Roadrunner Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 So... Aura Sept. 07 - 6,221 Aura Sept. 06 - 3,183 Ion Sept. 06 - 8,754 Ion Sept. 07 - 3,779 (outgoing model) Aura YTD 2006 - 4,965 (new model) Aura YTD 2007 - 46,062 Ion YTD 2006 - 80,023 Ion YTD 2007 - 40,003 We know that the Ion is a shitbox compared to the Aura -- but it had better sales YTD last year. Was it plopped into fleets heavily ? I'm not sure about that: Saturn brand fleet sales were a lower percentile than both Pontiac and Chevrolet, if memory serves. So what's going on? Aura has all this buzz about it, and a crap car outsold it? Or am I missing the forest from the trees? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 (edited) Ion is a smaller car like the Focus, how where the sales of the LS..which was Saturn's compact or mid-sized offering... Edited October 4, 2007 by silvrsvt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Well considering you could get an Ion for $9,999 and An Aura you couldn't get for under 20k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Ions are in every major city's airports. I had one on my last biz trip to CA and it was horrid. When the counter lady told me I had a Saturn, I was silently praying for an Aura....alas not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Ion is a smaller car like the Focus, how where the sales of the LS..which was Saturn's compact or mid-sized offering... I think the Ion is slightly bigger than that -- it's a counterpart to the Pontiac Grand Am if I remember correctly. The LS was completely dead for 2006, IIRC the sales numbers. Cancelled in 2005. Incidentally: they sold 16 Oldsmobile Aleros in 2006! and 10 Bravadas and Silhouettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 The Ion and Cobalt share the same platform Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Aye..... (wait talk like a pirate day was a few weeks ago) I recall when the Ion was first released, Saturn making a big deal about being able to customize the trim around the roof and door frame. If that was the only thing GM could revert to in order to garner interest in that heap everyone should have known the car was going to be horrid. I had one for a rental not too long ago. The steering had as much feedback as a drunk attempting to recite his/her ABCs backwards, and the interior made my eyes bleed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockFX Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Aye..... (wait talk like a pirate day was a few weeks ago) I recall when the Ion was first released, Saturn making a big deal about being able to customize the trim around the roof and door frame. If that was the only thing GM could revert to in order to garner interest in that heap everyone should have known the car was going to be horrid. I had one for a rental not too long ago. The steering had as much feedback as a drunk attempting to recite his/her ABCs backwards, and the interior made my eyes bleed. Lol, they should have concentrated on making the trim actually fit and not having gaping panel gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Lol, they should have concentrated on making the trim actually fit and not having gaping panel gaps. Which is probably why they don't use polymer door panels anymore. Glad to see GM is actually showing interest in the brand, unlike Ford with Mercury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockFX Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Which is probably why they don't use polymer door panels anymore. Glad to see GM is actually showing interest in the brand, unlike Ford with Mercury. Mercury isn't worth a thing. Ford does not need 6 brands, it needs 2 or 3 highly successful ones. Anyone that promotes keeping Mercury is just in denial of reality. Research the Sloan model of selling cars, that's why Mercury even exists, and since that model fails today, Mercury must be killed as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Mercury isn't worth a thing. Ford does not need 6 brands, it needs 2 or 3 highly successful ones. Anyone that promotes keeping Mercury is just in denial of reality. Research the Sloan model of selling cars, that's why Mercury even exists, and since that model fails today, Mercury must be killed as well. Mercury can very well exist, with proper product, and be succesfull and very profitable to Ford. First off It can't exist in its current state od putting a waterfall grill on everyford. Ford Brand is the bread and butter brand, the brand has to be middle of the raod to appeal to the masses. Lincoln is a joke right now, but after time will be a luxury brand. Mercury can bee Fords brand that caters to the edge of the marketplace, people who don't want middle of the road products, It allows Ford to cover the market place more effectively. Pontiac and Saturn will survive by catering to the corners of the market the bread and butter brand can't. Mercury can be the same, but by doing that Mercury needs unique products, not unique platforms, but unique products on Ford platforms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockFX Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Mercury can very well