GM Stops Saturn Production; What Now?
GM stopped producing new Saturns yesterday after news broke that its deal to sell the brand to Penske Automotive Group fell through. People were shocked in both the executive suites of Detroit and the 350 Saturn dealerships across the country. Add in the thousands of Saturn owners and potential buyers, and there’s a lot of confusion over the future of GM’s formerly “different” car company. Here’s what you need to know if you’re a Saturn owner or potential buyer.
The Present
Current owners’ warranties are still fully backed by GM and will be serviced by other GM brand dealerships — Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
As of Sept. 1, Saturn’s total inventory was 14,700 units, according to Automotive News data. Saturn representatives say there is an inventory of 12,000 vehicles on dealer lots and in transit. The company sold 1,303 vehicles in September, which by our math leaves about 10,700-13,400 Saturns out in the wild. Saturn says the 12,000 figure is good for four months of sales. Using real-world sales (that’s 1,303 per month), it seems they have nearly nine months of inventory.
GM halted production of all Saturns as of yesterday. The current new models for sale include 2008 Astra and the 2009 Aura, Aura Hybrid, Outlook, Sky, Vue and Vue Hybrid.
Cars.com shows more than 6,600 new Saturns in our new-car inventory. You can search your area’s availability by changing the ZIP here.
There are currently no manufacturer incentives on any of the models. Whether there are deals to be made is debatable. Often, dealers with low inventories won’t be anxious to move product. However, if a dealer is looking to cut its losses and close up shop as soon as possible, there could be deals to be had.
The Future
All dealerships will be closed by October 2010, according to GM. Many expect to close sooner because of a lack of cars to sell.
Parts will still be available for Saturn cars.
2008|Saturn|Astra
2009|Saturn|Aura
2009|Saturn|Vue
2009|Saturn|Outlook
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i thought they never made any 2009 Astras? BTW, where are all the Astras, i've yet 2 c any at rental lots & hardly see any around town so where'd they all go???
This is really too bad considering Saturn has some of the better looking models on the market compared to other GM cars.
d,
good catch thanks. changed above.
Dang; this stinks. Saturn was a well made brand...
it is now an awesome time to pick up an outlook or Vue...maybe even an Aura
May the Saturn Corp. Live always in our hearts. Our family have been constant owners of Saturns since '95. all of our new cars were Saturns too, nothing else. we are loyal brand owners until the end.
GM Stops Saturn Production; What Now?
The answer is simple, buy a Nissan, Ford, or Honda. Anyone who buys a GM anything is crazy.
Parts only have to be maintained thru the duration of warranty coverage.After that,good luck getting Saturn parts.With GMs dire sales reports,I wouldnt expect GM to even last thru Saturns warranty terms.....
Bottom line,dont buy a Saturn (or any GM for that matter).
One interesting footnote,now that old used SLs and SCs are becoming more available and cheap..they are very popular now among the under $1000 buying crowd.Good luck getting support for those old relics.....
The Saturncares website is supposed to be all about keeping the Saturn owner up to date on Saturn news and such,yet their site makes no mention of the Penske pullout or GMs decision to phase out the brand (and their halt of production yesterday).So,it was all a ruse...GM or Saturn didnt give a darn about their customers,they wanted to possess an image that it cared far more than Toyota,Honda,or anyone else.Just like it claimed Vega was the greatest small car ever (the car that does everything well),it fooled the public with Saturn.Well,it never fooled me.GM will always be GM.
When Saturn stopped using fiberglass bodies, they are just Chevrolet/Pontiac in disguise.
Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and now Saturn are all a thing of the past. Even the Chinese company who was going to buy the Hummer brand has backed out. I feel sorry for anyone who has to be seen driving a GM car. It must be embarrassing.
Lets get it straight for those of you who do not know. The current Saturn's are all Opel brand cars. Nothing rebadged from a Chev. They were good cars finally. To bad they are going under.
Good riddance to bad rubbish I say. The quality and resale values of saturn vehicles are so much lower than the cars that they are based on. Based on the amount of time they have been in the market and the brand development thus far it is quite obvious that it is a failure. Just get rid of it and concentrate on the core brands.
The Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice could be future classics.
Sad to see GM undermine what started as a good innovative company. This is all GM, a company that cares not one whit about its customers or the quality of its products. Its a shame that our government rescued such an abomination of an automobile company. They should have just allowed GM to go under. Now my tax dollars pay for a company that I loathe.
BW: An Outlook is a rebadged Opel?
Saturn only had 1 profitable year and that was in 1993! Government Motors should stop stealing our tax payer money and just close up shop.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/saturns-sad-legacy-nothing/
I dont know why GM has stopped production of saturn car. let's see what happen next.
Ok thinkerdude. The outlook is the only Saturn vehicle that is not a rebadged Opel. At least you know what you are talking about, more than I can say for some of the others.
BW,
I did not know that the Saturn Vue is also a rebadged Opel. At least the first generation of Saturn Vue.
Also, the Ion and Aura are rebadged Opel?
The point is, it is still nothing special to the brand if everything it has is rebadged.
I have a 2004 Saturn Vue and love it. Totally trouble free. Still has the original battery, original tires. Nothing has been replaced. I added a trailer hitch 2 years ago and that's it. AND I LOVE THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY DENTS ON THE SIDES ANYWHERE! Thanks to the plastic fenders and door panels. Saturn made a BIG mistake when they stopped making the plastic fenders and door panels. I slipped into the passenger door once while I was in the snow country and there definitely would have been a big dent in the door. I wish my Malibu had plastic doors and fenders. Oh, also, never any rust. Saturn, make the plastic doors and fenders and your sales will come back. Great SUV! (and very fast)
I forgot this comment but I have a friend that is on her second Saturn but had an older vehicle to trade in for "cash for clunkers". So she got talked into buying a Honda Civic. She has been driving it for about three weeks and has complained to me that on windy days she has a hard time keeping it on the road. She said that "her old Saturn never did that". Well I have tried to explain to her that her old Saturn is a little heavier and that might be the reason. She said "oh well, it get good gas mileage". She said it got 35 MPG. My Chevy Malibu gets 34 MPG and it DOESN'T GO ALL OVER THE ROAD ON A WINDY DAY. Her old Saturn gets 32 MPG and it is a 1997 and has had not problems with it except for normal maintainence. Enoug said.
James,
I think it would be nearly impossible for a Honda Civic to have worse aerodynamics than a Malibu or older Saturn sedan and be pushed any differently in winds. She may be experiencing heavier winds than she was used to perhaps.
I just bought a Vue Hybrid ad I love it. To bad it's not going to be supported for long. Stay away from GM!
Nancy,
It will still be supported...just not at a Saturn dealership. Warranties will still be honored as well.
If you want a car with some heft, buy a mitsubishi eclipse-- a joy to drive, heavy with a strong engine- feels solid on the road. The honda civic got turned into a golf cart. The first generation prelude was a stubby heavy car that handled well. I drove a 92 civic for years and it was lousy in the snow, lousy in the rain, and blew around (and made a whistling noise at 55). Saturn and Pontiac should've been thrown a lifeline--