I also like your point about the “collective love affair with the myth of German quality or whatever, but North Americans love all things Teutonic”. Really captures the zeitgeist. Wagnerian in scope. Tighter than a well-made schnitzel. Happy Octoberfest!

Volkswagen products have never been known for their great quality, but they do benefit from the halo effect of that German provenance. Call it our collective love affair with the myth of German quality or whatever, but North Americans love all things Teutonic. I’ve sometimes wondered if Lexus buyers wish it were German…but I digress. My point is, the core Saturn brand was about the American Girl/Boy Next Door. And when that girl/boy turned out not to have a 4.0 GPA, it didn’t matter how wholesome s/he was. Few car buyers wanted anything to do with her/him.

In its entire history of existence, Saturn has never been profitable. Because it had a no-haggle policy, Saturn products were excluded (until very recently) from GM’s seemingly endless supply of consumer incentive funding that GM dealers loved to sell since they never did and still don’t have a clue about selling products and brands.

With a history of poor product quality and without a deal, Saturns were doomed. In the last handful of years, GM started letting Saturn near the trough, but it was too late.

The story of Saturn, unfortunately, is a testament to the old ad adage that great advertising kills poor brands faster than anything else.