In April of 2007, Saturn gathered a group of owners and enthusiasts in Detroit for the Saturn Brand Advocate Board meeting. The group was a good representation of Saturn owners, including people who have been enthusiasts since before the first S-series rolled off the assembly line, to someone who had just bought his Outlook a few weeks before the meeting.

There was only one brief introductory presentation about the Saturn vehicle lineup during the two-and-a-half day event, and the rest of the time was a more open conversational format which included many opportunities for informal conversations with the Saturn team members.

Not only did Saturn bring us to Detroit to tell us about the vision and plans for the Saturn brand, but they also asked us what we felt they were doing right, and what we felt they could do better. The comments, concerns, and questions that were provided by club members on the SPC Mailing List were presented and asked during the week.  You can find the specific questions that were asked HERE.

Our three days included a visit to the GM Heritage Center, which houses 15,000 linear feet of archival material, and many GM vehicles, including concepts, and other significant cars, including the EV1.  You can find links to more information about the Heritage Center at the bottom of this page.

We also visited GM's newest assembly plant, the Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant, where the Saturn Outlook is built alongside the GMC Acadia and the Buick Enclave.  You can find a link to photos from the assembly plant at the bottom of this page.

Some of the information we were given during the week:

• The five 'pillars' of the Saturn brand are:
  
  Safety / environmentally friendly / honesty / dynamic styling / innovation
   
• The five "goals" of Saturn are:
  
  hybrid technology / environmentally friendly / fuel-efficient / technology / fun to drive / good value
   
• Saturn has 435 retailers/dealers nationwide, and is rolling out online scheduling for service, which will also be tied into Onstar.
   
• GM & Saturn do monitor Saturn websites, and do contact people, and follow up with poor performing retailers.
   
• Saturn is the GM brand to win people back from the imports, who they call "intenders" - people who would not normally consider GM or other US makes. Because of this, Saturn does not want to look like other North American brands. This is why they have teamed with Opel for joint development of products that can be marketed in both Europe and North America.
   
• Every GM brand has a position within the company. The other divisions and their placements are:
  
  Cadillac - premium luxury
  Chevy - value
  Saab/Hummer - Euro luxury / luxury SUV
  Buick - upscale
  Pontiac - "performance"
   
• Saturn will have an all new product line in 20 months. Once the Astra comes out, the SKY will be the oldest vehicle in the lineup.  No other brand or manufacturer has turned over their product line this quickly.
   
• One question that was asked was what Saturn is doing to improve fuel economy, beyond hybrids. One comment that was well received was the possibility of diesel versions of Saturns. We were told that while the final EPA numbers are not ready, the Astra will have a good MPG rating, using a direct injection system and a 6-speed transmission.
   
• Another concern that was raised was the weight of new vehicles. Saturn is trying to remove mass from vehicles, but added features and federal requirements have made cars heavier.
   
• On the subject of performance, the topic of Red Line versions of vehicles was raised. While they would not admit to plans to bring over a Red Line version of the Astra, Both Board members and the Saturn team agreed that the Red Line badge needs to incorporate both performance and appearance differences. The Saturn team said that they wanted the Red Line badge to tell people that the cars are "fun to drive."
   
• The Saturn team members we spoke with over the course of the week:
  
  Jill Lajdziak, General Manager
  Chuck Thomson, Director of Sales (Retail Integration)
  Lisa Hutchinson, Director of Product and Brand Development
  Kyle Johnson, Director of Communications
  Dan Keller, Director of Marketing
  Lisa Sullivan, Manager of Marketing Development
  Scott Horn, Internet / CRM Manager
  Kevin Frayne, Sky & Outlook Product Manager
  Liz Wetzel, Global Brand Design Director

If there are further comments or questions you may have, please feel free to forward them to me and I will pass them along to the appropriate team member at Saturn.  You can send e-mail to me from this site's contact us page.  Be sure to select club information from the list of subjects so that your e-mail is routed directly to me.



Kevin K
Saturn Performance Club
News and Promotion

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