cars. |
|
Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
![]() |
|
| Luke's Dad | Feb 18 2009, 07:46 AM Post #12 |
![]()
Emperor Pengin
|
I thought the newer Caddy's were at a higher standard than they've been over the past couple of decades? |
| The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it. | |
![]() |
|
| Phlebas | Feb 18 2009, 07:52 AM Post #13 |
|
Bull-Carp
|
There's a reason the Lincoln Town Car is the standard for livery cars in NY - outside of yellow cabs. I wonder what they'll replace them with now that have - or sill soon - stop making the Town Car. |
|
Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D | |
![]() |
|
| Larry | Feb 18 2009, 08:00 AM Post #14 |
![]()
Mmmmmmm, pie!
|
That isn't really saying much.... |
|
Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
![]() |
|
| Larry | Feb 18 2009, 08:05 AM Post #15 |
![]()
Mmmmmmm, pie!
|
My last Town Car went 250,000 miles with nothing more than oil changes, brake shoes and tires, got 27 mpg on the highway, nothing fell off, nothing came loose, not a single rattle, it didn't use a drop of oil, and when I gave it to my son was as tight as it was the day I bought it. Of course, he promptly got caught selling some pills to a narc and the car was seized, and he's still in jail.. but that's another issue..... |
|
Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
![]() |
|
| PattyP | Feb 18 2009, 08:32 AM Post #16 |
|
Senior Carp
|
Hey there dude. Watch it! I had a Park Avenue when I was in my 30's and loved it. Great car, built like a tank, never had any trouble with it, went through the snow like a snowplow. handled like it was on a cloud and there was plenty of room for the dogs. |
|
A tired dog is a good dog. "Dogs' lives are too short...their only fault, really." A.S. Turnbull | |
![]() |
|
| Phlebas | Feb 18 2009, 08:35 AM Post #17 |
|
Bull-Carp
|
Yep. Decent mileage for the size, comfortable, good sized engine, can be on the road for 12 hours a day running the AC day in-day out and never over heat. |
|
Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D | |
![]() |
|
| 1hp | Feb 18 2009, 09:06 AM Post #18 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
Frankly I think Chevy is the division to get rid of - it carries too much power in GM and is likely the reason GM is in the shape it is today. There is one Chevy vehicle responsible for Chevy's sales number - and that is the half ton pickup truck, which was either the number 1 or number 2 best selling vehicle in America (with the Ford F-150). It also does not make sense to keep 2 divisions making trucks - GMC and Chevy. SO, if you want to go with the name - cancel GMC light trucks and set Chevy up to make 1 ton and under trucks, and leave GMC Truck to make the larger stuff. Stick the Corvette into Pontiac, and keep building Pontiac as the "Excitement" division. Delete Saturn. Cadillac could go - take the CTS and rebrand it as a Buick and make Buick the luxury car division. Keep the suburban amd Tahoe under Chevy, as they are truck chassis. Get rid of the Escalade (including its ridiculous hybrid version).
BS - I have driven several GM vehicles that have gone the distance with little beyond regular maintenance. Frankly I find all this stuff about foreign cars to be untrue. My colleague raves about his Mercedes, then I find it has to be fed high octane fuel, not to mention all the other little quirks. His other car, which he raves about, is a VW Passat - same story on fuel. And he just sunk in excess of $5,000 on repairs, and the vehicle is well under 100,000 miles. Another colleague has a Mazda RX7 - another one that needs to be babied. Another engineer I used to work with had a Mazda - wouldn't start, let alone run, any time it was out in heavy rain. The Korean manufacturers have a reputation to make and I'd look at their cars before Japanese. The Japanese are moving in the direction of GM and Ford in the 70's and they are going to be displaced by the Koreans in the reliability ratings. |
| There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................ | |
![]() |
|
| Copper | Feb 18 2009, 09:10 AM Post #19 |
|
Shortstop
|
This is my fault. My 8.5 year old Chevy only has 25K miles. I'll try to drive more. |
|
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy | |
![]() |
|
| Larry | Feb 18 2009, 09:19 AM Post #20 |
![]()
Mmmmmmm, pie!
|
Are they made in separate factories? I always thought they were made in the same place. Bear in mind that some branding is done to allow them to set up two dealers in the same area. You can't have two Chevy dealers sitting across the street from each other, but you *can* have a Chevy dealer on one side of the road and a GMC dealer on the other side of the road. |
|
Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
![]() |
|
| 1hp | Feb 18 2009, 09:40 AM Post #21 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
No, the trucks come off the same line (used to be Janesville, Wisconsin I think - that's where my old suburban came from), but still, GM has to dilute the development money across 2 divisons (as styling and finish is different) - would make sense to have one division making the trucks. [Edit: Looks like the half ton pick up trucks come off the Fort Wayne assembly line] |
| There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................ | |
![]() |
|
| Kincaid | Feb 18 2009, 09:50 AM Post #22 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
Ian, I think you have the best ideas. Sadly, there is so much nostalgia in the names Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, Chevrolet and GMC that someone isn't going to be happy. I'm not even sure you need to lose those names - just limit the badge engineering to two vehicles off of a given platform. Make every dealership sell all the brands. If you have to keep just three, I'd say it should be Chevrolet, Cadillac and Pontiac. What's Buick's demographic now? Avg. age of 67 or something? Buick owners are all dying off. Cadillac is, I believe, at least lowering their avg. buyer's age. I have a real fondness for GMC as we had a family history with them and for at least 20 years I've thought their grills looked better than Chevy. Anyway, I won't miss Saturn but I always liked their business model and I hope they'll still bring some of those Opels over from Europe. |
| Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006. | |
![]() |
|
| 1hp | Feb 18 2009, 10:44 AM Post #23 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
Kincaid - you should take a look at some Buicks at the dealer - I think you might be surprised at what you see. I agree with whoever said that Buicks are better luxury cars than Cadillac. |
| There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................ | |
![]() |
|
| Mikhailoh | Feb 18 2009, 11:06 AM Post #24 |
|
If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
|
I agree. Go drive a Lucerne or a LaCrosse. |
|
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
![]() |
|
| Grim Reaper | Feb 18 2009, 11:46 AM Post #25 |
|
Member
|
Mwaaahahahahaha! What? You thought that I only kill humans? No, business gets my business as well. Especially business with bad business practices. I am the best diet in the world. The ultimate fat trimmer. |
| I prefer my sh!t shaken, not stirred. | |
![]() |
|
|
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2










4:34 PM Jul 10