CNN Money reports that Saturn's pulled the plug on its "Side-by-Side-by-Side Test Drive." During the promotion, Saturn dealers provided customers with [base model four-cylinder] Accords and Camrys to compare against [well equipped V6] Auras. Saturn marketing manager Matt Armstrong declared the two-month campaign a success, claiming Aura sales increased 24 percent (against a 14 percent drop in midsize cars' sales). In fact, Saturn sold 4,694 Auras in June and 5,827 in July. That's a 19 percent increase. Camry on the other hand, dropped from 46,630 sales in June to 41,514 in July, a 12% decrease. So was Aura responsible for the dent in Camry sales? Uh…. no. Accord sales rose from 28,915 to 37,142 during the same time; a 22 percent increase. In raw numbers, Aura's sales went up 1,133 in July, Camry's decreased 5,116, and Accord's increased by 8,227. No matter how Saturn spins it, the Accord was the big winner during the GM brand's "Side-by-Side-by-Side Test Drive" promotion.
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And this despite using a V6 against a 4-cylinder?
So sometimes it does make sense to bring a metaphorical knife to a gunfight.
Only GM would cancel a progrsm that they call ‘A Success’. If it was so successful why not continue it with the new 2008 Accord?
Oh – I forgot GM’s junkers can’t hold a candle to the new Accord! Gotta love the spin that keeps comming out of Detroit…
Wait, are you trying to attribute the increase in Accord sales to the Saturn promotion? And just how do you factually quantify that? Was there a survey at Honda dealers asking if they bought the Accord based on the Saturn promotion? Sounds like a bit of eisogesis to me.
In truth, I think that GM may be calling off both this and the proposed Malibu side-by-side because of the new Accord that’s about to hit showrooms.
Good move cancelling the Aura side-by-side with the Accord….the Accord is simply a better all around ride—although I think the styling of the Aura is better even against the “08 Accord.
That said, I would continue it against the Camry—which is after all the top dog in the group. The Aura not only looks better and handles better—you can get the 6 cyl power for about the same price as a 4cyl Camry.
I do think the Camry is in trouble. There are at least 5 comparable cars i would buy before the Camry—Accord, Aura, New Malibu, Fusion and Altima. It will be interesting to how Toyota responds to this competitive onslaught against “their prize”. Hmmm…maybe Tundra like incentives.
umterp85:
I do think the Camry is in trouble.
Huh? Let’s check those stats again.
Toyota sold over 40k Camrys in July. Saturn sold 5,827 Auras.
During its first year out of the blocks, Saturn Aura monthly sales are less than 15 percent of the Camry’s. IF Saturn maintains that pace, they’ll sell under 70k Auras in year one. That’s less than two months of Camry sales.
A mainstream hit the Aura is not. I’m sure Saturn wishes it had the kind of troubles facing the Camry.
You think maybe the Accord sales surge is due to the discounts used to clear out the 07’s before the all new 08 comes out? Just a thought….
RF–uh….I do not think my note claimed Aura was a sales success. I think I said that the Accord, Aura, New Malibu, Fusion and Altima were far more appealing vehicles than the Camry in nearly every way—and with the Altima, Accord and Malibu being all new—I can’t help but think it will significantly hurt Camry sales and / or will lead to increased Camry incentives. Frank’s monthly number tally will tell the story.
I do think underp85 has a point – the current Camry is nothing special (as are some other recent Toyota models) and we may have seen the peak in both quality and value for money from Toyota. However, Toyota has massive sales momentum built up by years of selling quality products and fueled by a very positive brand perception. With Saturn it is quite the reverse – GM is fighting the reputation of its previous products. This is will not change quickly regardless of how much better the Aura is than the Camry – it will take years of consistently selling better products to reverse the sales numbers. However, it is encouraging to see that GM/Saturn finally has a competitive product that I would certainly prefer over a Camry. The only question is if they can keep up this effort over the next 2 or 3 generations of this product.
umterp85 :
Sorry I misunderstood your point. If you’re saying that the Camry’s competition puts it in a tough spot, well, yes and no.
