For the past 12 years Saturn has been vaguely in orbit around General Motors, writes John Rettie. GM started Saturn as a separate entity in an attempt to create “a different company” that would be better suited to compete with Japanese manufacturers in the competitive small car market. For many reasons Saturn has been treated as somewhat of a stepchild within the vast GM organisation.
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Despite this it has maintained a steady position as a maker of an acceptable entry-level car that appeals to the average American. The S series has a loyal following but has never been a hit with car enthusiasts per se. The most remarkable success has been the way the dealer network has built a reputation for providing the best sales experience bar none.
In the annual JD Power and Associates Sales Satisfaction Index Saturn has ranked first for seven out of the last eight years. Even more impressive it ranked first in the Customer Service Index this year, which was the first time a non-luxury manufacturer ranked at the top in the past 16 years. Saturn’s sales have waned in the last couple of years as the larger L Series, which is based on the General Motors Europe (GME) Opel/Vauxhall Vectra platform, has never really taken off and the original S Series has become long in the tooth.
In a segment where Honda and Toyota update their Civic and Corolla models every four years, Saturn dealers have had to continue selling the S series which remained largely unchanged for the past dozen years. The saving grace for its dealers this year has been the newly launched Vue sport utility vehicle, which is selling reasonably well.
Now, finally, the S-series is being replaced with an all-new model called the Ion.
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By GlobalDataAt the media launch recently held in a college town near Austin, Texas, GM brought in the big guns to help launch the car. Bob Lutz attended the first day’s presentations while none other than Rick Wagoner was scheduled to attend on several other days. It’s unusual for such senior executives to attend the product launch of a car.
Their appearance was obviously to emphasise that Saturn is an integral part of GM’s small car future. Lutz admitted in the presentation that GM has a smaller share of the small car segment in the US than other manufacturers and says GM is “determined to correct” this deficiency with a renewed emphasis on cars in the next few years. Saturn’s average yearly sales have been around the 200,000 mark since it hit the market in 1990. Lutz says Saturn’s sales should be considerably higher, maybe around 500,000 units a year.
Lutz admitted that it’s difficult to make a profit on small cars but that it is “strategically important to have a presence in this segment as this is where future customers come from.” To this end Saturn sees itself as bringing new customers into the GM family and moving them up into other brands. Years ago that was the position Chevrolet “enjoyed” in the GM hierarchy.
The Ion follows the same design philosophy of the 12-year old S-series with polymer body panels mounted on a steel substructure. The Ion uses the Delta platform, which is an all-new platform that will be widely used around the world and is itself derived from the current GME Astra platform.
Externally the Ion designers have made good use of the flexibility allowed by plastic panels to use some interesting, if controversial, styling features with panels intersecting at differing angles. The roof edge rail, for example, can be changed with different coloured trim allowing a customer to personalize the external look fairly easily.
The coupe version of the Ion is even more unique as it includes rear doors that open out from rear hinges eliminating the need for a B pillar. This concept was introduced on the previous coupe but only on the passenger side. The new car has opening rear doors on both sides hence its name Quad Coupe. The versatility of the coupe is further enhanced with seats that fold flat so that even a kayak can be fitted inside the coupe through the side of the vehicle. Utility is also a feature of the sedan with a 14.7 cubic foot trunk, which is the largest in the segment.
Saturn aims the Ion straight at young buyers so it has a heavily stylised interior with a centre mounted instrument pod and plenty of different coloured plastic panels to give it a modern look. The car is powered by the 140 horsepower 2.2-litre four-cylinder Ecotec engine that is coupled to a five speed manual transmission, a five-speed automatic or a CVT in the Coupe. Variable-ratio electric power steering is a first in its class. The Ion is priced competitively, starting at $US11,995 for a stripped base model. Saturn expects most of them to sell for around $16,000 putting it squarely in the middle of the segment.
Sadly the overall impression of the Ion is one of ordinariness. While the Ion will undoubtedly sell well in Middle America, largely thanks to Saturn’s no-haggle pricing policy and pleasant dealer experience, it is not a world-class small car. Consequently GM has no plans to export the Ion as it agrees that it would not be competitive with the Civic, Corolla or Ford Focus. When asked why GM Europe did not adopt the same plastic body design for the Astra, Lutz replied that Europeans would not be satisfied with the large gaps between body panels that are inevitable on a plastic bodied car. In other words this car is fine for Americans who care more about price than fit and finish.
It’s a shame that GM could not have produced a world-class small car. Maybe once Lutz’s influence has worked its way into future cars it will happen. He says the design and engineering on the Ion was 99% complete when he re-joined GM last year so his only input was to improve the texture of the grain in some of the interior plastic trim.
Suggested further reading – GM Corporate Profile: click here
