Who would have believed that the unit which was GM’s (GM) weakest for years is now leading the charge against its Japanese rivals? Not anyone sane.
But AutoObserver, a unit of Edmunds, says that Saturn sales will be up 50% in February. According to its surveys, most of these sales are converts from Honda (HMC), Nissan, and Toyota (TM). In markets like southern Florida and southern California, import strongholds, Saturn is also doing well. The car unit’s new sedan and crossover are both experiencing brisk volume.
Although there is a temptation to take the success out of context, the improvement at Saturn could be early proof that products designed under GM mad scientist Bob Lutz are actually catching on. If so, the sales uptick could spread to other GM brands.
With GM’s stock up 60% over the last year, Wall St. is wondering what the catalyst might be to send it higher. Maybe they’ve found one.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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