By: Gil

Gil — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:08:20 +0000

As a fixed operations manager for a suburban Chicago Saturn dealer, I have to agree with Eloah and her concern over husband Jason’s future as an auto technician. The best thing that can happen to Saturn would be the sale of the brand and get it as far away from General Motors as possible. Since GM’s announcement of the demise of Saturn the business at my store has diminished over 35% in service and parts and over 60% in sales. Several Saturn stores have closed in our immediate area and we still have not seen an increase in business. The general public simply will not buy a car that they perceive to be extinct before the loan is paid off. Current owners will not have their vehicles serviced by a dealership that they feel will not be there to stand behind their work. If GM executives didn’t realize the immediate effect of their announcement, then it only proves what inept executives they are. Incomes for Saturn dealer employess has been dropping consistently over the last few years. Largely due to the fact that GM product planners have failed to provide a product line that meets the needs and desires of the motoring public. People will buy the vehicles they want. Manufacturers have to be able to build and distribute the vehicles the public demands, otherwise they simply will not sell. This has been Saturn’s legacy over the last 5 years. Let GM keep their precious Chevrolets, Cadillacs, Buicks and GMC trucks. If they think they will be able to remain viable on the sales of only those brands, more power to them. For the sake of those who make their living within the confines of those brands, I hope GM can squeeze some level of success out of maintaining them. Based on the success rate of corporate decision makers within GM over the last few years, though, the future for them looks bleak. Even GM is hedging it’s bets on the American market and focusing it’s future potential on the Chinese market, as evidenced by the survival of Buick. Buick is a dying brand in the US, has been for years, yet it survivies because the Chinese market buys GM products under the Buick moniker, and the only market in whih GM is increasing it’s share is China. Why don’t the likes of Fritz Henderson and Mark LeNeve just move their corporate offices to downtown Beijing and wreak their havoc on the Chinese public? Put Saturn into the hands of someone who has a passion for the auto industry and really wants it to succeed and won’t let the corporate politics of inter divisional jealousy spell disaster for those who depend on the jobs the dealerships supply.

By: DJI

DJI — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:41:12 +0000

Maybe you should consider a switch to Fiat, rumour goes that they are coming to the US.

By: Nikkei 225

Nikkei 225 — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:10:21 +0000

Jason why not start your own repair business, keep costs low, work from home and buy some secondhand gear. Keep your future in your own hands.

Comments on: Car technician sees “short-time fever” at Texas dealership

By: Gil

By: DJI

By: Nikkei 225