Keep in mind that most buyers are motivated by the desire NOT TO LOSE. Gaining extra horsepower, comfort, resale value, etc. is not such a big deal to Mr. and Mrs. average. As long as their Camry gives them what they’re used to, it’s enough.
For Honda, GM and Nissan to lure Camry buyers out of their Toyotas they’d have to convince them that their car is SIGNIFICANTLY worse than the competition. Which it isn’t.
Of course, that holds true for the other brands’ loyalists as well. (NB: Malibu resale values were hammered by fleet sales, which hurt the model’s core audience enough to send them to the competition.)
Other than the Camry falling behind in some important way (as the Malibu did, but not a realistic prospect for Toyota), Toyota would have to screw something up big style (again, as the Malibu did, but not a realistic prospect for Toyota) for Camry buyers to abandon their ride.
And one more thing: a lot of people hereabouts say that they would or wouldn’t buy a particular car over another one. Perhaps, but the only important measure of desirability is what people actually do with their hard-earned money (i.e. the sales chart).
RF: Well said and I appeciate your points.
I do think it will be interesting to track 2008 model year in the mid-size segment in terms of sales numbers and incentives.
My take is that a better Accord, Altima, and Malibu will increase their year-on-year numbers. I see the Camry, Fusion, and Sonata decreasing year-on-year (unless they are able to gin up the incentives and/or get bigger into fleet).
It remains to be seen whether the new entrants actually expand the segment. If they don’t—-then by definition it has to come out of someone else’s hide—the Fusion or Sonata hides are not as big as the Camry.
Not saying the Camry will lose its loyalist (whose core demographics are increasingly moving toward the 50+ set)—rather those consumers that are entering the segment have much more interesting choices than the Camry
What ever the outcome, there has never been a better time for consumers to buy in this “midsize appliance segment”.
So what are the percentages of the new Saturn Aura buyers former Honda and Toyota customers-this is the real question.
Where is GM getting their market share?
The real story if there is one, are former Honda and Toyota customers turning in their autos. for Aura’s. This should be GM’s ultimate goal but GM only looks at short term results.
Maybe GM needs some of those nice behavior modifing proscription drugs.
Toyota has been able to and can still afford to pile on the incentives when the time comes. GM can ill afford to put $1k-3k on the hood of each Malibu to move it, and Camrys are already selling at invoice.
As for appeal, the import intenders reading Consumer Reports aren’t going to go for the Malibu if it’s rankings don’t improve. And guess what – the almost identical Aura’s scores were low to middling on that scale, highly influential for better or for worse.
GM is driving the Malibu into the perfect economic storm with last year’s product (Aura+bowtie). Lots of luck, Lutz.
Edit: I see Joe Gibbs will announce tomorrow that Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch will be Camry drivers next year. Hmmmmm.
Rather than abandoning the entire comparison program, maybe Saturn should opt for a clever modification. I’ll bet the Aura would come off pretty impressively if it went head to head against a Chrysler Sebring.
The “side by side” comparison was a good idea, but I think this program cancellation, as pointed out by others posting on this particular nugget of news, is transparent with the release of the new Accord. I’m a pro-GM guy, but if GM doesn’t think the Aura is up to snuff against the Accord, why don’t they make it such? Don’t worry, I don’t expect an answer back from the powers-that-be in the RenCen on that question.
Could it be that many Saturn dealers also own or have family that owns a Toyota and Honda dealership. The Saturn dealer suddenly became a multiline store.
“You prefer the Honda, our Honda store is down the street, let me call and make an appointment for you”.
Now, how many Chevrolet dealers own a Toyota and Honda store?
It seems everyone’s content to simply out-sport the Camry these days. Which is dumb, because they’re just going up against each other.
Try out-luxobarging the Camry, you’d be in a class of your own, and not a small one either.
No matter how Saturn spins it, the Accord was the big winner during the GM brand’s “Side-by-Side-by-Side Test Drive” promotion.
