Misplaced Pages

Saturn Corporation

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#547452

133-455: The Saturn Corporation , also known as Saturn LLC , was an American automobile manufacturer, a registered trademark established on January 7, 1985, as a subsidiary of General Motors . The company was an attempt by GM to compete directly with Japanese imports and transplants , initially in the US compact car market. The company was known for its 'no-haggle' sales technique. Saturn marketed itself as

266-654: A knock-down kit , customized dashboard, and steering components) as it entered the Japanese market. In January 1999, Saturn rolled out its two millionth car. Also in 1999, Saturn began production of its all-new L-Series for the 2000 model year. By the time the Saturn brand was launched in Japan, the Japanese economy was already in a sharp decline following the 1990 collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble . Resultantly,

399-424: A suicide door behind the driver side door. The S-Series was produced in three variations: coupe (SC), sedan (SL), and wagon (SW). The wagon was introduced for the 1993 model year and it was produced until 2001. The SW model had a relatively obscure run as a USPS vehicle, which resulted from GM's failed plan to attack the Japanese market directly with right-hand-drive Saturn S-Series vehicles. Upon its failure in

532-604: A "different kind of car company" and operated quasi-independently from its parent company,—comprehensively introducing a new car, dealer network, pricing structure, workforce and independently managed manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee . The first cars themselves launched five years after the company's inception, and they advanced GM's spaceframe construction—manifesting Saturn's market proposition with their dent-resistant polymer exterior panels. Over time, as Saturn drained resources from GM's extensive brand network,

665-529: A 15% stake in AeroVironment . In 1989, GM acquired half of Saab Automobile 's car operations for $ 600 million. In August 1990, Robert Stempel became CEO of the company, succeeding Roger Smith . GM cut output significantly and suffered losses that year due to the early 1990s recession . In 1990, GM debuted the General Motors EV1 (Impact) concept, a battery electric vehicle , at

798-681: A 2.0L LSJ engine equipped with an Eaton M62 roots-type supercharger. The Sky Red Line featured the 2.0L LNF engine equipped with a twin-scroll turbocharger. On the other hand, the Vue Red Line featured first a naturally aspirated 3.5L Honda J35A3 V6 from the years 2004 to 2007. After 2007, the Vue was given a second generation, which featured GM's 3.6L naturally aspirated LY7 V6 also used in the Vue XR. This change in engine also came with an additional 7 horsepower (6 kW; 8PS) and 6 lb⋅ft (8 N⋅m) from

931-530: A British producer of high-performance sports cars . In 1987, in conjunction with AeroVironment , GM built the Sunraycer , which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge and was a showcase of advanced technology. Much of the technology from Sunraycer found its way into the Impact prototype electric vehicle (also built by Aerovironment) and was the predecessor to the General Motors EV1 . In 1988, GM acquired

1064-639: A Dow Jones share about ten years later. Under Barron ownership, Thomas F. Woodlock was editor of the Journal from 1902 to 1905. By the end of Woodlock's tenure, daily circulation for the Journal rose from 7,000 to 11,000. William Peter Hamilton became lead editorial writer in 1908, a time when the Journal began reflecting the views of Barron. Hamilton wrote what Scharff considered "daily sermons in support of free-market capitalism". Barron and his predecessors were credited with creating an atmosphere of fearless, independent financial reporting—a novelty in

1197-491: A West Coast edition on October 21, 1929, The Wall Street Journal Pacific Coast Edition . The Pacific Coast Edition focused on California businesses and replicated some items from the regular Wall Street Journal ; however, its circulation never exceeded 3,000, and the Great Depression led numerous subscription cancellations. By 1931, Bernard Kilgore became news editor for The Wall Street Journal , having joined

1330-510: A breakthrough in heat treating still in use today as ASTM A255. GM established Detroit Diesel the next year. In 1939, the company founded Motors Insurance Corporation and entered the vehicle insurance market. The same year, GM introduced the Hydramatic , the first affordable and successful automatic transmission , for the 1940 Oldsmobile. During World War II , GM produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft for

1463-497: A broader shift away from news content. On June 13, 2022, the Journal launched a product review website called Buy Side . The website remains free and has a distinct team from the Journal newsroom. In February 2024, the Journal laid off about 20 employees, primarily economics reporters based in Washington, D.C. Moving forward, those beats will be covered by the newspaper's New York-based business team. The next month

SECTION 10

#1732781185548

1596-519: A century – always six columns, with the day's top stories in the first and sixth columns, "What's News" digest in the second and third, the "A-hed" feature story in the fourth (with 'hed' being jargon for headline ) and themed weekly reports in the fifth column  – the paper in 2007 decreased its broadsheet width from 15 to 12   inches while keeping the length at 22 3 ⁄ 4   inches, to save newsprint costs. News design consultant Mario Garcia collaborated on

1729-482: A continuation of its diversification plans, GMAC formed GMAC Mortgage and acquired Colonial Mortgage as well as the servicing arm of Norwest Mortgage in 1985. This acquisition included an $ 11 billion mortgage portfolio. The same year, GM acquired the Hughes Aircraft Company for $ 5 billion in cash and stock and merged it into Delco Electronics . The following year, GM acquired 59.7% of Lotus Cars ,

1862-957: A controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation . The GM labor force participated in the formation of the United Auto Workers labor union in 1935, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike , which initially idled two key plants in Flint, Michigan, and later spread to 6 other plants including those in Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana . In Flint, police attempted to enter

1995-556: A definitive merger agreement. The $ 5   billion sale added The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch 's news empire, which already included Fox News Channel , Fox Business Network , London's The Times , the New York Post , and the Fox flagship station WNYW (Channel 5) and MyNetworkTV flagship WWOR (Channel 9). On December 13, 2007, shareholders representing more than 60 percent of Dow Jones's voting stock approved

2128-618: A failed attempt by Penske Automotive to acquire Saturn from GM in September 2009, Saturn ended production in October 2009, ended outstanding franchises in October 2010, and ceased operations 25 years after it began. Alex C. Mair began discussions of a "revolutionary new" small car project, codenamed Saturn, in June 1982, soon after the GM J platform was introduced internationally. In November 1983,

