About Saturn
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. 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 and has positioned it as the company's "green" brand; touting fuel efficient hybrids and crossovers. Saturn is currently becoming the US brand for Opel vehicles, similar to Vauxhall Motors in the UK.
History
Saturn was named after the rocket that took American astronauts to the moon and not after the planet.. Saturn's motto was initially "A different kind of company, a different kind of car," but has changed several times throughout its history. Drawing from experiences gained through its NUMMI and CAMI Automotive joint ventures, GM organized the Saturn Corporation differently from their existing divisions, attempting to emulate the Japanese management techniques, which emphasize quality control and high product reliability. At Saturn, union workers would have more control and involvement in the plant.
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. 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. 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.