…As it SHOULD be.
As usual, enthusiasts miss the point. Just because you may not like the Camry, does NOT mean sales will drop.
Camry sales will continue to be strong and the new Malibu and Accord won’t do a whole lot to change that. For one thing, neither the Accord or Malibu can compete with the Camry hybrid in terms of mileage. The Malibu Hybrid is a joke, and with the Accord we have to wait until 2010 when it gets a diesel. Even then, no guarantee the diesel will match the Camry Hybrid or if people will buy the diesel model.
And I agree with Hank: how do you factually quantify the Accord being the “big winner” in the Saturn program? Correlation does NOT equal causation Frank Williams.
Could it be that Accord sales saw a boost in July because the new model is just around the corner and Honda dealers were piling on incentives to get old Accord models out?
Heh…I called that this would end quickly. I knew that GM would balk at buying 4k Accords / Camrys for each Chevy showroom – plus buying another 4k new Accords in September (or risk keeping the old model in order to trick the customers – those who knew a new Accord was out wound find that underhanded). I said this was a huge mistake for Saturn as it brings the enemy into the showroom and gets Saturn only buyers (those who’d never venture into a Honda or Toyota showroom) to have a good look at the Camcord.
GM just doesn’t have its act together and cancelling a supposed “successful” campaign when they sold a couple thousand more cars (I wonder if the cost of buying 2k+ Camcords made up for the increase in sales?).
GM doesn’t sell cars or trucks anymore…they sell special deals and gimmic sales events.
Base Auras have a V6, base Accords have a 4 cylinder. Dollar for dollar, you get more features with the Aura, and it’s hardly unfair to demonstrate that.
As for the Accord’s increase, I doubt it had much to do with the Aura’s comparison scheme. Honda has been clearing out 2007 Accords to make way for the new 2008 model.
For the record, I drive an Accord. It’s more expensive than its GM equivalent, but my last lease of a GM car cost me a couple grand extra in non-warranty brake repairs, so there go the savings.
“Base Auras have a V6, base Accords have a 4 cylinder.”
Aren’t they introducing a 4 cylinder into the Aura, if not now, then soon? I think people will be more impressed by the great mileage of the 4 banger Accord and Camry, rather than the increased power of the Aura. The 4 banger Accord and Camry have more than adequate power anyway.
I can imagine what must have happened
0300 hrs Detroit time..phone rings in Wagoner’s bedroom
cheery voiced caller on the phone: “Good morning Rick! how are you?”
Wagoner: “Huh huh who’s calling?”
caller: “I’m “Kats”! can’t you recognise my voice?”
Wagoner through sleep induced fog: “Kats” who?”
caller: “Katsuake Watanabe you dolt! i’m your worst nightmare!”
Wagoner: “Aagh; dont torture me so much at this time of the night. what do you want now? anything to let me get back to sleep.”
Watanabe: “Its about this side by side marketing campaign of yours. how about….”
Wagoner brightens up; is fully awake: “Ahaa gotcha didn’t we!
got you sh!tt!ng bricks haven’t we?”
Watanabe: “Uh? Perish the thought. No one’s scared of you. Even those little guys from Fiat kept kicking you in the balls till you promised em 2 billion to stop! remember? we all saw it happen! Any way back to the point. It ain’t your Malibu we are worried about. Its the Accord. Do you really want them to add 350,000 sales in 1 year. Once they come into your show room they will not give our Camry a second glance; They will all rush out and buy the hated Accord. Our Camry sales will stagnate at 450,00+ but you my friend won’t sell a single Malibu, once they know what the Accord is all about. Do you really want them to become as big as us in just 1 year?” Imagine having 2 of us haunting you at night at the same time!
Wagoner: you’re right Katsuake san! At least if we follow your way we’ll get to sell a few of the Bu’s. I’ll call Mark right now.. any thing else i can do for you? Good night”
And so it came about that the side by side program died even before it was born