Saturn reached for the stars

Automobile brands abandoned by their parent company are an integral part of the story of the American automobile industry.

Even the Sky Roadster of 2008 was unable to draw enough consumer interest to sustain Saturn.

THE rise and fall of Saturn is a particularly interesting story - to a degree it mirrors the short-lived history of Ford’s Edsel.

It begins in 1982 General Motors when initiated an extensive study of the current and potential market for a small car built with the US domestic market in mind. This included styling considerations, projected trends, and the influence of Japanese and European automobile manufacturers on the American market.

The following year at a press conference about the project, then chairman Roger Smith announced plans to create a subcompact line of vehicles that would offer a direct challenge to imports.

The vehicles would be sold under the Saturn name, a reference to the rockets that had carried Americans to the Moon. True to his word, in near record time, the first Saturn prototype was readied for showing in 1984.

The project was placed on the fast track. The Saturn Corporation, also known as Saturn LLC, was established on January 7, 1985, as a GM subsidiary. Spring Hill, Tennessee, had been selected as the site for a state-of-the-art production and distribution facility. Then Joseph Sanchez died just three weeks after he was named Saturn's first president. In retrospect it was perceived to be an ill omen.

GM proved its commitment to the endeavor when ground was broken at Spring Hill and construction of a $1.9-billion manufacturing plant commenced in 1986. A few months later the Saturn logo was created and trademarked. Then in 1988, with great fanfare and extensive media coverage, the ribbon was cut for the revolutionary manufacturing facility at Spring Hill and 3,000 workers commenced to build the car of the future.

The innovative Z-body was developed entirely in-house at Saturn. Aside from the space frame design used on some Pontiacs during the 1980s it shared little with the rest of the General Motors model line. As the side panels did not carry a load, they were made of plastic polymer instead of metal. The dent and corrosion-resistant properties of the panels was incorporated into advertising campaigns.

Meanwhile GM had initiated an extensive program to establish a network of dedicated Saturn dealers and dealers that would add the new car to their line of offered General Motors products. In 1990 an extensive marketing campaign Saturn that focused on a brand-wide "no haggle" sales technique was launched to coincide with commencement of sales.

Production facilities, use of plastic body panels and visionary marketing campaigns were not only the innovative things about Saturn. The UAW (United Auto Workers) and GM initiated a series of meetings in 1983 to negotiate a labor agreement. In 1985 announcement was made that a labor accord for the Saturn operation had been completed. It included unprecedented terms including a twenty percent pay cut for workers at the Spring Hill factory in exchange for guaranteed profit-sharing and bonuses based on attainment of production and quality goals. Certain other rights pertaining to seniority, work rules, grievance procedures, were also modified.

The second cloud in the company’s bright future occurred in 1991 when an engine coolant problem necessitated the replacement of 1,836 Saturn’s. As with the Edsel, these issues tarnished the new cars reputation, made potential customers consider other available models, and created a public relations nightmare.

The Aura RX sedan was intended to achieve volume penetration. It didn’t.

This proved to be a minor setback. In early 1992 the company announced the sale of the 100,000th Saturn. Later that year Saturn was placed at the top of the list in the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction index list. Then only a few months later the embryonic company was dealt another blow when it was announced that more than 300,000 Saturn’s were being recalled for the repair of an electrical issue.

Still Saturn reported its first profitable year in 1994. Again, much like what happened to Edsel, sales did not meet projections. As a result, there was a lay off at the Spring Hill production facility and production was curtailed. This was part of a company-wide reorganization that included the folding of Saturn into GM's Small Car Group.

But the company continued working on innovative programs and marketing campaigns to develop brand loyalty. One of the most novel of these initiatives was the Saturn Homecoming.

In the spring of 1994, the company invited 605,000 Saturn owners to Spring Hill for a celebration of the owners, the vehicles, and the people that built them. More than 38,000 people accepted the invitation. The only states not represented by owners were Wyoming, North Dakota, and Montana-the only states where Saturn had no dealers. L.B. Tseng, a Saturn dealer from Taipei, Taiwan, held a drawing among his customers and awarded 20 of them with a free trip to the homecoming, a promotion that cost him $50,000.

It was an unprecedented two-day event. There were bands, singers, magicians, and a firework display with "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" as background music. Blacksmiths gave demonstrations. Tattoo artists were available to provide an unforgettable souvenir. Angie Weaver and Curt Natter, two young Saturn dealership employees from Pennsylvania chose the occasion to get married before a chaplain of the United Auto Workers union. Saturn President Richard LeFauve said, “This is the first owner recall in the history of the auto industry."

The Saturn, like the Edsel, should have been a success. The S-Series produced until replacement by the Ion line in 2003 won numerous awards. Powered by a 1.9-liter four-cylinder single cam or dual cam engine paired with five-speed automatic or four-speed manual transmissions, the cars developed a cult like following. MotorWeek, Automobile Magazine, J.D. Power & Associates, and Motor Trend praised the car in feature articles. More than 2 million S-Series were produced.

