GM has laid off 400 production workers at its Spring Hill, Tenn. Saturn plant as it reduces output of the slow selling Ion sedan & coupe.
The move is expected to save an estimated 30% of the cost of the employees' salaries during the eight-week layoff, which began Feb 13.
GM also said in November that it would cease production of the Saturn Ion in Spring Hill at the end of 2006. The company also announced in January the Spring Hill plant will make a gas-electric hybrid version of the Vue sport utility vehicle, expected to begin production this summer.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
What? No more Ion?
Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe
Burgundy 2006 Saturn Ion - My winter beater
^They will shift over to Lordstown, OH plant since both share the platform.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
Hmm you sure?? I thought the Evoke was going over to the Lordstown plant? It'll be hard to build the Ion in Lordstown cause they're still using polymer panels.. Pretty sure Lordstown isn't equiped for that? I know the Evoke won't be using polymer (shame).. Don't tell me Saturn is going to be completely stupid and not have an entry level car for 2 years?? Since the Evoke won't be out till 2008-09.. That would be really stupid, but since GM owns them, I wouldn't be that surprised..
Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe
Burgundy 2006 Saturn Ion - My winter beater
As of now... Ion will be built along side the Cobalt and Pursuit/G5. This is according to GM's press release. And GM recently invested a boat load of money in this facility to update and accomdate the Ion.
Now the "Evoke" which is suppose to be the replacement for the Ion is also suppose to be a rebadge and if not very similar Opel Astra. And very unfortunatly it will be use steel body panels instead of polymer
. But GM is not confirming anything and claims to be looking at other options too.
Either way bringing some Opel here to the states is a great start, I just wished they were badged Oldsmobile.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
I completly agree^^^, oldsmobile has a huge heritage and doesnt need to be killed. Saturn at this point is crap to me with a few exceptions
My Sig sucks, someone donate one to me haha
Well the whole polymer idea was cool to stop dings. But it sucked when it came to fitment and ugly gaps.
It also makes since to make them in Lordstown due too production wise. I just wish that Lordstown had better Quality. I also hope that the Skill trades there are not acting up, Like I have heard that they were. I also hope that they got their Paint shop running better. I know the Area Manager for their Paint Shop because he was the Body Shop manager for where I work and what I hear that was the original reason why the Cobalt SS was delayed.
I just wonder which direction GM is going to take Saturn. Will they push it more to the Luxury or towards the Scion way? I think the Scion path might be the best path.
Unfortunately I think Saturn is going the luxury way.. With the new Outlook, and the new Aura especially... The evoke is just going to be a rebadged Cobalt by the sounds of it..
Damn GM for ruining such a good car company...
Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe
Burgundy 2006 Saturn Ion - My winter beater
Well I really don't think that Saturn is such a great company, But that is my opinion.
I will agree that they have great customer service in their Dealerships and the rest of GM brands needs to learn from that.
NfamousZ24 wrote:Well I really don't think that Saturn is such a great style Brand, But that is my opinion. Nothing impresses me until the Sky.
I will agree that they have great customer service in their Dealerships and the rest of GM brands needs to learn from that.
Closest thing to an Edit button for now. lol
NfamousZ24 wrote:Well the whole polymer idea was cool to stop dings. But it sucked when it came to fitment and ugly gaps.
I just wonder which direction GM is going to take Saturn. Will they push it more to the Luxury or towards the Scion way? I think the Scion path might be the best path.
It was mostly larger then the usual body gap.
As for where GM want to go with Saturn... . Think Volkswagen.
lone_wolf wrote:Unfortunately I think Saturn is going the luxury way.. With the new Outlook, and the new Aura especially... The evoke is just going to be a rebadged Cobalt by the sounds of it.. Damn GM for ruining such a good car company...
No, No. From the looks of it, Evoke may be a rebadge Opel Astra, but again it is not confirmed. Jill Lajdziak, general manager of the Saturn brand, said Saturn and Opel will work together as partners and will make sure products will work in both regions (N-A and Europe). As for replacing the Ion with Opel's Astra, Lajdziak said that Saturn is looking at several alternatives for the Ion.
NfamousZ24 wrote:Well I really don't think that Saturn is such a great company, But that is my opinion.
I will agree that they have great customer service in their Dealerships and the rest of GM brands needs to learn from that.
Being that I have followed since Sept 1990 (family bought 4 model years). Sadly after 2002, Saturn lost it. Later it became another generic GM and their Union contracts are no where near as good as it were in the 90's.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
Well, if it wasn't for Saturn I would have bought a Honda or some other import.. I love my Ion, especially the looks of it, and how it handles.
It would be cool if the Evoke was based off of an Opel. It'd be nice to see Saturn make it's own vehicles again, instead of just rebadging other GM vehicles..
Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe
Burgundy 2006 Saturn Ion - My winter beater
Quote:
Being that I have followed since Sept 1990 (family bought 4 model years). Sadly after 2002, Saturn lost it. Later it became another generic GM and their Union contracts are no where near as good as it were in the 90's.
I agree. They should have stayed different from GM all together although replacing the 1.9L with the Ecotech wasn't a bad idea. The Ion sedans are butt @!#$ ugly, no wonder there sales have taken a crap. And the people who thought moving Saturn into Olds old spot was a good idea are morons. Buick already is in the cheapo lux market so there's no need to have another in house brand in the same segment.
