No Pressure Saturn Test Drives

Anthony Fontanelle
August 1, 2007

General Motors’ Saturn brand has always been known for having a very good relationship with its customers. And with the revitalization of its lineup, the company’s good reputation among consumers is also extended. Recently, General Motors offered Canadian consumers the chance to test drive Saturn vehicles at the parking lot of Future Shop on Lansdowne Street West in Edmonton, Canada.

The no-pressure test drives offered by Saturn are actually aimed at customers at the said store. Consumers who had the chance to test drive Saturn vehicles at the said event did not only get the chance to check out what the brand has to offer but were also given a $10 gift certificate for shopping at Future Shop.

This initiative by the Detroit automaker is part of its campaign of drawing more customers to Saturn showrooms not only in the United States but also in Canada. The said brand is recently named as the fastest growing General Motors brand. This increase in the brand’s popularity is brought on by its working relationship with another General Motors marque.

Opel, a German automaker, has been working with Saturn to revitalize the latter’s lineup. With European styling and performance ingrained on new Saturn vehicles, the reaction of consumers has been favorable for the struggling giant automaker. The revitalized lineup’s star is the Saturn Sky roadster.

According to General Motors’ spokesman, Michael Minielly, the Sky represents the coming of a new ear for Saturn. “The Sky was the first model in the new design philosophy,” he said. “Already the safety features were in the cars, the next step was making a beautiful vehicle,” Minielly added.

Aside from the Sky which is being sold in Europe as the Opel GT, Saturn's lineup bears a strong resemblance to Opel’s. The reigning North American Car of the Year, the 2007 Saturn Aura was designed with Opel. Based on the Opel Vectra, the Aura combined the safety features of previous Saturn models with European styling.

The result is a vehicle which not only received positive reaction among auto journalists but also among consumers. The increasing popularity of the Aura made General Motors even more confident with the Aura and its auto parts such as the Saturn AC condenser and other components that their Saturn dealerships are now offering consumers to test drive the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord alongside the Aura.

Consumers who were able to come across the event were given the chance to test drive not only the North American Car of the Year but also the new Saturn Outlook which, in itself, has also wowed the auto industry. In the recent edition of Consumer Reports, the Outlook not only placed among the top five in the midsize crossover SUV but it also gained a spot at the large SUV segment.

The Outlook is slated to replace the outdated Saturn Relay for the 2008 model year. Aside from the Outlook, Saturn's bestselling model, the Saturn Vue, also made an appearance at the event. The new Vue is also the result of the working relationship between Opel and Saturn. The 2008 Saturn Vue, like the Outlook and the Aura was also given favorable reviews by auto journalists. With the influence of European styling on the new Vue, it looks very different from its predecessor.

An additional piece to Saturn's lineup is coming this fall - it is a rebadged Opel Astra. This vehicle though is not a part of the test drive offered by General Motors to Canadian consumers.

Source:  Amazines.com