Opinion: What should happen to Saturn, Vauxhall and Opel during GM's reorganization?

Amidst all the recent bailout talk, one question being asked is what role GM's Opel division will serve in a new-and-hopefully-improved General Motors. More succinctly, will Vauxhall and Saturn soldier on unchanged or will they simply fade into automotive landscape? Automotive News seems to think the question of Opel and how it relates to Vauxhall and Saturn is so important that it's worth devoting three separate editorials to the issue, with varying levels of clarity.
Richard Truett maintains that shuttering Saturn would be a "monumental mistake that would alienate many of the most loyal buyers GM has," but thinks that "Saturn fans would be cool with a transition to Opel." We think that the cars might be well-received by Saturn buyers, but that the prices need to be more budget-minded and that the overall focus of the brand needs a thorough work-over. Some Autobloggers believe that shutting down Saturn altogether would be a mistake, while some are in favor of doing away with the brand as soon as possible. Regardless of where on that fence our staffers sit, we all expressed doubt that changing the name to Opel in the U.S. would serve any constructive purpose. Clearly, if it is going to keep Saturn, GM needs to show more support for the brand, as evidenced by the Malibu/Aura situation.
So what about killing off Vauxhall, which is essentially a UK-only rebadge of Opel? Well, here we see some dissent as well. Wim Oude Weernink says that the nameplate is superfluous and thinks GM should be reduced to just Cadillac, Opel and Chevrolet worldwide. That would leave GM with premium, near-premium, and mainstream lineups, placing it in line with other successful automakers like Toyota and Ford.
Colleague Mark Appleton, on the other hand, thinks it would be stupid to kill off Vauxhall. He argues that the General should keep the storied British marque, pointing out that there is no competition between Vauxhall and Opel and that the existing line-up would be very costly to replace with a brand that has never been successful in the UK. It's much like the Saturn/Opel equation except Saturn isn't as old, by a long shot.
This author thinks that Saturn could survive and possibly thrive as a rebadged Opel line, but recent history proves otherwise. The success of Vauxhall shows that the formula can work in other markets and now that smaller, more fuel-efficient Euro cars are gaining a foothold in the States, Saturn would be an ideal brand to market Opel's wares to American buyers who want to feel like they are ahead of the curve. And the same philosophy could be applied to Ford, with Mercury getting an infusion of the Blue Oval's Euro models.
It's expensive to shut down dealerships and to change brands, and the added cost of marketing a new or unfamiliar marque is considerably more expensive than manufacturing extra badges. So keeping Vauxhall and Saturn but streamlining the offerings and manufacturing some of the cars here could help bring jobs to America and stabilize prices when the dollar and euro (or pound) are going in opposite directions. Of course there are still some who think Saturn should just die already, but Alex is always cranky after a Knight Rider liveblog, and we don't know what to make of Paukert just yet. What say you?
[ Automotive News ]
[ Tag: bailout, gm bailout, gm bankruptcy, GmBailout, GmBankruptcy, opel, reorganization, restructuring, vauxhall ]

Rendered Speculation: Saab MINI-fighter

Automotive journalists visiting a GM design studio recently got an eyeful of something interesting: a MINI rival from the General, leaving the door open to speculation over which GM division could make it work. While the drawings spotted reportedly featured Chevy bow-ties, the scribes over at Motor Trend venture that Chevrolet couldn't sell it at high enough a price-point to make it a viable option. It'd be too small for Buick or Cadillac, and too European-flavored for Pontiac. (We don't need to point out that HUMMER and GMC wouldn't be a fit, either.) That leaves Saab and Saturn, either or both of which (in possible collaboration with Vauxhall/Opel) could present an intriguing alternative to the fashionable Anglo-Saxon retro-hatch, whose monopoly is coming to an end thanks to Fiat's hot-selling 500 and Alfa Romeo upcoming "Junior" model. It was nice while it lasted, wasn't it, MINI?


[ Tag: gm mini, GmMini, opel mini, OpelMini, saab mini, SaabMini, saturn mini, SaturnMini, vauxhall mini, VauxhallMini ]

Lutz: No Beat for the U.S., smaller CUVs on the way, Insignia stalled

General Motor's car czar, Bob Lutz, sat down with the little people of the blogosphere after GM's announcement that it would be reducing white collar expenditures by 20-percent, cutting truck production and eliminating retired health care for salaried workers over 65, all in an effort to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of 2009.
Maximum Bob addressed questions about GM's entire brand portfolio, saying, "Pontiac will be nourished with products" and confirming that GM is in talks with financial institutions about HUMMER, and that, "If we could sell the brand, we'd be interested in doing that."

