Suprised this isn't here yet. GM Inside News is reporting 2010 Saturn Aura is on hold. Any comments?

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...ra-hold-66090/

 

Could be that.....

In addition to dumping Hummer, GM plans on closing down GMC and Pontiac, and moving Saturn in with Buick. And could be that, the EP2 Saturn Aura is too similar of a product to Buick's upcoming EP2 Lacrosse replacement, to BOTH be sold in the same showroom.

 

I'm thinking its powertrain related. There are alot of small motor ideas flying around right now and you wouldn't want to get too close to production without making sure they alll fit. So far the 1.4T, 2.0T, 2.2 HCCI, 2.4, 2.4 Mode 2, and 3.6L are out there. Thats six motors plus I think there are 3 diesel options, also need to make room for bluetec like equipment.

I could go with the other comment though about killing off Pontiac/GMC. I think the public's view on Saturns brand is more favorable than Pontiac. Chevrolet, Cadilliac and Saturn can all sell crossovers, Chevy and Cadilliac could still sell body on frame vehicles as needed. I think most folks buying pontiac and GM diehards anyways, they would cross shop other divisions, Saturn gives GM that much needed customer inroad into the corporation.

 

Tell that to all the people who were buying Oldsmobiles never to return... the sales volume of Olds was never picked up after it was shut down.

 

Saturn and Buick? They offer nothing similar and market to almost polar opposite buyers...

Where did you read that GM plans on closing down GMC and Pontiac? They aren't even sure about selling Hummer...it's still all speculation and investigating different options. Don't jump the gun here. The boards seem to be overly speculative here lately, IMO.

 

Well, everytime the Doom and Gloom kicks back up, the brands are put up against the firing squad of the armchair CEO's.

IMO, if there was to be a brand to get canned, I dont think it would be the #2 best selling division of GM, Pontiac, nor do I think it would be one of the most profitable divisions as well as having a customer base that on average spends 40k+ per vehicle.

As I posted on GMI, I have always thought of Saturn and Pontiac eventually overlapping themselves.

If Saturn is Opel, and Opels are Holden....and Holdens are Pontiac. Eventually the design language will be the same at Pontiac as there is at Saturn.
If Pontiac is going to be a BMWesque division, how better would it be if it actually was a German brand.
I always wanted Astra to be a Pontiac years ago. If GM were to kill anyone right now, it would be the small dealer network, high investment but little return Saturn brand.

 

Where? The Wall Street Journal for one: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1213..._us_whats_news
Some other sources too.

Hummer is as good as gone. I wouldn't be surprised to see another one or two divisions go as well.

Why Buick and Saturn together? The thinking is that Saturn could benefit from expanding it's dealer network, plus the two may compliment each other product-wise. For example, Buick's Lambda is selling like crazy, Saturn's is a sales dog. In the same store, the Outlook could easily be discontinued with Enclave picking up the slack.

I can't honestly tell you what exactly is going to happen, but it certainly won't be nothing. Some dramatic moves are in the works.

 

Maybe they want to tweak the styling.
I'm not crazy about the new Opel. Looks too much like an Altima.
I think the current Aura is better looking.

Or it could be GM wants to put it's money into something more relevant for the times.

 

Al, this Pontiac-Saturn scenerio was brought up by another member on another thread. Up till that time, the idea never even occured to me. However, since that time, the idea makes far more sense than the Pontiac-Buick-GMC combination that GM initiated a couple of years ago for exactly the reasons that you mentioned.

Saturn, Opel-Vauxhall, and Holden have alot of shared cars. Kappa is shared by everyone but Holden. Only Pontiac's Solstice has different styling. The Astra is badged a Opel, a Vauxhall, a Holden, and a Saturn. The Vue is also an Opel. The Commodore is a Holden, a Pontiac, and a British Vauxhall.

With both the G6 and Aura due for a redesign around the same time, the timing is right for a single model. The Astra gives Pontiac a small 4 door while the G5 serves as a Eclipse-like sports coupe. Sky and Solstice overlap. Why not combine the 2 in the next restyle? The G8 will be a better top line in a Pontiac-Saturn showroom than sitting next to a similar sized Buick badged RWD Lucerne.

As for GMC, make it available to any franchise except Chevrolet. Buick-Cadillac or Pontiac-Saturn.

You guys IMO are barking up the right tree on this.

 

IMO...
Saturn goes away or goes back to low cost, high mpg techy cars
Pontiac turns into Opel/Vaux and Holden, so Pontiac now has a global tie in.
Hummer dies, and Id love to see GMC come to power as GM's Land Rover division. A luxury suv and truck company but has tremendous off the beaten path rep in which its core is built off of.

 

There's a lot of ways you could rationalize GM's brand structure. (Personally, I think Chevy-Buick and Saturn-Saab pairings would make a lot of sense).

But, the big stumbling block is that GM has 5 times the number of dealers as Toyota to sell roughly the same number of cars. This greatly complicates marketing and inevitably means that GM customers are cross-shopping at other GM brands.

The question is whether it's easier to fix the dealership mess by slowly merging and repositioning brands, or do you just stick a gun to someone's head ala Oldsmobile. I don't know.

Doesn't really matter to me because my local dealer is a Chevy/Pontiac/Buick/GMC/Cadillac/Saab pairing already.

 

Actually better still since around these parts at least a lot of Chevrolet-Cadillac dealers are already combined:

Move Buick over with Chevrolet-Cadillac. Then replace Buick at the B-P-G dealerships with Saturn.

Pontiac gains the Saturn sales model and customer base while giving Saturn buyers a luxury/performance upgrade choice and a truck choice with GMC. Chevrolet-Cadillac gain a midlevel choice between the two of them allowing Chevrolet more room to go for the economy/fuel efficiency level angle and Cadillac to take on the ultra-luxury world leader angle.

Ok... it might work.

 

Saturn currently is positioned higher then Pontiac, so Pontiac would be the sub brand, Saturn would be the upgrade, and GMC would be truck land.

 

Actually I was thinking them more of being equals but with Saturn offering the smaller fuel miserly cars, Pontiac the performance V6 and V8 cars and GMC the trucks/SUVs.

With the combination of the three under one roof, some "rebadge" models could be eliminated. (e.g. Pontiac G5, etc.)