|
 
 |
This article is listed under:
General-2007
Click your category to return, or
use your back button
Wrong About
Saturn: GM FastLane Blogs - Rebuttal to NYTimes editorial
Date: Sept 6, 2007
Source: CheersAndGears.com
Author: Flybrian
Source Link
Original Article:
Original Article
Title
Date: Sept 6, 2007
Source: GM FastLane
Author: Kyle
Johnson
Source Link
There was a puzzling post by Jerry Garrett in the New York Times'
"Wheels" blog yesterday. We were puzzled mostly because we were
surprised to learn that we were dead, according to Jerry -- "killed off"
in some sinister, if wholly imagined, plot. He called us "a different
kind of car company, indeed."
Okay, Jerry caught us. We are different. We're not the Saturn we used to
be. In fact, we are about to launch our fifth all-new product in the
last 18 months – and we have expanded our strong customer treatment
programs: no haggle/no hassle pricing, 30 day/1,500 mile exchange
program, 24/7 live web chat, at home test drives, just to name a few.
Jerry's main concern seems to be our collaborative relationship with
Opel , which baffles us, frankly, because there's not a company out
there that doesn't borrow freely from itself when it sees opportunities
to improve. And we strongly believe that the Saturn-Opel design and
development relationship makes sense for both the European and North
American markets, and gives both Saturn and Opel the strongest lineup
possible. This kind of globalized product development process is
working: Astra, Aura, Sky and Vue are all acclaimed, and Saturn sales
are up -- even in a rough year in the overall automotive industry. So
what's wrong with that?
Isn't being a good car company supposed to be about having great
products and having retailers treat customers well? So why does Jerry
think that it's bad that we’ve changed our business model so that we’re
bringing better products to the market?
We'll continue our collaborative relationship with Opel. But Saturn is,
was always, and will remain a North American company. Saturn and Opel
will continue to have unique regional vehicles; you're probably not
going to see an Outlook in Europe or a Zafira in North America.
We're confident that if Jerry actually had the opportunity to drive a
Saturn -- any Saturn -- he'd think differently about us. By our records,
Jerry hasn’t tested a Saturn recently. We'd like to remedy that. So
Jerry, what kind of Saturn would you like to drive, and where can we
drop it off?
|
|