exist, with proper product, and be succesfull and very profitable to Ford. First off It can't exist in its current state od putting a waterfall grill on everyford. Ford Brand is the bread and butter brand, the brand has to be middle of the raod to appeal to the masses. Lincoln is a joke right now, but after time will be a luxury brand. Mercury can bee Fords brand that caters to the edge of the marketplace, people who don't want middle of the road products, It allows Ford to cover the market place more effectively. Pontiac and Saturn will survive by catering to the corners of the market the bread and butter brand can't. Mercury can be the same, but by doing that Mercury needs unique products, not unique platforms, but unique products on Ford platforms. Ford doesn't need to cover the marketplace more efficiently. The "near-lux" segment consists of Chrysler and Volkswagen. Why should Ford toss Mercury into that mix? Mercury will never make sense in today's market. It made sense when there were only a few brands to have a car at every price. Now that does not make sense. How big can Mercury be? 200,000 units? That does not deserve unique products. 400,000? That would need unique products too, but there are so many segments, and wouldn't some be better served as Fords or Lincolns? Honestly, the market says Mercury is a bad idea. Mercury is like that friend you keep around cause he's entertaining, but most of the time he's a pain in the ass unless you give him a ton of attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Mercury without a doubt can succeed, it is just going to take work to figure out how to place it without encroaching on Ford and Lincoln. Ford of Europe already has a sedan and a people mover, there's part of the equation. Dump the current boring ass logo and replace it with something more visually interesting, and there is yet another piece of the puzzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 (edited) Mercury without a doubt can succeed, it is just going to take work to figure out how to place it without encroaching on Ford and Lincoln. Ford of Europe already has a sedan and a people mover, there's part of the equation. Dump the current boring ass logo and replace it with something more visually interesting, and there is yet another piece of the puzzle. Yet another topic reverted to the the kill/keep Mercury debate. Back on topic: My guess is fleet dumping for the Ion --- probably trying to get rid of them before the Astra comes. Edited October 7, 2007 by rmc523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 The Ion and Cobalt share the same platform I stand corrected. Mighty lame then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Mercury isn't worth a thing. Ford does not need 6 brands, it needs 2 or 3 highly successful ones. Anyone that promotes keeping Mercury is just in denial of reality. Research the Sloan model of selling cars, that's why Mercury even exists, and since that model fails today, Mercury must be killed as well. Every time someone says that Mercury needs to be dumped now should realize how much it will impact Ford Motor Company sales. If Ford was to announce 2008 will be the last year for Mercury you now have another 150,000 units to make up for. Don't assume that all of those customers will just go and buy a Ford or a Lincoln. I imagine you can figure about 1/2 of that 150,000 will shift to another company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Or am I missing the forest from the trees? Forest from the trees I'm afraid. Different market segments, different pricing, no previous product in the same category, etc. You can't compare the Aura's sales to the Ion's to gauge the Aura's success. Don't get me wrong however, the Aura is way-underperforming. It seems like a good enough vehicle, but there just isn't the momentum behind it GM planned for. And with the Aura's horrid launch I'm not sure what else Saturn can do. I'm assuming the ad budget at GM is going to shift to the Malibu which not only has a better chance of serious volume, it appears to be a better car than the Aura. So with a competent but not outstanding car that is overshadowed by it's own cousin, I'm not sure what Saturn/GM can do to stimulate demand. I think the best thing Saturn could do is bring back the no-pressure dealer with no-haggle pricing; it helped Saturn to sell hundreds of thousands of mediocre cars for years. But those days are long gone apparently. Too bad really. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Every time someone says that Mercury needs to be dumped now should realize how much it will impact Ford Motor Company sales. If Ford was to announce 2008 will be the last year for Mercury you now have another 150,000 units to make up for. Don't assume that all of those customers will just go and buy a Ford or a Lincoln. I imagine you can figure about 1/2 of that 150,000 will shift to another company. This is sort of off topic, but I finally got to see a new Sable up close, they look good. It was black, and unfortunately it was a Budget rental, but it still looked nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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