Saturn

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at the car was designed and built well, and that there was substance behind the positive feedback from the customer surveys. The 1991 Saturn was called "a major step forward" by Road and Track, and the 1992 Saturn SL was called the "best value" of any 1992 small car in its price range. The already cited J. D. Power indices delivered even more persuasive evidence that Saturn had pulled it off.
One visible example of the Saturn quality emphasis has been the decision to offer a money-back guarantee. Within the first thirty days or 1,500 miles, whichever comes first, an original purchaser may return his or her Saturn for a full refund or for a replacement car. The guarantee not only reassures the buyer about the purchase decision but also provides an internal signal about the quality level that is needed and expected.
Recalls have given Saturn numerous opportunities to graphically demonstrate its quality culture. When it was found during one recall that defective coolant might have caused some unrepairable damage, the 1,836 involved cars were never resold. During another recall, a Saturn engineer personally delivered a seat to a customer who lived on a remote Alaskan island. (Serafin & Horton)
THE TEAM APPROACH: "A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPANY"
GM's basic premise was that a world-class compact car and a strong quality culture could not be created within the confines of an existing General Motors division. A new company was therefore formed and given the freedom to create not only a product but a whole new organization free from the restrictive UAW contract and the historically confrontational relationship between labor and GM management, free from the constraints caused by an existing brand family, and free from the inhibitions of an existing way of doing business. People who joined Saturn broke ties with their prior GM unit and often moved to Spring Hill, Tennessee, where a "green field" manufacturing facility was built. This new organ...