 Still, by 2000 Saturn had lost its identity. The midsize L-Series in sedan and station wagon body styles was produced at a GM plant in Delaware. They were based on the Opel Vectra.

In a valiant attempt to keep the brand alive, General Motors expanded the Saturn line. The Vue was introduced as a crossover in 2002. In 2005 the Relay minivan debuted. Two years later the stunning Sky roadster was offered.

But GM was in a dire financial condition. The company was losing billions of dollars and facing bankruptcy. When GM chairman Rick Wagoner testified before a Congressional banking committee, he explained that the company was in the process of streamlining by concentrating on its four core brands: Cadillac, Buick, GMC, and Chevrolet.

 Saturn was doomed. Following GM’s bankruptcy and restructuring in 2009, the company attempted to sell Saturn. The only interested party was race car driver Roger Penske. The negotiations were stillborn when a deal to have Nissan-Renault supply cars to Saturn collapsed. With little ceremony GM quietly halted production of Saturn on October 1, 2009, and officially discontinued the line on October 31, 2010.

But just as with other orphans Saturn lives on. It still retains a staunch loyalty from owners. And a new generation of enthusiasts, many of whom were not yet born when the car debuted, have discovered the durable and sporty Saturn coupes. They have spawned a cottage industry of aftermarket and used parts.

Written by Jim Hinckley of jimhinckleysamerica.com

Mitchell – a short lived dream

This brand grew big, fast … then America was hit by a post-WWI recession.

 MAKERS showing great promise and innovation that vanished with little to mark their passing.

The history of the American auto industry is littered with such stories.

Consider the Mitchell, manufactured in Racine, Wisconsin.

As with many early automotive companies, the Mitchell evolved from a successful wagon works. The Mitchell and Lewis Wagon Company launched a subsidiary bicycle company, the Wisconsin Wheel Works, in the mid-1890s to capitalize on the national mania for the two wheelers. By 1900 the company had diversified into the production of motorcycles. This opened the door for the manufacture of automobiles.

Shortly after initiation of automobile production in 1903, the company abandoned the manufacture of cycles, both peddle and motorized. The wagon-building portion of the company, reorganized as Mitchell and Lewis Company, continued in operation until 1917 when it was acquired by Deere and Company. Further diversification came in 1905 with the production of buses and trucks, a division of the company discontinued after 1908. These are but a few examples of what separated Mitchell from the multitude of companies there were being organized.

The initial automotive offerings by Mitchell were two distinctly different models; a two cylinder, four-horsepower, chain-driven version with left-hand side tiller steering and seven horsepower model with two speed planetary transmission and a steering wheel, on the right-hand side.

In its second year as an automobile manufacturer the company again offered two distinctly different models. One was two cylinders and the other four. Both were air-cooled. The following year the customer could choose between water and air-cooled models.

A similar array of choices was available throughout much of the companies’ history. As an example, for 1910 buyers could choose between two four-cylinder models or the six-cylinder Model S. Then in 1916, the company offered a six-cylinder, promoted as the “Six of ‘16,” and an innovative V8-powered model.

The Mitchell was classified as an assembled car as many components were purchased from outside sources. Even so, from its inception, the owners of the company took great pride that Racine-based companies produced most everything used in the car’s construction. They also took pride in building a quality vehicle with a reputation for durability that sold for a mid-range price.

Production figures indicate that the consumer agreed, this was a good car for the money. For 1904, the first full year of production, the company produced 82 vehicles, the following year 315, and the year after 666. The annual geometric progression of sales continued through the company’s zenith in 1919 when annual production topped 10,000 vehicles.

But the era of independent manufacturers was drawing to a close. The post WWI recession of 1919, restrictions on the supply of steel, the growing market dominance of giants such as General Motors, Ford, and Nash began taking their toll on the smaller companies, and Mitchell was not exempted. Coupled with these issues was increasingly dated styling that failed to ignite excitement with the potential customer.

In 1920, sales plummeted to a mere 2500 units; the following year was no better. Profits followed the collapse of sales and in the summer of 1923, Mitchell entered bankruptcy.

 As an succinct epitaph the January 1924 issue of Automobile Topics noted: “Factories of the old Mitchell Motor Company are now entirely dismantled and consequently there passes from the industry a name that was once familiar to everyone, and a concern that in the early days was a real factor in the business.”

As Mitchell was just one of dozens of automobile manufacturers that was closing its doors, it is not surprising that the company was quickly forgotten.

The final chapter came the following month with the sale of the former Mitchell factory to Nash. Production of the Ajax, another forgotten chapter in automotive history, commenced shortly afterwards.

The demise of the independent auto manufacturer was a long one, a slow process of rank thinning that began with the demise of Mitchell and Columbia, Jackson and Briscoe, and dozens of other companies. The ranks were further decimated during the dark days of the Great Depression. It culminated with the demise of AMC that, ironically, was using some of the old Mitchell production facilities for the manufacture of components.   

Written by Jim Hinckley of jimhinckleysamerica.com

Call me a cab – the Checker story

How the industriousness of a destitute Russian immigrant drove America’s most famous taxi.