2261-430: A few weeks later amid further restructuring, including at least eight reporters. Since 1980, the Journal has been published in multiple sections. The Journal increased its maximum issue length to 96 pages, including up to 24 color pages, in 2002. With the industry-wide decline in advertising, the Journal in 2009–10 more typically published about 50 to 60 pages per issue. As of 2012 , The Wall Street Journal had

2394-630: A half of sales, the V6 option was AWD exclusively. 2004 brought about the Red Line model , as well, which featured the same Honda V6 in addition to an AWD powertrain, lower suspension, larger wheels, different body cosmetics, and an overall more luxurious interior. In late 2006, the Vue Green Line was released as a mild hybrid model, featuring a 2.4L Ecotec I4 ( LE5 ), however now also with an electric motor's assistance. The Vue would be carried over into

2527-523: A luxury lifestyle magazine, was launched in 2008. A complement to the print newspaper, The Wall Street Journal Online , was launched in 1996 and has allowed access only by subscription from the beginning. A weekly (later daily) crossword edited by Mike Shenk was introduced in 1998. In 2003, Dow Jones began to integrate reporting of the Journal 's print and online subscribers together in Audit Bureau of Circulations statements. In 2007, it

2660-645: A major expansion outside of the United States ultimately placing its journalists in every major financial center in Europe , Asia , Latin America , Australia , and Africa . In 1970, Dow Jones bought the Ottaway newspaper chain, which at the time comprised nine dailies and three Sunday newspapers. Later, the name was changed to Dow Jones Local Media Group . The first strike affecting a Journal printing plant

2793-424: A method of illustration considered a consistent visual signature of the paper. the Journal still heavily employs the use of caricatures , including those by illustrator Ken Fallin , such as when Peggy Noonan memorialized then-recently deceased newsman Tim Russert . The use of color photographs and graphics has become increasingly common in recent years with the addition of more "lifestyle" sections. The daily

SECTION 20

#1732781185548

2926-416: A news conference on February 17, 2009, that Saturn would remain in operation through the end of the planned life cycle for all Saturn products (2010–2011). In February 2009, GM declared its intent to part with this brand by closing or selling the division, either to investors or to dealers, as part of restructuring plans dependent upon the receipt of a second round of government loans (" bailout " funding). It

3059-542: A program to develop a lightweight two-stroke diesel engine for possible usage in automobiles. Soon after, GM acquired Electro-Motive Company and the Winton Engine Co. , and in 1941, it expanded EMC's realm to locomotive engine manufacturing. In 1932, GM acquired Packard Electric (not to be confused with the Packard car company, which merged with Studebaker years later). The following year, GM acquired

3192-624: A second generation following 2007, even retaining its model trim levels, but it would not retain the definite Saturn-brand elements of the first generation. It would go on to lose its spaceframe construction and plastic body paneling in favor of the cues of the Opel Antara , that being the model it was badge-engineered from. In 2003, the Saturn ION replaced the S-Series compact, marking the end of Saturn's fully-original car designs. The Vue

3325-516: A significant change to Saturn's treatment as a pseudo-independent company from General Motors, which would only intensify with time. Saturn introduced its long-awaited SUV model in 2002 with the release of the first generation Saturn Vue . The design featured a 5-door spaceframe layout with the plastic body panels long-familiar to the brand. The Vue released with, similarly to the L-Series, an Ecotec I4 ( L61 ) and V6 ( L81 ). In an unorthodox move for

3458-422: A strategy by CEO Roger Smith to derive at least 10% of its annual worldwide revenue from non-automotive sources. GM also intended to have EDS handle its bookkeeping, help computerize factories, and integrate GM's computer systems. The transaction made Ross Perot the largest shareholder of GM; however, disagreements with Roger Smith led the company to buy all shares held by Ross Perot for $ 750 million in 1986. In

3591-559: A week from New York for the Journal . Then in 1934, Kilgore began writing a daily news digest "What's News" for the Journal front page. Kilgore's writings attracted the attention of the White House; President Franklin D. Roosevelt publicly recommended Kilgore's work about pension payments for World War I veterans and a Supreme Court decision on the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 . However,

3724-527: Is published six days a week by Dow Jones & Company , a division of News Corp . The first issue was published on July 8, 1889. As of 2023, the Wall Street Journal  is the largest newspaper in the United States by print circulation , with 609,650 print subscribers. It has 3.17 million digital subscribers, the second-most in the nation after The New York Times . WSJ publishes international editions in various regions around

3857-625: The Fortune 500 and 50th on the Fortune Global 500 . In 2023, the company was ranked 70th in the Forbes Global 2000 . In 2021, GM announced its intent to end production of vehicles using internal combustion engines by 2035, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. By 1900, William C. Durant 's Durant-Dort Carriage Company of Flint, Michigan , had become the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in

3990-611: The 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe , GMC Yukon , Cadillac Escalade , and pickup trucks . The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal ( WSJ ), also referred to simply as the Journal , is an American newspaper based in New York City , with a focus on business and finance. It operates on a subscription model, requiring readers to pay for access to its articles and content. The Journal

4123-848: The Allies of World War II . In 1940, GM's William S. Knudsen served as head of U.S. wartime production for President Franklin Roosevelt , and by 1942, all of GM's production was to support the war. GM's Vauxhall Motors manufactured the Churchill tank series for the Allies, instrumental in the North African campaign . However, its Opel division, based in Germany, supplied the Wehrmacht with vehicles. Politically, Sloan, as head of GM at

Saturn Corporation - Misplaced Pages Continue

4256-522: The Cadillac V8-6-4 variable-cylinder engines. GM sold Frigidaire in 1979. Although Frigidaire had between $ 450 million and $ 500 million in annual revenues, it was losing money. Robert Lee of GM invented the neodymium magnet , which was fabricated by rapid solidification, in 1984. This magnet is commonly used in products like a computer hard disk. The same year, GM acquired Electronic Data Systems for $ 2.5 billion from Ross Perot as part of

4389-536: The Customers' Afternoon Letter , sold for $ 1.50 per month compared to the $ 15 a month Dow Jones bulletin service. Dow Jones opened its own printing press at 71 Broadway in 1885. Beginning July 8, 1889, the Afternoon Letter was renamed The Wall Street Journal . The debut issue of the Journal was four pages long, with dimensions of 20 3/4 × 15 1/2 inches and cost of $ 0.02 per copy. In its early days,

