Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991 TAG: 9104040096
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The plants outside the new building on Salem's East Main Street were put in the ground in the shape of the letter S to mark the introduction this week of the sporty little car to the Roanoke Valley market, said Carlos Hart, the dealer.
Everything else - the building, its awning, carpeting, furniture, the signs out front - had to follow Saturn's specifications, he said.
Indeed, Hart had installed carpeting in the new building only to see it ripped out and replaced with Saturn-style floor covering.
One of the most ballyhooed new car brands in recent years, the Saturn is the product of a decade of design and planning. General Motors Corp. created a separate subsidiary to produce and sell the models, made at new factories at Spring Hill, Tenn.
The car itself is not the only new concept.
Hard selling is out, Hart said. The manufacturer contends the new car "will sell itself . . . It's more like being a consultant. If you want to go home and think about it, there will be no pressure," he said.
When a customer buys a car, the transaction ends in a delivery module, a futuristic glass-enclosed room where "we go over how it works," Hart said.
Since the Saturn was first offered through a selected group of dealers last fall, 60 percent of the buyers are former drivers of Japanese cars, Hart said. The new model "has been selling very well in a down market . . . Some dealers are having a hard time keeping up" their supply, he added.
Hart said his dealership has placed 10 orders and has 25 cars in stock for the opening. About 30 more models are expected this month, he said.
Hart's theory is that Saturn has the price and quality to attract the consumers who have turned to Japanese makes for better quality than American cars. Saturn cars are priced from $8,270 to $15,000.
by CNB