Saturn Gives General Motors a Boost

The attention given by General Motors to Saturn was repaid after the brand performed well and helped the automaker increase its May sales compared to last year. The quality offered by Saturn cars tied General Motors with the Toyota Motor Corporation for the fourth place in the Strategic Vision annual quality survey. General Motors and Toyota both trail Volkswagen AG, Nissan Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

The study, which placed General Motors and Toyota tied for fourth, was conducted by Strategic Vision, a research firm based in California. Last year, General Motors finished fifth in the survey.

The Saturn brand in this year’s survey finished fifth among the 21 non-luxury brands in the United States auto market. Last year, the brand finished eighth. The brand trails Volkswagen, Nissan, GMC, and Honda brands in this year’s survey. One of the reasons for the improvement of Saturn on the list is their Saturn Aura model which bested popular Asian cars in its segment which are the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, and the Nissan Altima.

For the past years, General Motors has been criticized for almost neglecting the Saturn brand. Recently though, the Detroit-based car manufacturer introduced new vehicles to Saturn’s lineup to attract and lure in more car buyers. Aside from the Aura, the Saturn Outlook, with its European styling and reliable parts such as Saturn spark plugs, is a concrete example of Saturn’s revitalized lineup. In the past, Saturn capitalized on their good customer relations but suffered from dwindling sales as their lineup did not offer much choices and options to consumers.

Instead of just relying on the dealership experience, which they have done for some time, Alexander Edwards says, “We're going to come out with products that are going to blow everybody away.” Alexander Edwards is the president of Strategic Vision Inc. The firm tapped 27,000 United States car buyers to get their views on the particular car brands that they have bought or are looking to buy the next time they need a car.

According to Kyle Johnson, the director of Saturn communications, the result of the survey reflects the findings of General Motors’ internal research on the Saturn brand. He added that they are “competing at a different level” with the release of their new lineup. Last year, they offered the Saturn Aura and the Saturn Sky and following the release of those cars, Saturn introduced the full size crossover SUV Saturn Outlook. Johnson pointed out the improvements that their current lineup has over their past models saying that: “The interiors have been refined, the handling improved and the body panels, which were dent-resistant plastic in the past, are now steel, allowing for better fits.”

The Saturn brand posted the highest increase in sale for the month of May. The brand posted an increase of 69 percent compared to last year’s May sales. The brand posted the highest increase in sales of all auto brands in the United States auto market. The May 2007 sales also marked the most number of cars that the brand has sold for a month in its entire history. With its increasing popularity among car buyers and the level of its quality, Saturn is emerging as a strong contender in the United States auto market.