4522-515: The Dow theory . Scharff regarded Dow's essays from 1899 to 1902 as "stock market classics". In the months before passing in 1902, Dow arranged to sell Dow Jones and the Journal to Clarence W. Barron , Boston correspondent for the Journal since 1889, for $ 130,000 (equivalent to $ 4,578,000 in 2023). Because Barron had financial difficulties, his wife Jessie Waldron Barron made the $ 2,500 down payment to buy Dow Jones in 1902; Clarence would first own

4655-708: The GM Lambda platform . Some of the final Saturns were virtually identical to certain European Opel / Vauxhall models. For example, the 2008 Saturn Vue was a rebadged Opel Antara , while the Opel GT was based on the Saturn Sky Red Line. The Saturn Astra was a rebadged version of the Opel Astra . The Saturn Astra was also the first Saturn to be built outside of North America. The Saturn Astra

4788-667: The GM2900 platform with the Opel Vectra , along with its engine. It was built at a GM factory in Wilmington, Delaware . The 2000 model year cars were designated LS-1 (4 cylinder) and LS-2 (6 cylinder.) Since Lincoln-Mercury owned the LS designator, and to prevent a lawsuit, Saturn changed the designators to L200 and L300 for the model years 2001–2005. The Saturn L200 was discontinued after the 2003 model year. This shift in production marked

4921-520: The General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), which provides financing to automotive customers, was formed. In 1920, du Pont orchestrated the removal of Durant once again and replaced him with Alfred P. Sloan . At a time when GM was competing heavily with Ford Motor Company , Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for used cars . He also implemented

5054-528: The Great Depression in the United States . Barron's descendants, the Bancroft family , would continue to control the company until 2007. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 would be yet another challenge to the Journal on top of Barron's death. William Peter Hamilton died of pneumonia on December 9, 1929, aged 63. Circulation of the Journal , having surpassed 50,000 in 1928, dropped below 28,000 in

5187-551: The Journal began publishing two separate Dow Jones stock indicies, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Dow Jones Railroad Average . The first morning edition of the Journal was published on November 14, 1898. By the late 1890s, daily circulation reached 7,000. Charles Dow wrote the first "Review and Outlook" column on April 21, 1899, a front-page editorial column explaining stock prices in terms of human nature; Dow's thinking would later be known as

5320-485: The Journal continued to struggle financially, with circulation stagnant at 32,000 in 1940. Most editions were only 12 to 14 pages long, and Dow Jones made only $ 69,000 of profits on $ 2 million of revenue, mostly due to its news ticker. Scharff observed a lack of coverage about a possible U.S. role in World War II . In the 1940s, Dow Jones took steps to restructure the Journal . Kilgore was named managing editor of

5453-538: The Journal copy desk in 1929. He began writing a column for the Pacific Coast Edition called "Dear George", a feature explaining obscure financial topics in simpler, plain rhetoric. "Dear George" sharply contrasted with other Wall Street Journal articles that relied on jargon that was incomprehensible even to its own reporters. The Eastern edition of the Journal began carrying "Dear George", and beginning in 1932, Kilgore wrote "Dear George" three times

Saturn Corporation - Misplaced Pages Continue

5586-469: The Journal had "a tedious, blow-by-blow account of the day's business without benefit of editing," wrote Edward E. Scharff in 1986. For nearly 40 years, the front page had a four-column format, with the middle two devoted to news briefs and the farther two filled with advertisements for brokerage services. The Journal focused on stories from news wires and listings of stocks and bonds, while occasionally covering sports or politics. One front-page story on

5719-613: The Journal had not yet entered popular understanding. The first major journalism award for the Journal was a Sigma Delta Chi public service award, for stories in late 1952 exposing links between Empire Mail Order and organized crime. These stories followed news that Howard Hughes sold RKO Pictures to Empire Mail Order. Circulation of the Journal continued increasing throughout the 1950s, to 205,000 in 1951, 400,000 in 1955, and over 500,000 by 1957. Warren H. Phillips became managing editor of The Wall Street Journal in 1957 after being promoted from Chicago bureau manager. Phillips

5852-567: The Journal in 1941 and Dow Jones CEO in 1945. Scharff described Kilgore's approach to journalism: "A Journal story had to satisfy its sophisticated readership, but it also had to be clear enough not to discourage neophytes." Additionally, Kilgore aimed to have the newspaper appeal to a national audience, by making the East Coast and West Coast editions of the Journal more homogeneous. Until printing presses and reporting bureaus could be opened on location, photographs could not be included in

5985-433: The Journal launched a weekend edition, delivered to all subscribers, which marked a return to Saturday publication after a lapse of some 50 years. The move was designed in part to attract more consumer advertising. In 2005, the Journal reported a readership profile of about 60 percent top management, an average income of $ 191,000, an average household net worth of $ 2.1   million, and an average age of 55. In 2007,

6118-528: The Journal launched a worldwide expansion of its website to include major foreign-language editions. The paper had also shown an interest in buying the rival Financial Times . The nameplate is unique in having a period at the end. Front-page advertising in the Journal was re-introduced on September 5, 2006. This followed similar introductions in the European and Asian editions in late 2005. After presenting nearly identical front-page layouts for half

6251-419: The Journal to charge similarly inflated advertising rates, as the advertisers would think that they reached more readers than they actually did. In addition, the Journal agreed to run "articles" featuring Executive Learning Partnership, presented as news, but effectively advertising. The case came to light after a Belgian Wall Street Journal employee, Gert Van Mol , informed Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton about

6384-630: The Journal . In 1947 , the paper won its first Pulitzer Prize for William Henry Grimes's editorials . Also in May 1947, the Journal launched a Southwest edition based in Dallas . The newspaper also added a new slogan in 1949: "Everywhere, Men Who Get Ahead in Business Read The Wall Street Journal ." Circulation grew by nearly four-fold, from 32,000 in 1940 to 140,000 in 1949; however, Kilgore's editorial reforms of

6517-634: The LA Auto Show . It was the first car with zero emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was produced as the EV1 for the 1996 model year and was available only via lease from certain dealers in California and Arizona. In 1999–2002, GM ceased production of the vehicles and started to not renew the leases, disappointing many people, allegedly because the program would not be profitable and would cannibalize its existing business. All of

