Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak had good reason to smile at this week’s Detroit motor show – her company’s new Aura sedan scooped the North American Car of the Year award, the first time Saturn has won the prize in the 16 years of its existence.
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Indeed, the award is a sign that Saturn is finally starting to produce products worthy of its high-quality dealer network. The GM division has been criticised for producing bland cars, and failing to hit the hot sectors such as SUVs, minivans and crossovers.
Lajdziak admitted GM had considered shutting the brand down over the past few years: “It was touch and go for Saturn – but what saved us was our dealer network and our focus on the customer.”
Saturn also turned to GM’s European operations for product development – the Aura is based on General Motors’ Europe’s Opel/Vauxhall Vectra; the Saturn Sky coupe was derived from the GME Lightning concept car and future Saturns based on the Astra and Corsa are under development. The Vue SUV was developed by GM-Daewoo in Korea.
“Our efforts are paying off,” Lajdziak said.
The Aura won the NACoTY award because of a combination of performance, specification and build quality. A hybrid version will be added to the range later this year. It beat the latest-generation Toyota Camry in the final voting – a major achievement as Camry is America’s best-selling car.
GM also won the North American Truck of the Year award with the Chevrolet Silverado large pick-up truck.
