Saturn Corporation is a division of General Motors (GM) and a brand of automobiles. It was established on January 7, 1985 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of GM, and is active almost exclusively in the United States and Canada. GM began manufacturing Saturn automobiles in 1990, largely in response to the success of Japanese small-car imports in the United States.[citation needed] During the first decade of the 21st century, GM has moved the brand upmarket, to the mid-price segment that was once occupied by Oldsmobile.
Saturn was named after the rocket that took American astronauts to the moon and not after the planet.[1]. Saturn’s motto was initially “A different kind of company, a different kind of car.”[citation needed] Drawing from experiences gained through its NUMMI and CAMI Automotive joint ventures,[citation needed] GM organized the Saturn Corporation differently from their existing divisions, attempting to emulate the Japanese management techniques.[citation needed] At Saturn, workers would have more control and involvement in the plant. [clarify]
The Saturn Corporation also created its own distribution network from scratch, which was both independent and different from those used by older GM divisions. There was much emphasis put on the quality of customer service, with insights drawn from travel and hospitality as well as consumer retail industries, rather than traditional automotive sales.[citation needed] The uniqueness of Saturn’s distribution network was emphasized by referring to what would usually be called “dealers” as “retailers”, and conversely “retail facilities” in lieu of “dealerships”. Such “retail facilities” served non-competing “market areas”. They are noted for their no-haggle pricing, where the cars are sold at their exact sticker price, their no-pressure sales environments, and professional sales staff.[citation needed] The Saturn Corporation strove to build a community spirit among their customers by hosting annual “homecoming” events at its former Spring Hill, Tennessee manufacturing plant, as well a day-to-day special events in retail settings.
Saturn values were initially communicated through image advertising created by the Hal Riney advertising agency.
Nevertheless, from the business point of view, the Saturn Corporation never proved successful, never being able to turn a profit since its founding.[dubious – discuss] In the new millennium, it was decided to integrate the company in to the GM infrastructure in 2003, with Bob Lutz aiming to bring the brand closer to its GM European franchise, Opel.
General Motors even chose west-coast Saturn retailers to sell and service the short-lived and highly politicized electric car, the EV1, in the mid 1990’s.
Saturn’s headquarters, retail employee training facility and primary manufacturing facility were originally located in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The facility was chosen in 1985, after a highly publicized nationwide search for a site. The plant has since been retooled to produce other General Motors vehicles.
Saturn was originally established as a fully-owned, but independently administered subsidiary of General Motors, with GM executive Bill Hoglund at its helm. It was hoped that lessons learned from Saturn would trickle down to the rest of General Motors to make them more competitive against foreign automakers and improve labor relations.[citation needed]
Since the 2000s, Saturn has been gradually losing its autonomy, as new models, for example, do not utilize polymer side panels and are derivatives of other GM models. Production has since been moved to other GM plants. Production of Saturn vehicles at the Tennessee facility ceased on March 30, 2007.[citation needed] Initially, the Saturn Corporation was headed by a president who consulted with a Union local counterpart and reported to the GM Board of Directors. As the role of Saturn changed within General Motors, the chief executive role was shifted to be a Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing. Since 2005, Jill Lajdziak, previously a VP of SSM,[clarify] has been the General Manager of Saturn, who reports to the Vice President of the GM Small Car Group.
Saturn is known for its company-wide “no-haggle” sales policy. Saturn dealers (called “retailers” by the company) are encouraged to sell vehicles at list price. Customer satisfaction with dealer service is among the highest of any car brand in the US.[citation needed] The company also won praise for its environmentally-conscious manufacturing processes and for its innovations such as using flexible plastic side panels on its cars to avoid minor dents.[citation needed] However, in 2005, the Saturn Relay became the first Saturn vehicle without polymer side paneling.
Source:Wikipedia
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