6650-566: The Little Rock Central High School integration crisis went beyond the largely visual, emotional elements on newspapers and television, in depicting local citizens as supportive of integration in contrast to Governor Orval Faubus and other local politicians. During the 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike , the Journal was the only daily newspaper to continue printing in New York City; however, after

6783-567: The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan , and the Reliance Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan (predecessors of GMC ) in 1909. Durant, with the board's approval, also tried acquiring Ford Motor Company , but needed an additional $ 2 million. Durant over- leveraged GM in making acquisitions, and was removed by the board of directors in 1910 at the order of the bankers who backed

SECTION 50

#1732781185548

6916-810: The Saturn Aura , the Saturn Outlook , the Sky , and the Saturn Vue . GM had continued to produce the Aura, the Outlook, the Sky, and the Vue into the 2010 model year. In 2012, General Motors rebadged and reintroduced the discontinued Saturn Vue as the 2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport . The Captiva Sport was mostly unchanged from the discontinued Saturn Vue. The Captiva Sport did not have a hybrid version available, like

7049-533: The Saturn SC and Saturn SL . Production of both Saturn vehicles started in 1990 as early 1991 model year vehicles. The Saturn SW was later added for 1993. GM had plans for a sedan , a coupe , a convertible, a wagon , and even a sport utility vehicle ; however, Saturn's first sport utility vehicle , the Vue , did not appear until the 2002 model year and Saturn's first convertible, the Sky , did not appear until

7182-462: The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company the same year, and its president, John D. Hertz , joined the board of directors of GM; it acquired the remainder of the company in 1943. In 1926, the company introduced the Pontiac brand and established the General Motors Group Insurance Program to provide life insurance to its employees. The following year, after the success of the 1927 model of the Cadillac LaSalle designed by Harley Earl , Sloan created

7315-472: The corporate spin-off of Electronic Data Systems . In 1997, GM sold the military businesses of Hughes Aircraft Company to Raytheon Company for $ 9.5 billion in stock and the assumption of debt. In February 2000, Rick Wagoner was named CEO, succeeding Smith. The next month, GM gave 5.1% of its common stock, worth $ 2.4 billion, to acquire a 20% share of Fiat . In December 2000, GM announced that it would begin phasing out Oldsmobile . The brand

7448-481: The "Art and Color Section" of GM and named Earl as its first director. Earl was the first design executive to be appointed to leadership at a major American corporation. Earl created a system of automobile design that is still practiced today. At the age of 24, Bill Mitchell was recruited by Earl to the design team at GM, and he was later appointed as Chief Designer of Cadillac. After Earl retired in December 1958, Mitchell took over automotive design for GM. Also in 1926

7581-441: The 1930s, and the newspaper downsized from 28 to 16 pages in the 1930s as well. Dow Jones president Hugh Bancroft retired in 1932; following his death in 1933, his widow Jane Waldron Bancroft appointed Kenneth Craven "Casey" Hogate as new company president. Hogate envisioned expanding the scope of the Journal to a "more general business paper" beyond stock and bond numbers. Expanding westward, The Wall Street Journal debuted

7714-474: The 2000–2002 production run. The exterior body panels were updated once again, and new paint colors were offered. The sedan retained many of the same mechanical components with an updated interior design. In 1997, the second generation of the sport coupe model was introduced with the front end being changed to accommodate a stationary headlight design, as opposed to the pop-up headlights found on 1990-1992 SC and 1993-1996 SC2 models. The 1999 coupe models received

7847-412: The 2005 model year Saturn began selling the Relay , a minivan and the first Saturn based on similar models from other GM brands. That same year, the L-Series was discontinued. The Sky roadster was introduced in 2006 as a 2007 model. In 2006 for the 2007 model year, the Aura midsize sedan made its way to dealerships, alongside the Outlook , a larger CUV than the Vue, and 2006 was the last year that

7980-419: The 2006 model year. On July 30, 1990, the first Saturn was built, a red 1991 model-year Saturn SL2. The first Saturn dealership opened in Memphis, Tennessee. Saturn Corporation was launched as a "different kind of car company", and Saturn even had its own unique car models (although later models shared platforms with other GM vehicles to be more cost effective in the market), and their own dealership network that

8113-498: The Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged and the Sky Red Line's sister car of the Pontiac Solstice GXP (although the targa hardtop variant would not make it to the Sky). The Vue Red Line, however, was an original Saturn vehicle until 2008, where it was then launched in a second generation as a badge-engineered Opel Antara. Both the ION and Sky Red Line trims used 2.0L Ecotec family powertrains. The ION Red Line and Sky Redline featured forced-induction Ecotec I4 motors. The ION Red Line utilized

SECTION 60

#1732781185548

8246-427: The EV1s were eventually returned to General Motors, and except for around 40 which were donated to museums with their electric powertrains deactivated, all were destroyed. The documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car? covered the EV1 story. In November 1992, John F. Smith Jr. became CEO of the company. In 1993, GM sold Lotus Cars to Bugatti . In 1996, in a return to its automotive basics, GM completed

8379-424: The ION was produced. TheION was replaced by the European-built Astra in 2008. During the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Saturn revealed its Flextreme concept vehicle, which was a rebadged Opel Flextreme . Saturn was believed to have had a disagreement with GM and was not very accepting of the company closing. In 2004, GM and the United Auto Workers dissolved their unique labor contract for

8512-411: The Japanese market, Saturn sold off its surplus of RHD wagons in an attempt to "compete in the very narrow niche of providing right-hand drive vehicles to rural route carriers". There was, even in the early stages of the company's production, work on a concept car. As mentioned in the Saturn Owner's Manuals from 1993 and occasionally in publications featuring Saturn executives, an SL3 was in the works. It

8645-451: The SL and SW models, next in 1997 for the SC models, and finally in 2000 across the board. The Saturn S-Series family of cars were produced from 1991 to 2002 over three generations: First generation cars were produced from 1991 to 1995. For the 1995 model year Saturn used a "first generation" exterior and "second generation" interior. The exterior of the 1995 model looked the same as the first generation cars, but it had larger gauge faces on

8778-549: The Saturn cars. At one point Penske was in talks with car manufacturers including Renault Samsung Motors and the Renault-Nissan Alliance ; however, talks with the Renault-Nissan Alliance had ended mainly because of objections from the Nissan part of the alliance. Another part of the deal between Penske and GM was for GM to continue making the Aura , the Outlook , and the Vue until 2011, and then another manufacturer would take over. Since Penske did not find another car manufacturer willing to continue production of Saturn vehicles,

