First on the Scene was Sky
First on the scene was Sky, a genuine two-seat sports roadster with an even higher fun factor than the Ion Red Line. Sky wore a Saturn face on an all-steel body that was four inches longer than the Pontiac’s but with the same general look. Starting sale in spring 2006, it was an upscale version of the rear-drive Pontiac Solstice that had launched in late 2005 with a long waiting list. Sky caused the same clamor, orders pouring in before the first one left the Wilmington, Del., plant that had been refurbished after finishing with the L-Series.
Power and Associates’ 1991 surveys of new-car owners. In its very first year, the “different kind of car company” leapfrogged Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and other rivals in two key measurements: how well customers liked their cars and how well they were treated by dealers. Respondents ranked Saturn third in both customer satisfaction and sales satisfaction. Only Lexus and Infiniti, the new Japanese luxury brands whose cars sold for three and four times as much, ranked higher.
These and other accolades buoyed values of used Saturns, which retained a higher percentage of their original price than other cars in their class. Other brands scrambled to “Saturnize,” hoping to boost their customer satisfaction and sales with it. Struggling Oldsmobile, in fact, soon implemented many of Saturn’s policies in the “Oldsmobile Edge” program. Some other dealers switched to “one-price” and “no-haggle” appeals, but many of those also selling other brands eventually returned to high-pressure tactics. Saturn’s own research showed that fully 50 percent of its customers bought primarily for the positive shopping experience, versus 25 percent for the product itself. As Saturn President Richard G. “Skip” LeFauve observed, Saturn’s success stemmed from many factors, including being true to its mission statement.
On paper — and in the showroom — Aura looked light years ahead of the old L-Series, with crisply honed styling, solid engineering, and most of the features buyers craved. The entry-level XE married an iron-block 224-bhp 3.5-liter pushrod engine to a four-speed automatic transmission. The uplevel XR boasted an all-aluminum twincam 3.6 sending 252 bhp through a new six-speed GM automatic. Variable-valve timing enhanced efficiency on both V-6s, and was a claimed first for the “cam in block” 3.5. Headlining a long standard-equipment roster were front torso and curtain side airbags, four-wheel antilock disc brakes, traction control, tilt/telescope steering wheel, and GM OnStar assistance with a year’s free service. It bowed in two versions, each a front-wheel-drive V-6.
