Even though both the Saturn and Hummer brands are being phased out, General Motors has reportedly revived production of both the Outlook crossover and H3 SUV to meet consumer demands.

Last month, GM assembled 1,037 Outlooks at its Lansing, Michigan facility, which is where the crossover’s Lamda platform stablemates (Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia) are built. A spokesperson for GM states that production was reinstated to utilize the rest of the Saturn-specific material at the facility, and that the automaker will continue to assemble the Outlook for a few more weeks.

Hummer, on the other hand, will produce 849 H3 and H3Ts to fulfill an order placed by a fleet company. GM’s Shreveport, Louisiana plant will commence production of these vehicles on April 12, and the automaker says that this order will be completed no later than May 13. After that, the Shreveport plant will continue to only produce the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, though the fate of those vehicles is rather shaky, as well.

[Source:Autoblog]

While perusing the EPA’s fuel economy listings, one of our readers stumbled across a vehicle that we didn’t even know had been rated. The 2-Mode Hybrid version of the Saturn Vue had initially been scheduled to go into production in November of 2008. However, as General Motors careened toward financial apocalypse, many product programs were put on hold or canceled altogether. Among those was the new hybrid Vue, which was delayed at least twice before finally being terminated altogether in late spring.

It appears that the EPA had already completed its testing regimen last fall and had officially rated the 2-Mode Vue at 27 city, 30 highway and 28 mpg combined. Compared to the existing mild-hybrid Vue, this doesn’t look particularly great, since that one also had a 28 mpg combined rating (25 city and 32 highway). The mild hybrid, of course, used a four cylinder engine while the 2-Mode would have had the 3.6-liter V6, giving it much better performance and a 3,500 pound tow rating.

Saturn did pretty much hit its target of a 50-percent improvement in combined efficiency compared to the non-hybrid V6 Vue, which carries a 19 mpg combined rating. The Vue doesn’t look as impressive as the Ford Escape Hybrid that’s rated at 34/31 mpg, but the Ford is powered by a four cylinder and is smaller and lighter. A closer comparison might be the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which while larger is also V6 powered. The Toyota is rated at 27/25 mpg and 26 mpg combined.

We know that the Vue will never be built, but GM has promised to put the new hybrid system into other vehicles in its lineup – perhaps even with a smaller and more efficient engine to improve overall efficiency. Thanks to Mike for the tip!

[Source:Autoblog]

Over the last several years, and until General Motors’ finances dictated that the Saturn brand had to be dispensed with entirely, it had become the North American outlet for Opel vehicles. Aside from the Outlook, all of Saturn’s current models are based on their Opel equivalents. The most recent speculation about Saturn’s fate had the dealer network being taken over by Roger Penske with a future vehicle supply coming from Renault via its South Korean subsidiary.

With this weekend’s agreement in principle that supplier Magna International would take over control Opel, those speculative plans could be about to change. Magna chairman Frank Stronach told the Globe and Mail he wants to see Opel vehicles built in Canada. While Penske — or any other Saturn suitor — might have preferred to source future vehicles from Opel, getting them from Europe would prohibitively expensive with a weak dollar. However, if vehicles are sourced from a Canadian facility, it could become a viable prospect. The problem is Magna doesn’t have a car assembly plant in Canada, but several Canadian plants are either scheduled to close or are without future product commitments, so Magna could end up buying a factory like the Oshawa truck plant from GM or even Chrysler.

[Source:Autoblog]

Regardless of what entity General Motors eventually unloads its network of 380 Saturn dealerships upon, it’s not planning to continue supplying vehicles to the displaced automaker past 2011 at the latest. This being the case, the majority of prospective Saturn bidders will need to find an alternate source for cars and trucks to stock its newly purchased showroom floors. But who?

According to The Detroit News, both Mitsubishi and Nissan are in talks with various parties that are considering making a bid for Saturn. Of those two options, Mitsubishi seems to make a bit more sense as it only has about 430 dealerships in the U.S. and it is therefore not nearly as well represented as Nissan. However, Nissan has a much deeper product portfolio and it already demonstrated that it is capable of selling in significantly higher sales volumes. At this point, it’s unclear whether the Nissan or Mitsubishi-supplied vehicles would be badged and sold as Saturns, but given Mitsubishi’s damaged reputation in the States (save the Evo), selling its wares under a brand with a reputation for strong customer service and ownership satisfaction could be just the opening it needs to find success in the U.S. market.

In related news, the DetNews is also reporting that the list of potential bidders for Saturn has been whittled down to “two or three,” which likely includes Penske Automotive Group, Magna International and investor group Telesto Ventures.

[Source: Detroit News]

General Motors is busy putting the finishing touches on its third (or is it fourth?) viability plan, part of which involves the sale or shut down of the Saturn division. While many were expecting GM to close down Saturn, GM has released a press release to tell the world that the fledgling marquee is on the block, and there are several suitors in hot pursuit. The new owner will inherit the Saturn name and its 400 dealer-strong retail network. Advisory firm S.J. Girsky & Co. has been retained by GM to facilitate a deal.

The biggest of the Detroit 3 isn’t putting a timetable on a Saturn sale, but the General is hoping to get something done later in the year. GM also isn’t identifying any potential buyers at this time, but the Saturn dealer body has expressed interest in saving the marquee.

What isn’t known is how much GM would be involved in future Saturn planning. All Saturns currently share platforms and are built in factories with other GM products. Unless GM also sells the new owner a factory (there will likely be a few open facilities to choose from), it will have to provide product for several years.