8911-456: The Saturn idea was publicized by General Motors' Chairman Roger B. Smith and GM's President F. James McDonald. Twelve months later, the first Saturn demonstration vehicle was revealed. On January 7, 1985, the Saturn Corporation was officially founded. Citing full disclosure, Saturn was founded as a private, employee-owned company, by former GM leadership. They remained private until GM bought them out, and effectively "rewrote" company history. In

9044-523: The Spring Hill manufacturing plant, allowing Saturn operations to be integrated with the rest of GM. In US Congressional hearings on December 2, 2008, General Motors announced its intentions to focus on their four core brands ( Chevrolet , Buick , Cadillac , and GMC ), with the sale, consolidation, or closure of Saturn and the remaining brands ( Pontiac , Hummer , and Saab , with Oldsmobile having already discontinued production in 2004). General Motors chairman and former CEO Rick Wagoner announced during

9177-434: The United States government and military, the vehicle safety, security, and information services provider OnStar , the auto parts company ACDelco , a namesake financial lending service , and majority ownership in the self-driving cars enterprise Cruise LLC . The company originated as a holding company for Buick established on September 16, 1908, by William C. Durant , the largest seller of horse-drawn vehicles at

9310-428: The United States). The brand was immediately known for its "no haggle" prices. The first Saturn model, the S-Series , was initially quite successful, selling its highest recorded number of annual units in the company's history just three years after first starting sales. A year later, Saturn entered the Canadian market. In 1993, Saturn's 500,000th car, "Carla", was built. In May 1995, Saturn's one millionth car entered

9443-539: The United States. Durant was averse to automobiles, but fellow Flint businessman James H. Whiting , owner of Flint Wagon Works , sold him the Buick Motor Company in 1904. Durant formed the General Motors Company in 1908 as a holding company , borrowing a naming convention from General Electric . GM's first acquisition was Buick , which Durant already owned, then Olds Motor Works on November 12, 1908. Under Durant, GM went on to acquire Cadillac , Elmore , Welch , Cartercar , Oakland (the predecessor of Pontiac ),

9576-502: The United States. Penske was not planning to buy the factories so it would eventually have had to contract other car companies to build cars sold as Saturns. GM would have built the Aura, Vue, and Outlook for Penske for the first two years. To replace GM as the brand's manufacturer, Penske was in discussions with several global automakers, including Renault Samsung Motors of Korea, and the Renault-Nissan Alliance . By

9709-472: The Vue did. Originally, the company's products used a dedicated platform called the Z-body and a dedicated engine, the 1.9 L Saturn I4 engine , and a dedicated plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee . The original Saturns featured dent-resistant plastic body panels which were promoted as easily enabling quick styling revisions, which would happen repeatedly throughout the run of the S-Series, first in 1996 for

9842-492: The brand would be gradually re-integrated into the GM corporate hierarchy, losing its semi-independent nature and beginning to work on models that increasingly compromised the independence of the brand, first with mild use of shared GM products and platforms in their lineup, but later with a myriad of " parts-bin " cars built mostly or entirely from pre-existing GM equipment rather than independently-engineered material. As GM struggled in

9975-559: The changes. Dow Jones said it would save $ 18   million a year in newsprint costs across all The Wall Street Journal papers. This move eliminated one column of print, pushing the "A-hed" out of its traditional location (though the paper now usually includes a quirky feature story on the right side of the front page, sandwiched among the lead stories). The paper uses ink dot drawings called hedcuts , introduced in 1979 and originally created by Kevin Sprouls , in addition to photographs,

10108-647: The committee said that News Corporation had violated its agreement by not notifying the committee earlier. However, Brauchli said he believed that new owners should appoint their own editor. A 2007 Journal article quoted charges that Murdoch had made and broken similar promises in the past. One large shareholder commented that Murdoch has long "expressed his personal, political and business biases through his newspapers and television stations". Former Times assistant editor Fred Emery remembers an incident when "Mr. Murdoch called him into his office in March 1982 and said he

10241-452: The company acquired Fisher Body , its supplier of automobile bodies. GM acquired Allison Engine Company and began developing a 1,000 horsepower liquid-cooled aircraft engine in 1929. The same year, GM acquired 80% of Opel , which at that time had a 37.5% market share in Europe, for $ 26 million. It acquired the remaining 20% in 1931. In the late-1920s, Charles Kettering embarked on

10374-486: The company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant. GM was reincorporated in Detroit in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a public company via an initial public offering . By 1917, Chevrolet had become successful enough that Durant, with the backing of Samuel McLaughlin and Pierre S. du Pont , reacquired a controlling interest in GM. The same year, GM acquired Samson Tractor . Chevrolet Motor Company

10507-505: The company's acquisition by News Corporation. In an editorial page column, publisher L. Gordon Crovitz said the Bancrofts and News Corporation had agreed that the Journal ' s news and opinion sections would preserve their editorial independence from their new corporate parent. A special committee was established to oversee the paper's editorial integrity. When the managing editor Marcus Brauchli resigned on April 22, 2008,

10640-429: The deal between Penske and GM ended. As a result, General Motors announced that Saturn Corporation would be ceasing all operations in 2010, and that all Saturn dealerships would be closed by October 31, 2010, or until all of their inventory had been sold. GM ended Saturn production October 7, 2009 and ended its outstanding franchises on October 31, 2010. In February 2010, to aid customer retention , GM announced that it

10773-599: The debut edition of The Wall Street Journal was a raw wire report about the boxing match between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain , with varying accounts of the fight citing The Boston Globe , the Baltimore American , and anonymous sources. Seldom did The Wall Street Journal publish analysis or opinion articles in its early decades. In addition to a private wire to Boston, the Journal had reporters communicate via telegraph from Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Albany , and London. In 1896,

10906-658: The diesel-hybrid market, the Opel Astra diesel engine hybrid concept vehicle was rolled out in January 2005. Later that year, GM sold its Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive division to private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Greenbriar Equity Group. GM paid $ 2 billion to sever its ties with Fiat in 2005, severing ties with the company due to an increasingly contentious dispute. GM began adding its " Mark of Excellence " emblem on all new vehicles produced and sold in North America in mid-2005. However, after