Predictably, much of the conversation centered on fuel efficiency and the General's plans to address the growing demand for miserly transport in the U.S. Lutz made it clear that "as fuel costs in the U.S. begin to resemble those in the rest of the world" it will be easier for GM to realign its products on a global scale.
[Photo: David McNew/Getty]

So what about the Chevy Beat? The subcompact hatch is slated to arrive in Europe next year as the Spark, replacing the vehicle that shares the same name. However, GM didn't intend for the Beat (or Spark) to be offered in the U.S., so it doesn't meet federal safety and crash standards. It would take too much money and about two years to bring the Beat up to snuff for sales in the U.S., so Lutz conceded that it wouldn't be coming to the U.S. until the next generation arrives... whenever that is.

In more unfortunate news, the Chevrolet Cruze, set to debut in Paris and with sales beginning next year in Europe, won't be replacing the Cobalt in the U.S. anytime soon. Lutz maintains that the current Cobalt is "no where near the end of its life-cycle" and that it's "finally coming into its own" in the U.S. market. When the Cruze does debut, expect an interior that's a cross between the Cobalt and the Malibu, and powered by a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-pot that will get 40+ mpg.

When asked about Saturn, Lutz was insistent that GM "likes the brand," but is concerned that the franchise isn't generating enough volume. While earlier reports suggested that Saturn would short-cycle the Aura and replace it with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Lutz says that it won't be coming forthright.

When the 2008/2009 show season ramps up, expect GM to debut several new compact crossovers that are significantly smaller than the Lambda CUVs currently on sale. Lutz wouldn't elaborate on what brands would be getting these new cute 'utes, but expect them to span GM's portfolio.

On a completely unrelated tangent, Lutz divulged a few tidbits about his personal rides, which include a Saturn Sky Redline, an Aura and four (count 'em, four) Segways. Go figure...

[ Autoblog (Vauxhall) ]
[ Tag: beat, bob lutz, BobLutz, breaking, cruza, cruze, general motors, GeneralMotors, gm, gmc, hummer, saturn ]

Rendered Speculation: Vauxhall Astra VXR (Saturn Astra Redline?)

While sales of the newly-minted (at least for the U.S.) Saturn Astra aren't exactly setting the world on fire, we found it to be a rather good vehicle with a chassis capable of handling plenty more power when we had it in our garage. Auto Express has what they claim is an official picture of the next-gen Vauxhall Astra VXR, which is sold in its base-model form as a Saturn in the states, and it looks pretty good. Expected in Europe is a new 1.8-liter turbocharged engine sending around 240 horsepower to the front wheels and possibly a diesel as well. These engine are not currently certified for sale in the U.S., but GM's excellent 260 horsepower 2.0-liter Ecotec, as is available in the HHR SS, is ready and waiting -- and we'd love to see a Saturn Astra Redline powered by it. We'd be more than happy to see the attractive nineteen inch rims and aggressive body kit make it stateside too. As evidenced by today's current crop of hot hatches, such as the Volkswagen GTI and Mazdaspeed3, a small performance car, when done right, can sell in the U.S. Auto Express also indicates that this vehicle is likely to be shown in concept form at the upcoming Paris Motor Show in October.


[ Auto Express ]
[ Tag: astra vxr, astra xr, AstraVxr, AstraXr, saturn astra, saturn astra redline, SaturnAstra, SaturnAstraRedline, vauxhall astra vxr, VauxhallAstraVxr ]

Next gen. Vauxhall Vectra to get AWD, twin-turbo V6

Here's what the Saturn Aura Red Line should be, courtesy of Vauxhall. The Vectra is being replaced by an Epsilon 2-based car called the Insignia. The Epsilon 2 will also serve as the basis for the second-generation Saturn Aura. That platform sharing will no doubt be good in workaday trim, but Vauxhall's turning up the wick for the Insignia VXR, and we're crossing our fingers that Saturn is hanging out in the gym with its cousin. The VXR will gain visual horsepower and there will be real output from the powertrain to back up the appearance. A twin-turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 laying down 300 horsepower through the all wheel drive system that debuted with the GTC concept car in Geneva. The suspension will be able to cope with the power by using a revised version of the Vectra VXR's adaptive dampers, and the AWD system carries at least one limited slip differential. A 0-60 time in the mid 5-second range sure sounds good, as does the 165 mph top speed.
Just as exciting to us diesel-starved US consumers is the 2.9 liter V6 turbodiesel variant of the Insignia. The diesel packs a not-insignificant 247 horsepower, and both cars get a six-speed manual transmission standard. What will we do if both versions make it Stateside? We'd have a hard time choosing, but it would be amusing to see what Saturn calls the diesel. The Aura Grey Line? Brown Line? The Insignia VXR is about a year and a half away, with lesser models arriving sooner. Cost will be ?25,000 -- which we hope doesn't translate into a $50,000 range-topper Epsilon 2.

[ Vauxhall ]
[ Tag: epsilon,epsilon 2,epsilon II,Epsilon2,EpsilonIi,europe,general motors,GeneralMotors,gm,insignia,insignia vxr,InsigniaVxr,vauxhall,vectra,vectra vxr,VectraVxr,vxr ]