 FOR every Louis Chevrolet, Horace Dodge, David Buick, or Henry Ford there are a dozen automotive innovators and pioneers whose obscurity is astounding, especially considering their many contributions.

Looming large in the pantheon of forgotten innovators is Morris Markin, a Russian immigrant who created an American icon. His story as well as that of the cars his company built are one of the most enigmatic in the history of the American automobile industry.

The legend of Checker begins in the post WWI economic recession that decimated the auto industry. The owner of Lomberg Auto Body Manufacturing in Joliet, Illinois, had overextended himself with diversification into the manufacturing of taxi bodies for Commonwealth Motors, a company that sold the completed taxis under the Mogul name. In need of capital, he turned to a successful Chicago businessman and friend, Morris Markin, who provided $US15,000 in exchange for an interest in the company.

That is the first mystery. Markin had arrived in America as a destitute Russian immigrant less than a decade before. He had found employment with an uncle who was a tailor in Chicago. Together they had built a profitable company. Still, how is possible that Markin had this amount of money to invest in a struggling auto body manufacturing company?

The influx of capital provided by Markin offered but a brief respite. The difficult economic times and a marked decline in sales as well as the rising costs for raw materials crippled Lomberg Auto Body. To recoup his investment Markin assumed controlling interest in the company and reorganized it as Markin Auto Body Corporation. Still, the company’s primary customer Commonwealth Motors was on the cusp of imminent financial collapse. They were unable to pay for a shipment of taxi bodies already delivered which in turn pushed Markin to the brink of bankruptcy.  

An order for a fleet of Mogul taxis by the Checker Taxi Company of Chicago, a consortium of independent operators offered a ray of hope. However, before production could be initiated demand for payment by suppliers and other creditors forced Commonwealth Motors to enter bankruptcy.

In a deft and complex move, Markin utilized the assets of Markin Auto Body and the pending order by Checker to secure adequate financing for the purchase of Commonwealth Motors from the bankruptcy trustees in October 1921. Then in May of the following year he reorganized the companies as the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company.  

Fast forward six decades. On July 12, 1982, the last Checker rolled from the factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan and vehicles produced by the most independent of the independent manufacturers became another orphan. This is the beginning and the end of the story. In between are sixty years of fascinating vehicles, innovation, and a dizzying number of unanswered questions.

Did Checker ever build something other than taxis during the company’s infancy? That is the unanswered question behind a 1925 advertisement in the Automobile Blue Book, a leading route guide of the period. The text of the promotional piece reads, “A car must be sturdy, long-lived, economical on upkeep and performance, also easy riding to do Blue Book road drafting all over the country and the Checkers are giving satisfaction.”

The illustration is of a Checker roadster with, “Automobile Blue Books Official Car” lettered on the side. This a car that that the company never officially produced. Were they built as a special-order project? This vehicle may have been the first manifestation of the company’s development of niche market vehicles that became a hallmark of Checker.

Another enigmatic chapter would be the production of trucks. The company did produce a limited number of stake bed trucks utilizing the standard chassis of the Model M that had been introduced in 1930 as well as sheet metal from the front doors forward. The question, however, is how many of the trucks were manufactured and in what years. There are vague hints that some trucks were also built on the platform of the Model M replacement, models T, K and L.

Another intriguing vehicle is the MU6 Suburban Utility introduced in June 1931. This may have been the ultimate utility vehicles of the era. In long wheelbase configuration, advertisement proclaimed the vehicle was a nine passenger, one-ton station wagon that quickly converted to a package car or hearse! Do any of these survive?

The Model A taxi introduced in 1940 was revolutionary and fascinating. Its retractable rear roof section was patented as were more than 18 other components. The cars styling that was crafted by Raymond Dietrich ensured that the vehicle would never be mistaken for anything else on the road.

The company is best known for its taxis. But Checker was involved in array of intriguing projects. As an example, working with American Bantam to create a light duty, all terrain scout car prototype for United States Army testing the company developed a four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering vehicle in 1940. An existent model is on display at the Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan.

In preparation for the post war market, Checker developed several prototype taxis with front wheel drive and a transverse mounted engine in 1946. In the mid-1950s the company developed and tested taxis with diesel engines. In the late 1960s the company offered as an option, Perkins diesel engines.

Taxis, and intriguing niche market vehicles, are all a part of the fascinating Checker story. But so is the question riddled story of Markin’s attempts to buy out John Hertz’s Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company, and what led Hertz to sell to General Motors. Another intriguing story is the intertwined relationship with E.L. Cord that led to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The rarity of pre 1958 Checker vehicles has contributed to the company’s obscurity, and to the mystique. Underlying the scarcity of early model Checker built vehicles is Markin’s unique business model.

Beginning in the mid-1930s, Markin began accepting used taxis as trade ins. These were refurbished and then sold to overseas customers in Turkey, Tahiti, Scandinavian countries, and in Africa. Recently two exceedingly rare 1950 Model A4 Checkers were discovered in a Norwegian farm field.

Checker is truly an American icon. It was the ultimate independent auto manufacturer. And the cars that have survived are treasured by their owners.

Written by Jim Hinckley of jimhinckleys