Say It Ain't So!

GM is planning to stop making Saturns? They're planning to stop making the one car line in their entire stable that is actually made well, for a reasonable price? Can it possibly get any more stupid than this?

GM shouldn't stop making Saturns, they should stop making everything but Saturns. Sure, over the last few years, Saturn strayed from its true mission - to provide a reliable, well-built car for an economical price - and tried to become just another Pontiac. The epic suck of the Pontiac brand should have been a warning, but corporate America cannot exist without constant turnover, and every new generation of executives has to make their mark and dew something entirely new to keep that career escalator churning upward steps out of nothingness. Thus the early retirement of such reasonable vehicles as the Ion, and their venture into the easy money full-size SUV market with a less than full size SUV. Like their Wall Street compatriots, corporate goons at Saturn thought the gravy train would roll forever. And just when GM could have used a division producing economical, reliable, fuel-efficient vehicles to save its bacon, it has instead - The Sky. That and seven bucks will buy you a foreclosed house and a cup of coffee.

So now, to complete the circle of suck, GM plans to close the one car division that was still doing a few things right. Saturn has always been its ugly stepchild because they made everything else at GM look like it was run by fools. But Saturn made money, and they are not such fools as to eat a money maker (unlike Disney, which eated Pixar). The fools are still in charge at GM, so first order of business is to get rid of the people holding up mirrors to their foolishness.

Sadly, GM deserves whatever Fate puts in its shorts.

My suggestion to Saturn: go directly to Congress for a bailout so you can buy yourself out of slavery to GM. My next car was going to be a Saturn, but if there aren't any Saturns, it will be a Honda or Toyota.