Saturn Cars

Podcast Episode: 0168
What ever happened to Saturn Cars?

   Made to fight back against the Asian invasion of the 80's, Saturn is the story of the little company that could.  But in the end what really brought this little company who could to its knees?  AutoLooks takes a look at the life and death of Saturn Cars.  What really did kill this great idea off?

    Saturn was born from a great idea which was initially planned for one of GM's legacy brands.  Being bigger than just another model, Saturn Cars was founded with the hopes that they would be able to help GM fight the new onslaught of products from Asia.  But all of the this would come at a cost to their corporate owner, which may not be able to hold out forever.

   During the early days, Saturn was seen as just another brand trying to make it in the North American marketplace.  With a presence similar to its rivals, Saturn was seen as more than just another make from GM, due to their family atmosphere.  Being a company who pride themselves on being a family orientated business, Saturn soon found its niche in the American marketplace.

    A niche is nice, but how long could anyone play off of niche, as most companies overhaul their image every few years.  Saturn would soon find itself wanting more than just an entry level position, as they would eventually expand their product offering.  But, this would come at a cost, as Saturn was unable to make it on their own anymore.  

    By the early 2000's, Saturn was in need of some help for their expansion plans and with this help came a change in management.  GM soon took over the brand and set about making Saturn another badge engineered product offering.  Desperate to make more from their entry brand, GM set about releasing more product offerings to drum up more sales.  But would it work, as now Saturn was just another GM product offering.

    With the downfall of the American marketplace, came a new perspective on how many division GM really required for the market.  This soon lead to the decision to shutter the Saturn brand, which came as no surprise to anyone in the market. 

    Saturn was a great idea which expanded out from its initial project.  But, in the end, was it really worth the capital investment for GM?  AutoLoooks takes a look at how Saturn tried and failed in the automotive marketplace and could it ever return?  That is a question which can only be answered on this podcast.

​Everett J.