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2010 Saturn Aura put on “Hold”

admin — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:13:43 +0000

Even if the current Saturn Aura had an imposing launch in 2006, sales were much under expectations. Next generation was supposed to be launched in mid 2009 as a 2010 model and built on the Epsilon II platform. The European version of the future Saturn Aura is the newly launched Opel Insignia. It seems that GM has second thoughts about the launch of the future Aura and decided to put the project on hold.

According to GM Inside News, the company didn’t come with an explanation on why such a decision was made, considering it’s pretty odd to come with such a change so close to the product’s launch.

Saturn to launch new ad campaign to bolster new vehicle awareness

besthidxenon — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:41:18 +0000

Saturn may have one of the freshest lineups in the industry, but apparently that message isn’t getting across to consumers through the automaker’s current advertising campaigns. In order to bolster awareness about its new vehicles, Saturn will be launching an all-new ad campaign in late April. Initially, the new campaign will focus on the Aura and Vue, but will shift to the Outlook later in the year. Saturn sales fell short of expectations last year particularly the Aura and Outlook — something General Motors chalks up to an inconsistent marketing message. "Last year we launched a product every few months in the marketplace," Jill Lajdziak, general manager of Saturn sales, service and marketing, told Automotive News. "When you do that, you don’t have stability in the marketplace." GM sold just 59,964 Auras in 2007, well short of its goal of over 100,000 units. Sales of the Saturn Outlook crossover were also well off predictions, making it the slowest selling of the Lambda family of vehicles. As of March 1, GM had a 107 day supply of Outlooks, whereas the GMC Acadia had a 70 day supply and the Buick Enclave had a 44 day supply. Despite the new ad campaign, sales of the Outlook could drop even further when GM launches its fourth and cheapest Lambda vehicle — the Chevrolet Traverse — later this year.
[ Saturn to launch new ad campaign to bolster new vehicle awareness Via Hidstores Car Reviews Blogs ]

Saturn testing new online shopping features

besthidxenon — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 02:50:58 +0000

In this day and age, it’s quite surprising how much of the car buying process actually takes place at the dealer. But the days of trudging to the dealership for every stage of the car buying process could be numbered, thanks to a new pilot program Saturn is testing. Saturn will soon launch a new website that allows consumer to go through most of the car buying process without ever physically having to go to the dealership. While some of the function of the pilot program already exist, the new program will revamp such features and make them even more user friendly. The pilot program will allow customers to schedule test drives, check dealer inventory, apply for credit, negotiate pricing and will even allow buyers evaluate the value of their trade-in. “Really what we’re doing is packaging some (functions online) that we already have out there and adding some that we don’t,” Chuck Thomson, Saturn’s director of sales, told Edmunds. “Our ultimate goal is to make it easy for people to do business with us whenever and wherever they want.” The pilot program will launch with about 10 Saturn dealerships nationwide, but if the program is a success, it could soon spread to many other brands.
[ Saturn testing new online shopping features Via Hidstores Car Reviews Blogs ]