"SnoMan" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:30:26 -0700, SMS >
> wrote:
>
>>They can't split on vehicle philosophy because Saturn can't sell enough
>>vehicles to justify the design and tooling costs for a line of unique
>>vehicles. Remember, Saturn sells only in the U.S. and Canada, despite
>>abortive attempts to sell in Taiwan and Japan. Contrast this with
>>Toyota, who sells (and manufactures) their mass market cars like the
>>Camry and Corolla, all over the world, amortizing the design and tooling
>>costs.
>
>
> They started Saturn out to be different but if they just want it to be
> another cow in the herd not they might as well kill it now.
> -----------------
> TheSnoMan.com

This discussion prompts me to think about the question, why did GM start
Saturn in the first place? Remember "a different kind of car; a different
kind of car company?" The early marketing would seem to suggest that GM
wasn't as much concerned with the fact that they wouldn't be able to "sell
enough vehicles to justify the design and tooling costs for a line of unique
vehicles" (to quote scharf.steven). If this was true and what steven says is
now true, then I would say that GM has pulled (even if without having
intended it, originally) something similar to a "bait and switch." They
lured us away from Japanese product with the SL, SC and SW lines (polymer
panels, reliable, inexpensive, fun, [relatively] powerful 4-cylinder OHC
engines) and now offer products that are completely different but with
synergies to other GM product. Well, I guess it's back to Asian imports ....
<frown>