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NOTES FROM SPACE
I read Kris Culmer’s piece on Saturn (From the archive, 27 November) with fond interest, having worked for the company between 1991 and 1993 in Detroit and Spring Hill on the plans for exporting to Europe.
Some of his comments were spot on. Manufacturing costs were very high and a lot to do with the plastic body panels. The cars were noisy, mostly due to the metal timing chain on the 2.0-litre engines, and the trim inside was very hard and felt cheap. European exports never got off the ground due to there being no hatchbacks, no diesels and no 1.2-litre or 1.4-litre petrol engines.
Some of the things he wrote about need a bit more detail, though.
Yes, Saturn had fewer business partners than was usual, but those 200 built a further 550 satellites – often referred to as ‘market area approach’. This formed the basis for a change of European distribution strategy by letting a smaller number of partners have multiple sites.