11039-492: The early days of business journalism . In 1921, Barron's , the United States's premier financial weekly, was founded. Scharff described the newspaper in the Barron era as "Wall Street's public defender" against regulatory efforts by the U.S. Congress. Circulation continued to rise, reaching 18,750 to 1920 and 52,000 briefly in 1928. Barron died in 1928, a year before Black Tuesday , the stock market crash that greatly affected

11172-551: The end of 2009, GM closed all of its 46 Saturn dealerships in Canada, even those Saturn dealerships also selling Saab vehicles. GM and Penske decided that they could no longer make a business case to distribute Saturn vehicles in Canada after the sale of the brand. Saturn's customer service, parts, and warranty operations moved to other GM dealerships in Canada. On September 30, 2009, Penske ended its deal with General Motors because of Penske not finding another manufacturer to manufacture

11305-457: The first generation Red Line models. Green Line trims, like Red Line trims, were models based upon pre-existing vehicles, however this iteration favored a focus on fuel economy. Two vehicles in the Saturn roster received Green Line variants, those being the Saturn Aura and the Saturn Vue . The Vue was initially given a 2007 Green Line variant during its first generation, making it Saturn's only original hybrid vehicle. This would be done away with

11438-482: The first hydrogen fuel cell car ever produced. Though fuel cells have existed since the early 1800s, General Motors was the first to use a fuel cell, supplied by Union Carbide , to power the wheels of a vehicle with a budget of "millions of dollars". In the 1960s, GM was an early proponent of V6 engines , but quickly lost interest as the popularity of muscle cars increased. GM demonstrated gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene , an area of interest throughout

11571-640: The following year, as the second generation Saturn Vue came out with a Green Line trim. The Saturn Aura would, shortly after its debut in 2007, offer a Green Line package in March. Results of the Green Line models were not exceedingly remarkable, although it was advertised that the Vue Green Line could have up to a "20-percent improvement in fuel economy, depending on driving conditions". The Aura Green Line gained similar, albeit somewhat enthusiastic reception, as it would be noted to have fuel economy that

11704-483: The former "Business & Tech" and "Money & Investing" sections. The new "Life & Arts" section took the place of "Personal Journal" and "Arena". In addition, the Journal 's "Greater New York" coverage was reduced and moved to the main section of paper. The section was shuttered on July 9, 2021. A 2018 survey conducted by Gallup and the Knight Foundation found that The Wall Street Journal

11837-497: The gasoline was harmful to various biological organisms including humans. Evidence shows that corporate executives understood the health implications of tetraethyllead from the beginning. As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed chlorofluorocarbons , which have now been banned due to their contribution to climate change . Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired Vauxhall Motors for $ 2.5 million in 1925. The company also acquired an interest in

11970-664: The industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration due to the 1973 oil crisis . In partnership with Boeing , GM's Delco Defense Electronics Division designed the Lunar Roving Vehicle , which traversed the surface of the Moon, in 1971. The following year, GM produced the first rear wheel anti-lock braking system for two models: the Toronado and Eldorado. In 1973, the Oldsmobile Toronado

12103-555: The instrument cluster and a redesigned center console. First generation engines were rated at 85 horsepower (63 kW) for the single overhead cam engines, while the dual overhead cam engines were rated at 124 horsepower (92 kW) for the entire run of S-Series cars (1991–2002). In 1996, the second generation S-Series sedan was introduced. Changes carried through until 1999 included a redesigned body and single overhead cam power being increased to 100 horsepower (75 kW). The third generation sedan received only minor design changes for

12236-492: The largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008. General Motors operates manufacturing plants in eight countries. In addition to its four core brands, GM also holds interests in Chinese brands Baojun and Wuling via SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile . GM further owns a namesake defense vehicles division which produces military vehicles for

12369-582: The loans to keep GM in business. The action of the bankers was partially influenced by the Panic of 1910–1911 that followed the earlier enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 . In 1911, Charles F. Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) and Henry M. Leland invented and patented the first electric starter in America. In November 1911, Durant co-founded Chevrolet with race car driver Louis Chevrolet , who left

12502-414: The market. In 1996, Saturn dealerships distributed the electric GM EV1 , the first electric car released under the GM brand. In 1997, Saturn became the first General Motors North American vehicle to be fully built with right-hand-drive on the same assembly line as the left-hand-drive vehicles (the previous right-hand-drive GM North American vehicles were built in countries with a left-hand road rule using

12635-475: The mid-1980s, GM released the Saturn Concept Car. The car, which resembled the first Saturn SL , was not originally meant to start up a brand; however, GM planned to release the Saturn car under one of its brands, which, at the time, were Chevrolet , Pontiac , Oldsmobile , Buick , Cadillac , and GMC . In 1985, GM changed their plan and founded Saturn as its own brand, with its first cars being

12768-482: The onset of the 2008 economic recession , the parent company further curtailed Saturn's development budgets, leaving Saturn to almost fully badge engineer products from other divisions, notably a series of federalized models from Opel . With the gradual shift in internal practices and external outcomes, Saturn lost its unique selling proposition , and the market lost interest. Annual sales achieved their highest level in 1994, with 286,003 vehicles marketed. Following

12901-449: The optimistic projected targets, in part because of the early 1990s recession . It also proved cannibalistic, as 41% of Saturn buyers already owned a GM car. Its separation from the rest of its GM parent, plus the fact that it drained $ 5 billion from other car projects, stirred discontent within GM's other divisions. Also, Saturn opened at considerably higher cost than the Japanese transplants (factories that Japanese automakers established in

13034-521: The paper laid off another five people from its standards and ethics team. In April, the paper laid off at least 11 people from its video and social media desks. In May, the Journal cut six editorial staff positions from its Hong Kong bureau and another two reporter jobs in Singapore . Moving forward the paper will shift its focus in the region from Hong Kong to Singapore with new the creation of several new jobs at that bureau. More staff were laid off

13167-402: The paper's "combination of respected news pages and conservative editorial pages seem to be a magic formula for generating trust across the ideological spectrum." From 2019 through 2022, the Journal partnered with Facebook to provide content for the social-media site's "News Tab". Facebook paid the Journal in excess of $ 10 million during that period, terminating the relationship as part of

