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The neglect of Saturn as GM moved to emphasize SUV sales, with no new models for five years and the folding of Saturn in to the small car group and expected to compete for scarce resources with other brands including the Buicks, the Hummers and the Pontiacs. Saturns were doing what they intended to do getting buyers of imports shifting to American models but lack of investment and attention and steady perseverance over time led to its potential never being realized. This may be one of the many errrors of GM executives and its board.

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Jupiter and Saturn appearing this close for the first time since the Middle Ages during Christmas. Can be seen at night with a pair of binoculars.

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Dealerships have taken enthusuastically to the new Penske ownership of Saturn. But its not clear whether the Penske name will help boost sales. Saturn sales were down 58% through May 2009 over a year earlier, down to 35,256 vehicles. Kia sold 4 times as many cars in the USA over the same period. Saturn sales improved in June, with a35% year over year increase in June. But its not clear if this will last and what the effects of the penske name will be over the long term. Autodata estimates that there is a105 day supply of Saturn cars, or 32,647 cars for 350 dealers. By comparison Buick has a74 day backlog. Customer loyalty says J.D. Power is down from 45% in 2007 to 37% today. This compares to retention rates of about 65% for Toyota. And the failure of the Astra to genrate customer interest and its being discontinued will leave Saturn without acompact car in its lineup. Its important for Saturn to have an affordable small car to hang onto loyal customers.

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GM will offer 2 hybrid versions of the Saturn Vue. It will give 32 mpg on the highway 28 combined, for $2000 extra, on the 4 cylinder hybrid system thats currently offered in 2007, and on the single mode system 35 mpg on the highway, 29 combined, for an undetermined amount extra.

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See these awesome pictures of the starry skies and the rendezvous between Jupiter and Saturn as seen from earth in December 2020 to remind us of our place in the vast Milky Way and outer space. Jupiter takes 12 years to circle the sun, Saturn 30 years they came this close in 1623. As Giles Sparrow points out in his book "21 Stars in The Milky Way," ther are 200 billion stars, and distances are vast beyond comprehension. Thousands of years for light travelling at 300,000 kilometres a second to get to earth from distant stars in The Milky Way! Think of that and there is so little we know at this time of the pandemic about so many things!

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From Kansas to Southern Spain, pictures from The Guardian show the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the night skies looking out into The Milky Way in December 2020. At the time of the pandemic understanding how small our world is on this planet as light travels at 300,000 kilometres per second and it takes 2 seconds to reach earth from the moon, thousands of years for light to reach earth from distant stars of which scientists say there are 200 billion. A British scientist and astronomer says there are 200 billion in a new book "The History of the Universe in 21 Stars."

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How Saturn is finding itself and trying to refocus its image and reach out to loyal customers. Efforts in ads that failed and the redesign thats working a lot better. See the way Saturn is redesigning its showrooms by not looking at competitors but looking at how Apple has redefined the retail experience in its stores that are a leader in this area with customers flocking to Apple stores. This is innovative approach of Saturn. See the slide show on this in the Sept 3, BW, on Saturn's new redesign of its showroom experience.

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The story of Lara Gass, a law student in Virgina, whose brakes, power steering and power failed causing a fiery crash, because of a faulty ignition switch in a 2006 Saturn Ion. The failure of GM to take the cars with that defective switch off the road till they are repaired is cause for anguish for 21 grieving families that lost a family member.