Word: saturns
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...embarking on a career that included posts at Buick and GMC Truck. At Oldsmobile, Rock began his revolution at the retail level, where he exhorted his dealers to emphasize customer service. He plans for Oldsmobile to become the first mainstream GM line to adopt the methods of the new Saturn division, which embraces higher standards of value, quality and service than other nameplates...
Following the Saturn example, the Oldsmobile division plans to produce some new models that will bear no mention of the Olds name or its rocket logo. The first will be Aurora, a full-size sedan that will go on sale in 1994. While GM may continue to de-emphasize the Oldsmobile nameplate, the company has no plans to shut down the division entirely, contrary to rumors that it might do so. In its new guise, Olds plans to concentrate on midsize cars to compete with the likes of the Ford Taurus and Toyota Camry, giving up most...
...sheer size, however, is one of GM's greatest burdens. Because of arrogance and inertia, GM has fallen out of touch with its customers. Except for products of GM's Saturn and Pontiac divisions, young drivers increasingly spurn the company's cars for Japanese makes or other U.S. models. The median ages for buyers of GM's bread-and-butter midsize lines are 45 for Chevrolet, 55 for Oldsmobile and 60 for Buick. By contrast, the ages of U.S. buyers of Japanese cars range from 35 to 40. GM has foundered while the more nimble Ford and Chrysler, which...
...laboratory for organizational change at GM is supposed to be its built- from-scratch Saturn division, but so far the results have been mixed. Saturn's long and costly gestation -- it took seven years before the first model rolled out of its Tennessee factory -- drained $5 billion from other car projects and stirred anger and envy within GM ranks. And Saturn's special status as a stand-alone company within GM has created a snooty attitude on the part of its dealers toward the turmoil in Detroit. "Most of our customers don't know who makes the car," says...
...division has yet to make money for the company, in part because GM reportedly sells the car at a loss to build up its market share. All told, Saturn ran a deficit of $1 billion last year, according to U.A.W. estimates. But Saturn has in abundance what many of GM's other products so desperately need: prestige. The upstart division's high-quality products have proved so popular that customers have to put their names on waiting lists. If Saturn can translate its popularity into profits, the formula could help save the rest of the giant company...