13300-486: The plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities, the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved on February 11, 1937, when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers and gave workers a 5% raise and permission to speak in the lunchroom. Walter E. Jominy and A.L. Boegehold of GM invented the Jominy end-quench test for hardenability of carbon steel in 1937,

13433-528: The pricing strategy used by car companies today. The pricing strategy had Chevrolet , Pontiac , Oldsmobile , Buick , and Cadillac priced from least expensive to most, respectively. In 1921, Thomas Midgley Jr. , an engineer for GM, discovered tetraethyllead (leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because ethanol could not be patented. This led to the development of higher compression engines resulting in more power and efficiency. The public later realized that lead contained in

13566-530: The print edition. By June 2013, the monthly cost for a subscription to the online edition was $ 22.99, or $ 275.88 annually, excluding introductory offers. Digital subscription rates increased dramatically to $ 443.88 per year as its popularity increased over print, with first-time subscribers paying $ 187.20 per year. On November 30, 2004, Oasys Mobile and The Wall Street Journal released an app that would allow users to access content from The Wall Street Journal Online via their mobile phones. In September 2005,

13699-400: The questionable practice. As a result, the then Wall Street Journal Europe CEO and Publisher Andrew Langhoff was fired after it was found out he personally pressured journalists into covering one of the newspaper's business partners involved in the issue. Since September 2011, all the online articles that resulted from the ethical wrongdoing carry a Wall Street Journal disclaimer informing

13832-431: The readers about the circumstances in which they were created. The Journal , along with its parent Dow Jones & Company, was among the businesses News Corporation spun off in 2013 as the new News Corp . In November 2016, in an effort to cut costs, the Journal 's editor-in-chief, Gerard Baker , announced layoffs of staff and consolidation of its print sections. The new "Business & Finance" section combined

13965-487: The reorganization in 2009, the company no longer added the logo, saying that emphasis on its four core divisions would downplay the GM logo. In 2005, Edward T. Welburn was promoted to the newly created position of vice president, GM Global Design, making him the first African American to lead a global automotive design organization and the highest-ranking African American in the US motor industry at that time. On July 1, 2016, he retired from General Motors after 44 years. He

14098-543: The same architecture as existing models, but with an emphasis heightened performance. Three models were given Red Line variants, those being (in chronological order) the Saturn ION Red Line, The Saturn Vue Red Line, and the Saturn Sky Red Line. The ION and Sky's Red Line trims were badge-engineered variants on other GM divisions' higher-tier performance vehicles, those being the ION Red Line's sister car of

14231-405: The strike, Kilgore ordered the printing presses moved from New York to Chicopee, Massachusetts effective July 1, 1963. Although Kilgore did not publicly explain his rationale then, Scharff wrote in 1986 that the move resulted from feuds between Dow Jones and the printer's union. By Kilgore's death in 1967, Wall Street Journal circulation exceeded one million. In 1967, Dow Jones Newswires began

14364-553: The surplus was mitigated with the retooling of the right-hand-drive SW models into SWP, or station wagon postal, models, which were then sold to the United States Postal Service. Saturn's first compact crossover SUV was introduced in 2001 for the 2002 model year as the Vue based on a globally used GM design. In 2002 for the 2003 model year, Saturn introduced the ION as a replacement for the S-Series. In 2004 for

14497-504: The time, was an ardent opponent of the New Deal , which bolstered labor unions and public transport . Sloan admired and supported Adolf Hitler . Nazi armaments chief Albert Speer allegedly said in 1977 that Hitler "would never have considered invading Poland" without synthetic fuel technology provided by General Motors. GM was compensated $ 32 million by the U.S. government because its German factories were bombed by U.S. forces during

14630-553: The time. The first half of the 20th century saw the company grow into an automotive behemoth through acquisitions; going into the second half, the company pursued innovation and new offerings to consumers as well as collaborations with NASA to develop the earliest electric vehicles . The current entity was established in 2009 after the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization . As of 2024 , General Motors ranks 25th by total revenue out of all American companies on

14763-501: The traditionally American-branded, Japanese-competitive brand, the Vue shed the L81 V6 option in 2004, instead opting for a Honda J35S1 V6. The I4 also could be coupled with GM's first passenger car CVT, albeit for only three years, as by 2005 the CVT option had been discontinued due to poor dependability. Both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive were available, though for the first year and

14896-566: The two final Saturn models with plastic body panels were the Vue and ION. Plastic body panels were discontinued on all Saturn models after the 2007 model year. None of the 2008 Saturn models used plastic body panels. The 2009 Saturn models were the Sky roadster, the Aura sedan, the Astra hatchback, the second generation Vue compact crossover SUV, and the Outlook full-size crossover SUV built off

15029-518: The war. Effective January 28, 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson , then GM president, was named by Dwight D. Eisenhower as United States Secretary of Defense . In December 1953, GM acquired Euclid Trucks , a manufacturer of heavy equipment for earthmoving , including dump trucks , loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers , which later spawned the Terex brand. Alfred P. Sloan retired as chairman and

15162-628: The world, including Europe and Asia. The editorial pages of the Journal are typically center-right in their positions. The newspaper has won 39 Pulitzer Prizes . A predecessor to The Wall Street Journal was the Kiernan News Agency founded by John J. Kiernan in 1869. In 1880, Kiernan hired Charles H. Dow and Edward D. Jones as reporters. On a recommendation of Collis Potter Huntington , Dow and Jones co-founded their own news service, Dow Jones and Company , with fellow Kiernan reporter Charles Bergstresser . Dow Jones

15295-508: Was "15-20% better than the typical 4-cylinder mid-size sedan" but with significant deficiencies to some of the Japanese hybrid competition of its day. Slogans General Motors General Motors Company ( GM ) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit , Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet , Buick , GMC , and Cadillac . By total sales, it has continuously been

15428-440: Was Jewish, in contrast to the largely midwestern, WASP management of the Journal at the time. Phillips, a former socialist, shifted his political views in the 1950s to reflect social liberalism and fiscal conservatism. Under Phillips, the Journal provided in-depth coverage of the civil rights movement , on the grounds that it "was something that the average businessman needed to know about". For instance, Journal coverage of

