Saturn Door Replacement

Last week I had a mishap involving an electric vehicle and a friend's car, resulting in me punching a hole in the rear door of said car ('93 Saturn sedan). Luckily no one was hurt.

To fix the damage we went to a junkyard and pulled an identical door from a salvage car to replace it. Since early Saturns had mostly plastic body panels (doors, fenders, trunk lid, bumpers etc) bolted to steel frames the whole panel swap should've taken about 20 minutes.

However, once we removed the panel we found the door beams had been bent, and the window could not retract fully. Since the interior color of the salvage door was different and the wiring harness was cut at the junkyard, we had to change the frame and interior panel, while keeping the original wiring.

Because of the steeper learning curve it took us a good 4 or 5 hours (and we weren't in any particular hurry). The design of the door was very interesting and quite clever in its simplicity. This was all before side airbags so it was just a matter of removing the exterior panel, then the interior panel to get to the wiring. Once that was removed five bolts was all it took to remove the door. If it didn't have power windows or locks the entire door change would probably take half the time.

Both the original and replacement doors had no corrosion and all the fasteners worked as expected, even the plastic wiring clips. The door hinges had some play which allowed for adjustment and fitting. We also made two paper shims and bolted them under the bottom hinge to help angle the top edge of the door closer to the car.

The only surprise was that we found the interior switch assemblies were slightly different (the salvage door was from a '92 model). See picture below. "A" fit both doors while "B" did not due to a difference in tab spacing. That was a head-scratcher.

I've been a firm believer in non-metallic body panels for a long time (fiberglass, carbon fiber, various plastics) and this really confirmed the benefits. Simple to replace, impervious to minor door dings and stone chips, easy to match the paint, and easy repair access. Steel doors can only be accessed from inside, not both sides because they're welded assemblies.

Of course there could be a number of disadvantages as well such as cost, crashworthiness and weight. While the panel itself didn't seem heavier than steel, it's unclear how the overall weight of the door assembly compares to similar vehicles from that era. Still, composites are definitely worthy of consideration.

Once the new door was installed, everything worked as expected: Power window, power lock and of course opening/closing/latching.

This repair required nothing more than basic hand tools. If it was just the body panel all that would be needed is a screwdriver with a Torx bit. Total cost was under $140 for the replacement door and the color matched just fine. Youtube was helpful too (see http://www.youtube.com/user/saturncrzy). The last thing is now to do the pinstriping.

Penske Acquires Saturn

This is a huge boost for the 350+ Saturn dealers. As I suggested in December, this was a probable opportunity.

Roger Penske operates the second largest auto dealership group in the country (Penske Automotive Group) as measured by revenue. In addition to the auto group, Penske is also the U.S. distributor of the Smart ForTwo by Mercedes, owner of a
reknown racing team (they've just won their 15th Indy 500 last month), and operates one of the largest truck leasing fleets in the world (over 200,000 trucks). Pretty much the midas touch.

Penske's plan is to import cars based on Renault-designs manufactured by Samsung in Korea starting some time in the 2012 time frame. Until then they hope to continue selling the current most of the current models.

While it's a move GM has to make to focus on its core, it's another case of selling tomorrow for today. Clearly Penske is likely to succeed with the project. Not only that, he's starting with one of the better dealer networks within GM. Saturn has long been known for great service, no pressure sales and no-haggle pricing.

What GM is doing is creating a tough new competitor for itself in a few years (perhaps along with Hummer).

I haven't seen any further mention of the Sky roadster and the Delware plant where it's built along with the Pontiac Solstice. But don't be surprised if Penske picked these to flesh out the future product line as well.

Saturn: A Different Kind Of Company?

Automotive News reports that GM has been approached by competitors about selling their cars under the Saturn brand. At this point, Saturn has no products planned for after 2011.

A possible spin-off (as previously mentioned) could also provide the new buyer/partner with assembly capacity in addition to the dealer distribution network, since there is excess capacity available.

AN is also reporting that the new company could use some light design capability to give the vehicles a family resemblance. Last year Saturn produced somewhere around 250 thousand units, which works out to about 625 units per dealer. A new company would need to be able to obtain a significant amount of volume to make the transition work. It's a tall order but by far the best alternative.

Saturn Scenario

Automotive News reports this week that GM cannot close down unprofitable Saturn without spending a lot to buyout the 400+ dealers. Figures north of a billion dollars have been bandied about.

What does Saturn stand for, what does it represent? From the beginning it’s been a no-haggle, “friendlier” kind of company. That implies trust and honesty, which doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to position it as socially responsible and thus environmentally sensitive.

Perhaps it would be in everyone’s best interest if another manufacturer (or even a well funded upstart), especially one without a U.S. presence, took the brand off of the General’s hands to produce and sell a new line of vehicles that would resonate with the market, and help distance the brand from GM’s troubles. In one move such a company would obtain nationwide distribution.

Who could use one? Renault, Peugeot, or a Fiat brand (Alfa Romeo, Lancia, etc)? Maybe even an importer.

GM would get out of the deal without having to pay big bucks, the dealers would have another shot at staying in business, and maybe the market will have more and better choices.