I was watching my television the other day when I happened to see an ad from GM’s now death sentenced Saturn brand that left me quite furious.  The ad shows a retailer by the name of “Jim Smith” who begins to chastise the “pundits” who he claims are besmirching the reputation of Saturn dealers and the rest of the domestic auto industry because they are claiming “American car companies can’t build cars Americans want.”  He goes on to say that “at Saturn we get it,” noting that the brand has its most comprehensive and eco-friendly lineup in its storied history.

Mr. Smith and the Saturn ad gurus who put this spot together should have checked their hubris at the door because the last time I checked, the reason for Saturn’s precipitous sales decline—sales fell 21.7% in 2008, not to mention the 57% plummet reported in February—isn’t the result of talking heads on cable television or writers publishing reports that disparage the U.S. auto industry.  Rather,   the problem rests at GM headquarters, where leaders have declared Saturn dead in a few years.  That’s the real problem causing Saturn to hit the skids.

How dare GM’s marketing leadership try to pawn off their debacle on anybody else.  Rick Wagoner, Fritz Henderson, Mark LaNeve, and a host of other suits at the GM’s Renaissance Center HQ are the reason people aren’t buying Saturns.  And these suits should have known what was going to happen to Saturn sales.  After all, they themselves repeatedly told taxpayers and Congressional leaders in Washington that their entire organization would suffer fatal consequences if GM went into bankruptcy and was declared insolvent.  Wagoner himself has said repeatedly that customers would shun any automaker that went into bankruptcy because customers would fear their cars wouldn’t be covered by warranties, residual values would crater and parts may not be delivered. 

What Wagoner and the GM leadership team did to Saturn is nothing less than declare it bankrupt.  What did they expect the consequences to be?  Don’t get me wrong.  I certainly feel sorry for those Saturn dealers who have been given the ultimate cheap-shot, the portion of the GM “viability plan” that states: “Saturn will remain in operation for the next several years, through the end of the planned lifecycle for all Saturn products. In the interim, if Saturn retailers or other investors present a plan that would allow a spin-off or sale of Saturn Distribution Corporation, GM would be open to any such possibility. If a spin-off or sale does not occur, GM plans to phase out the Saturn brand at the end of the current product lifecycle.”  In other words, Saturn’s run is over.  They said it.  The so-called “pundits” had nothing to do with it.

What has hit the airwaves in terms of advertising at Saturn is nothing less than passing the buck in terms of responsibility for the actions taken by GM’s leadership—akin to what AIG has been called out for, albeit on a much smaller scale.  GM needs to take responsibility for the hand it has dealt itself.   This is just another sign that GM’s leadership doesn’t get it and should be sent packing now.