I am a creature of habit. And I am stubborn. With minor exception, when I find a solution to a problem that I like, I'm sold, and I'm loyal. I'm probably an advertising agency's dream. So, the fact that I've been a Saturn driver for the last ten plus years should be no surprise. And with a car-buying decision likely in my future in the next few years, I had intended stay the course. However, the tragically poor operation of what I call a foundational American company has led to the collapse and inevitable vanishing of a brand and its fiercely loyal customer base. And make no mistake brand saboteurs (you know who you are), we are quite pissed-off about it. (kids, pardon my language)
This is old news I realize. The elimination of the Saturn brand of cars is a done deal. But today it hit me hardest because I saw it first hand. I visited the dealership for what may be the last time. And death was in the air. The lot was half-empty of new cars (presumably no new vehicles are being built or delivered). There were new faces everywhere (as though the folks I seen around for years knew it was over and wasted no time getting out of there). And most importantly, NO ONE WAS THERE TO BUY CARS and NO ONE SEEMED TO BE SELLING CARS. Everyone at the dealership was there for service. No wonder they tried to up sell me on a service that's only needed every 100,000 miles, which I got probably 50,000 miles ago.
Well, farewell Saturn. You will be missed. Deeply. And as to not reward those that most failed you and us, I pledge to do my very best to never buy another GM product again. They did not try hard enough to keep you. And I will not try hard enough to keep them. So, in the paraphrased words of Dr. Rick Marshall, GENERAL MOTORS CAN SUCK IT!
Update, 8 March 2010
A professional over at Forbes basically concurs with my thoughts.
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