Saturn Spring Hill Factory To Close

Cobalt and Ion share the GM delta platform.

Well, that would be the Vibe. The HHR doesn't get as good fuel economy.

 

That's why it's rather strange regarding how different they are in terms
of crash safety. The Cobalt is top-rated, the Ion is near the bottom.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/summary.aspx?class=40

It may be due to the type of body panels being used on each. The polymer
panel/with the reinforcements has never been as good as unibody in terms
of safety.

 

<<Well, that would be the Vibe. The HHR doesn't get as good fuel
economy>>

The difference is pretty small - about 13%

HHR is 23/30, the Vibe is 29/34

At 15,000 miles per year, the HHR would use 500 gal vs. 441 gal for the
Vibe, a difference of about $125 at today's gas price at Sam's Club. Or
a little bit more than $2 per week.

John Cowart

 

It was a great marketing gimmick. Unfortunately the polymer panels are
expensive to fabricate, and painting was a big problem. Also, it
increases the cost of the reinforcements underneath the panels. I'm sure
that they will be history very soon.

 

<<I'm sure that they will be history very soon.>>

That's unfortunate - they were one of my favorite features. My 92 is on
it's last legs mechanically at 150K+ miles, but still looks great.

Perhaps when the first steel-panel Saturns arrive at our local
dealership, I will go down there and kick-test them like they used to
show in the TV ads.

John Cowart

 

Yeah, and i'm sure they'll start making the corvette out of steel also.
Face it, the plastic panels is what saturn is. They're here to stay in at
least some of the models.

 

Sorry Steve they are not....The ION will be phased out of plastic panels in
Jan of 2007 and the VUE between April and September of 2007. This is fact.
There are no other plants that build plastic panel cars/trucks (the Corvette
is not plastic...it is a composite). Spring Hill will be converted from a
polymer panel plant to a steel body plant in 2007. The plants that will get
the next gen. ION and VUE will be steel body plants...no polymer...

 

It was no gimmick, it just wasn't a popular selling point. Our Saturn
SL2 looked better after 7 years than did our newer Subaru wagon and
Honda van after just a few. That included one side of panels replaced
and repainted after being sideswiped, saving a considerable amount of
money in repairs as well. I wouldn't buy a model because of plastic
panels, but I'd pay a little more for them if available and if all else
was equal among the models I was shopping.

It's too bad plastic panels didn't gather more interest. With
economies of scale and more consumer acceptance, we'd have seen
improved designs and reduced cost.

 

We'll see.

--
Steve Barker

 

They're also starting to pile up in junk yards with the realization that
they'll be there forever. Maybe 15 years ago Saturn thought someone would
figure out a way to recycle them (maybe in to bumpers) but it didn't happen.
ron

 

IMHO the HHR is a stunningly nondescript, and at the same time ugly,
vehicle. At least the PT Cruiser looks interesting. The HHR looks like a
truck someone tried to beat (with an ugly stick) into a wagon.
Is the HHR also on the delta/Lordstown platform?
The thought of going from Plymouth to Chrysler to Saturn and then to Pontiac
isn't helping my schizophrenia but the Vibe fits my current wants and I just
can't imagine myself in a Toyota Matrix.
ron

 

I've heard some junk heaps won't accept Saturns anymore, period. Hey,
'94 was the peak year on the S series - there's a zillion of them
basically about to hit the yards anyway.

 

I actually almost bought an HHR until the dealer tried screwing me on my
trade in a bit. I didn't think they were ugly, but kind of cool. They are
built (and basically are) share the Cobalt & Ion platforms. I ended up
buying a Vue and so far am very pleased with it. I did have a chuckle
though...GM must use the same interior electrical harnesses in the Vue, HHR,
Cobalt,etc as the center dash (radio, heat, etc) steering wheel, etc are
virtually identical in regard to layout with some cosmetic changes, so I
ended up getting some of the things I had wanted in the HHR, in the Vue.
Both 4 banger versions use the same 2.2L engine. When I test drove the HHR,
it drove very nicely and had better pick-up than the Vue, but I'm guessing
the HHR is a little lighter. The big thing I didn't like about the HHR was
it had extremely poor visibility out the rear view window. The back seat
head rests obscure the rear view very badly leaving a small square in the
center of the back window visible. The other thing was that the colors make
a huge difference. The way the front is rounded, the curves round the front
so much that certain darker colors make it lose all definition. The dark
silver (which we liked it the catalog) looked like a hearse. I'm actually
thankful that I had problems with the dealer as the '06 Vue kind of fell in
my lap. The manual tranny shifts very smooth, and I ended up going with the
black and the chrome package w/ chrome roof rails gives it some nice
definition. The only thing I don't like visually is that I wish the rims
available for the V6, were an option on the 4.

So far, a happy owner.
Scott

 

That we will....Oh, BTW...I work for GM at the Spring Hill Manufacturing
Center on the VUE line. So my information is basically 99% correct. I get
laid off in 2007 to convert the plant to steel panel and the ION line folks
get laid off next Christmas. Their portion of the plant will be stripped
out then. This was not a last minute thing. It has been in the works for
the past couple of years, as the decision was made then to drop polymer
panels from the GM lineup.

 

Does that mean that the last year for the poly side Vue's will be the '08
model? Or will it be a seamless transfer? Just curious on how those things
work...I can't see them doing without the Vue for a year...I think that's
Saturn's most popular CURRENT line now based on how many I see at the
dealers compared with the Ion and Relay. I think I've seen 3 Relays on the
road, (and I think I'm being generous)....Anyway, what is going in the Ion
portion of the plant after it's ripped out? again, just curious. Sorry
your going to get laid off....I did my part to help and bought one...

Scott

 

The '07 will be the last of the polymer panels. As Spring Hill production
will stop around change over in 2007. I believe the transfer will be a
seamless one. As you are correct, the VUE is the best selling product
Saturn has currently and unless something else is selling well by then they
will need the VUE to continue somewhere (even being steel body built then).

The entire plant will be ripped out and a new manufacturing line put in.
With the ION side stopping before the VUE side, it will mean a shorter
layoff period for those of us on the VUE side. Since about half of the work
will be done before we shut down. All we know is that we are getting a new
product...but as with GM they don't say anything until the last minute. So
it will be a few more months until we find out what product we get.

Jim

 

I agree, plus it has defeciencies that prevent me from buying any
vehicle.

The Matrix an excellent vehicle within it's capabilities.
I recommend getting the original, the Matrix. Toyota service people
understand it.
To GM service people it is an odd ball in their stable, as are those
Korean cars GM is importing.

 

Too bad. The VUE was on my short list when I change my '95 car in the
next few years.
Those plastic body panels were the big plus for the VUE. In steel it
will be just another cross over vehicle.