Saturn Spring Hill Factory To Close

In article >,
Ron Herfurth > wrote:
>I thought ION production was moving to the Cobalt plant in Lordstown Ohio.
>I'm not sure if the ION is already on the same frame as the Cobalt or if the
>ION will be redesigned to be on the Cobalt frame.

Cobalt and Ion share the GM delta platform.

>Of course one way to increase sales of Cobalts and IONs would be TO PRODUCE
>A WAGON VERSION !!!!!!!
>HINT FREAKING HINT ! ! !

HHR?

>Maybe a cheaper (maybe slightly smaller) version of the Pontiac Vibe.
>Something that's in the mid 30s in gas mileage rather than the mid 20s.

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

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Timothy J. Lee wrote:
> In article >,
> Ron Herfurth > wrote:
>> I thought ION production was moving to the Cobalt plant in Lordstown Ohio.
>> I'm not sure if the ION is already on the same frame as the Cobalt or if the
>> ION will be redesigned to be on the Cobalt frame.
>
> Cobalt and Ion share the GM delta platform.

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

John Horner wrote:

> Polymer panels will surely be phased out of future Saturn models. It
> was a dumb gimmick to start with.

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.

--
Steve Barker



"bo peep" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> <<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
>

"Steve Barker LT" > wrote in message
...
> 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.
>
> --
> Steve Barker
>

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...

SMS wrote:
> John Horner wrote:
>
> > Polymer panels will surely be phased out of future Saturn models. It
> > was a dumb gimmick to start with.
>
> 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.

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



"Seamus's Stuff" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Steve Barker LT" > wrote in message
> ...
>> 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.
>>
>> --
>> Steve Barker
>>
>
> 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...
>
>

"SMS" > wrote in message
...
> John Horner wrote:
>
> > Polymer panels will surely be phased out of future Saturn models. It
> > was a dumb gimmick to start with.
>
> 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.

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