15561-612: Was a three-day strike at Silver Spring, Maryland , in 1967; that would be followed by a weeklong strike by truck drivers at the South Brunswick, New Jersey , in 1970. The period from 1971 to 1997 brought about a series of launches, acquisitions, and joint ventures, including " Factiva ", The Wall Street Journal Asia , The Wall Street Journal Europe , the WSJ.com website, Dow Jones Indexes, MarketWatch , and "WSJ Weekend Edition". In 2007, News Corp. acquired Dow Jones. WSJ. ,

15694-548: Was awarded by the Society for News Design World's Best Designed Newspaper award for 1994 and 1997. On May 2, 2007, News Corporation made an unsolicited takeover bid for Dow Jones , offering $ 60 per share for stock that had been selling for $ 36.33 per share. The Bancroft family , which controlled more than 60% of the voting stock, at first rejected the offer, but later reconsidered its position. Three months later, on August 1, 2007, News Corporation and Dow Jones entered into

15827-718: Was built in Antwerp, Belgium. Saturn's version of the Astra was available as a captive import from late 2007 until Saturn was discontinued following GM's 2010 bankruptcy . Saturn had featured two sub-lines of their vehicles: the Green Line and the Red Line. The Green Line Saturn models were environmentally-friendly, more economical mild hybrid vehicles, and the Red Line Saturn models were high-performance and driver-oriented vehicles. The Red Line trim vehicles were built from

15960-474: Was commonly believed to be the largest paid-subscription news site on the Web, with 980,000 paid subscribers. Since then, digital subscription has risen to 1.3 million as of September 2018, falling to number two behind The New York Times with 3 million digital subscriptions. In May 2008, an annual subscription to the digital edition of The Wall Street Journal cost $ 119 for those who do not have subscriptions to

16093-476: Was considered the third most-accurate and fourth most-unbiased news organization among the general public, tenth among Democrats , and second among Republicans . In an October 2018 Simmons Research survey of 38 news organizations, The Wall Street Journal was ranked the most trusted news organization by Americans. Joshua Benton of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University wrote that

16226-555: Was considering firing Times editor Harold Evans . Mr. Emery says he reminded Mr. Murdoch of his promise that editors couldn't be fired without the independent directors' approval. 'God, you don't take all that seriously, do you?' Mr. Murdoch answered, according to Mr. Emery." Murdoch eventually forced out Evans. In 2011, The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had artificially inflated its European sales numbers, by paying Executive Learning Partnership for purchasing 16% of European sales. These inflated sales numbers then enabled

16359-490: Was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired United Motors , a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by Alfred P. Sloan for $ 45 million, and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company , founded by R. S. McLaughlin , became General Motors of Canada Limited. In 1919, GM acquired Guardian Frigerator Company , part-owned by Durant, which was renamed Frigidaire . Also in 1919,

16492-560: Was eventually discontinued in 2004, seven years after it had become the first American car brand to turn 100. In May 2004, GM delivered the first full-sized pickup truck hybrid vehicles , the 1/2-ton Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra trucks. These mild hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. Later, the company debuted another hybrid technology, co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW , in diesel-electric hybrid powertrain manufactured by Allison Transmission for transit buses. Continuing to target

16625-504: Was headquartered in the basement of 15 Wall Street, the same building as Kiernan's company next to the New York Stock Exchange Building . The first products of Dow Jones & Company , the publisher of the Journal , were brief news bulletins, nicknamed flimsies , hand-delivered throughout the day to traders at the stock exchange . Beginning in 1883, they were aggregated in a printed daily summary called

16758-478: Was left as the most original Saturn production, albeit even that used both global GM and Honda engines rather than in-house designs. Production of the Saturn ION was temporarily stopped for three weeks in 2003 due to Saturn dealerships having an overstock of ION vehicles. The Saturn L-Series was discontinued after the 2005 model year due to poor sales, one year after Oldsmobile had been discontinued. In 2007,

16891-573: Was offering existing Saturn owners up to US$ 2,000 in incentives to purchase a new Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, or GMC vehicle until March 31. Customers were required to have owned their Saturns for at least six months and were not required to trade them in to be eligible for the incentives. Saturn Authorized Service Providers were introduced since the closing of the Saturn brand, available at GM dealers. Saturn Authorized Service Providers are responsible for all aspects of service, including warranty service, on Saturn vehicles. Saturn's last vehicle models were

17024-566: Was replaced by Michael Simcoe . In 2006, GM introduced a bright yellow fuel cap on its vehicles to remind drivers that cars can operate using E85 ethanol fuel . They also introduced another hybrid vehicle that year, the Saturn Vue Green Line . In 2008, General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free by recycling or reusing waste in the manufacturing process. Continuing their environmental-conscious development, GM started to offer

17157-448: Was said to be aesthetically similar to an SL2, however it would sport the front bumper and retractable headlamps featured on the SC2 models. It was to be powered by a 2.5L inline 6 with five valves per cylinder, which would reportedly output roughly 250 horsepower (186 kW; 254 PS). The first significant change in Saturn's lineup came with the 2000 Saturn L-Series mid-size car. It shared

17290-517: Was separate from the rest of GM. Results at Saturn were more doubtful than positive. According to The Wall Street Journal , the project was too ambitious, as "everything at Saturn is new: the car, the plant, the workforce, the dealer network and the manufacturing process. Not even Toyota , a highly successful and experienced automaker, tackles more than two new items on any single project." While Saturn cars proved popular and successful in forming emotional connections with buyers, actual sales never met

17423-608: Was succeeded by Albert Bradley in April 1956. In 1962, GM introduced the first ever turbocharged production car in the world in the Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo-Jetfire. Two years later, the company introduced its " Mark of Excellence " logo and trademark at the 1964 New York World's Fair . The company used the mark as their main corporate identifier until 2021. GM released the Electrovan in 1966,

17556-558: Was the first retail car sold with a passenger airbag . Thomas Murphy became CEO of the company, succeeding Richard C. Gerstenberg in November 1974. GM installed its first catalytic converters in its 1975 models. From 1978 to 1985, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies. However, it had disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile diesels and drivability issues in

17689-405: Was the third such action for GM in the 21st century, following those of Oldsmobile , which ceased production in 2004, and Pontiac, which ended production for the 2010 model year by the end of 2009. General Motors announced in June 2009 that it was selling the Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group . The arrangement was similar to the deal under which Penske distributes Daimler AG's Smart Car in

#547452