We’ll likely find out more about Saturn’s fate when GM submits its viability plan to the U.S. Auto Task Force on June 1. Follow the jump to read the brief GM press release.

PRESS RELEASE:

GM to proceed with efforts to sell Saturn

DETROIT - General Motors is proceeding to the next step with respect to the sale of Saturn. A number of potential buyers have surfaced and expressed interest in the Saturn brand and retailer network. GM will be reviewing expressions of interest from the potential buyers and will look to secure an agreement with a specific buyer later this year. S.J. Girsky&Co. has been retained by GM as advisor for this transaction. Saturn will continue to keep its retailers updated on its progress throughout this process.

About Saturn:
Saturn markets vehicles in the U.S. and Canada through a network of about 400 retailer locations, with a focus on providing innovative products with solid value and excellent customer service. The brand has one of the freshest lineups in the industry: the Sky roadster, the Aura midsize sedan, the Vue compact crossover, the midsize Outlook crossover and Astra compact car. Sa

[Source:Autoblog]

The ultimate fate of Saturn as an automotive brand remains uncertain, pending the outcome of the offers currently being made to buy it from a shrinking General Motors. One thing is certain though, it will not remain a part of GM. One of the primary reasons that Saturn is being disposed of is poor sales. There is, however, one exception to that sales record: hybrids. So far, Saturn has accounted for about a quarter of GM’s sales of hybrids. Saturn also had the best CAFE numbers of any GM division, thanks to the absence of any full-size body-on-frame vehicles or fuel-thirsty V8 engines in brand showrooms.

Removing those sales from GM’s total will likely have a negative impact on GM’s overall CAFE numbers, at least in the short term. Looking more closely at the sales, though, shows that the automaker’s big two-mode hybrid trucks have been taking an increasingly large proportion of GM’s hybrid sales over the course of 2008. The powertrain of the two-mode Saturn Vue will almost certainly be migrated to other GM vehicles such as the new Chevy Equinox and Cadillac SRX, helping the entire porfolio’s numbers as well. Another factor offsetting the loss of Saturn is the end of HUMMER and Pontiac, both of which have a number of lower mileage vehicles.

[Source:Autoblog]

When ants need to cross some dangerous span in order to get to the thing they want, certain ants in the colony will sacrifice themselves to build a bridge that other ants can cross. That’s how you get the honey. In GM’s case, the honey is a $12 billion government lifeline. The dangerous span is, well, extinction. And the sacrificial ants in this case could be Pontiac, Saturn, and Saab.

Before the government would start writing checks (to the automakers, at least), Congress told GM (and Ford and Chrysler) to come back with a plan that gave some indication of long-term viability and a return to financial health. Supposedly, as part of such a plan, GM has looked at “shedding” the three brands in question, which would eliminate the massive costs associated with production, marketing and sales. But that would happen after massive payouts, some serious upheaval and tens of thousands of job losses. It would leave GM with Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac… which, since it’s in ruthless survival mode, makes us wonder what kind of crush GM has on GMC. GM will release a 10-to-12 page plan to the public making its case and Congress has scheduled a hearing on the matter for December 5th.

In the article, the word “shedding” is used to describe what GM would do with Saturn, Pontiac, and Saab. But we don’t know where and how they would shed them. Saturn is a misfit child (not really Saturn’s fault), Pontiac is unsure of itself (except when it comes to the G8 triplets and the Solstice), and Saab sold about 33,000 cars in America last year and 125,000 around the world. With the state of lending and credit markets, it would probably be easier to buy a pterodactyl than get a loan to buy one of GM’s brands. HUMMER’s already been on the block so long it’s about to get arrested for loitering. So is “shedding” a euphemism for “bye-bye…”? We’ll know soon enough. Thanks to all who tipped in.

[Source:Autoblog]

Car buyers here in the States are clamoring for fuel efficient transportation, but so far the Saturn Astra hasn’t been on the top of buyers lists. The Astra is a smash hit in Europe and we liked it during its short stay in the Autoblog Garage, but it may just be too expensive compared to the competition with a starting price of $16,495. General Motors isn’t keeping the price high to make a profit on the small volume import, either. GM vice chairman and quote master Bob Lutz told Automotive News that the Belgian-made Astra isn’t profitable in the U.S. at all anymore due to the weak value of the Dollar vs. the Euro. The Astra has gone up in price by $500 since its introduction to reflect the broadening gap between the two currencies, and the price hike was implemented only to lessen the hit from the currency exchange. The Astra is not just a financial burden for the General – it isn’t exactly a sales success, either. GM has sold only 7,914 so far this year, which is far below the projected pace of 25,000 annual units. Part of the problem is that few people actually know the Astra exists, and those who do may not want to pay the relatively high price of entry. If you’ve driven or own an Astra, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

[Source: AutoBlog]

The introduction of the 2008 Saturn Vue is the latest element of the Saturn’s ongoing product overhaul. In the wake of the Sky, Aura, and Outlook, we had high expectations for the all-new Vue. Gone are the outgoing model’s clunky styling, cheesy faux grille, plastacular body panels and ho-hum street presence. In its place, we’re given a smart-looking, well-packaged Opel Antara clone that’s positioned as an obvious step up from its predecessor. Sure, the old Vue had some things going for it — after its last facelift it had a decent-looking interior, and despite its outward visual shortcomings, it offered plenty of useful cargo room — but it just wasn’t very exciting in the grand scheme of things. Its departure is decidedly unlamented, and we eagerly accepted the keys when GM entrusted us with a spanking-new Vue Red Line for a week. Read on to see how well the newest Saturn lives up to the hype.