Saturn of Scottsdale was delighted to host the "Pictures of Hope" project, where children at Phoenix's Homeward Bound shelter depict their hopes and dreams in their own photography.

The work was unveiled this past Friday at Saturn of Scottsdale, and these holiday greeting cards are now on display at and for sale at Saturn of Scottsdale for a $25 donation to Homeward Bound's children's programs.

Linda Soloman, a Tucson photographer, started the nationwide "Pictures of Hope" in 2005 through Salvation Army, with sponsorship from General Motors.

Our Phoenix Arizona Saturn Dealerhip is delighted to pioneer a new online service technology, putting more control and 24/7 access in the hands of our customers.

If you are a customer and we have your email address on file, you should have already received a login password which will allow you to book an appointment to service your car.  If not, you can always register on the Saturn of Scottsdale Service Appointment page.

By booking online, you can be assured that there will be adequate technicians avaialable to quickly resolved your service needs, that a ride back to the office will be available if needed, and that you will have the least possible downtime.  Also, if we are running a service special that is appropriate for your vehicle, you will be offered any service specials that may be appropriate for your vehicle according to its factory recommended maintenance schedule.  You will also be able to view your service history online.

In coming months, we hope that more than 50% of our service appointments will be booked online, which will help our customers build their service histories online.   In the testing we have done so far, we found that after the initial setup and first use of our system, more than 90% of customers say they prefer online booking to calling for an appointment.

One things that has always made Saturn a different sort of car comany is our long-term commitment to the communities that we live and work in.  Going back to the start of the company, we pledged to be much more than great "corporate citizens," but rather, that we as retailers would invest not just as a business, but personally, in our communities.  We give our time, our money, our resources, and yes, even our blood back to those we serve.

Saturn's "Donor Days" are held annually on the Saturday just before Valentine's Day, and I am proud to say that most of our retailers nationwide are now actively partnering with their local blood services companies, making this event one of the successful give-back campaigns in corporate history.

On a local level, we partner with United Blood Services.and this year, we needed TWO bloodmobiles at Saturn of Scottsdale to handle all of the donations from our enthusiastic customers and neighbors who came into donate blood on February 9th.  This event topped off a year of active support for United Blood Services, including the donation of a brand new Saturn SKY which was awared to a random blood donor last summer.

90% of all blow-outs are caused by an entirely preventable situation,  under-inflated tires, which is why all of our new vehicles have some sort of tire pressure monitoring system on them. 

Saturn is known as the "safety company" among all automotive brands, and it was primarily for safety reasons that we decided to add a nitrogen generating plant to our Scottsdale shop earlier this year.  Based upon very positive customer feedback, we have decided to add Nitrogen filled tires to our "Saturn Security Blanket" package which we offer to all new car customers (without raising the price of this package).

Nitrogen-filled tires are not only safer than air-filled tires, but during recent months of testing, we have seen a number of additional benefits, including:

• • Less Pressure Fluctuation
• • Better Pressure Retention
• • Increased Fuel Economy
• • Improved Handling and Performance
• • Extended Tire Wear and Life
• • Better for the Environment
• • Longer-term Stability

Saturn is touring the country with a stable of new Saturn ASTRAs, and they will be in Scottsdale at Westworld on October 22nd in the evening for you to take a test drive on a closed course. Click here to register for this event.

The ASTRA is Saturn's FIFTH new model to be launched in the past two years, something unprecedented EVER before in the automotive industry.  This new sport compact is the exclamation point on the Saturn brand revitalization.

Today, Saturn announced that the Saturn VUE Green Line (Hybrid Crossover) is officially the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market.  For people who complain that SUV drivers aren't environment-friendly, finally there is a solution, and it comes from America, the inventor of the SUV.

The Saturn Vue Green Line will go 585 miles on a tank of gas, and the combined city/highway 28 MPG rating is a full 20% better that it's closest competitors, the Toyota RAV-4 and the Honda CRV.

We expect to be getting our first Green Lines into the dealership by about mid-November, but because we are only planning on a limited production in 2008, we suggest that customers get their order in early, and we think that special orders will get here is about 6-8 weeks, but we aren't 100% sure as Saturn is still working out the details on the order process for these vehicles. 

I am delighted to report that I have joined the Saturn Franchise Operations Team (FOT), one of eight Saturn retailers who represent the more than 400 dealerships in the US.  During the next year, our group will be meeting with Saturn leadership in Detroit every other month.  Through these meetings, Saturn executives stay in close touch with what is happening in the dealerships (more than financial data or perfomance reports), and the dealers have an opportunity to be involved in the corporate decision making process.

I think the new Saturn Outlook may just be the most universally appealing vehicle ever made, a true crossover SUV easily beating out every competitor in the class.  At one end of the spectrum, families on a budget choose the $27K Outlook SE because it has more space and more basic features than any 8-passenger vehicle in it's class.  More recently, we have seen customers order handsomely equipped $40,000 Outlooks with every luxury feature imaginable, because fully loaded, the Outlook beats the ride and creature comforts of every luxury SUV out there without paying an extra 50% for just an emblem.

What is a Crossover SUV?  A crossover is an SUV built on car "unibody" frame instead of a truck frame, providing the roominess, commanding seating position, safety, and other features of an SUV with the comfort, fuel economy, smooth ride and handling of a car.  The Saturn Outlook Crossover is the roomiest 8-passenger SUV on the market, and is built in the most advanced and environmenally friendly automotive manufacturing facility in the world.

One to get ready (Saturn Sky)...
Two to get set (Saturn Aura)...
and
Three to Go...

ANNOUNCING THE 2008 VUE

The third car in the new Saturn Brand Revitalization has been officially announced, a 2008 replacement for the incredibly successful Saturn Vue.

A bit of trivia: By the end of this year, with the introduction of the new Saturn Astra,  the oldest car in the new Saturn line-up will be the Saturn Sky.  Never in automotive history has one company entered so many product segments and introduced so many new vehicles in such a short period of time.

Call us at the dealership at 480-922-5200, and will will keep you in the loop on this exciting announcement.

 With great fanfare, the fifth new Saturn vehicle in two years was announced at the Chicago Auto Show last week.

The sporty compact Saturn ASTRA completes the new Saturn model line, and will be the lowest price Saturn when it arrives at the dealerships beginning in early 2008.

Today was a really good day.  I had a consultant in my office for a meeting, and twice we were interrupted by a couple of long-time customers who were there to remind me what is so different about the Saturn brand and about our dealership.  First, I heard some music playing, and I was invited out into the showroom for the delivery of a brand new Saturn Vue to one of our repeat customers.  Yes, we still do all the fuss and noise with our customers new and old, including a cheer and a line to shake the hands of our newest customers.  This is something that happens a couple of times a day in our dealership, but it never gets old for me.  In this case, the car was the EIGHTH Saturn that this customer had purchased, and as I walked back to my office with the consultant, he looked at me and said, "Does this happen often around here, eight cars sold to one customer?"  Well, I am delighted to report that in fact, it does, that Saturn still does have the best brand loyalty of any automaker in the business.

Then, on the way back to my office, we bumped into Les, who is a Regional VP in a national financial services firm.  Les was in for an oil change on his car (pictured above), and he proudly told me that the car now has 204,000 original owner miles.  Again, I got the same does-this-happen-every-day look from the consultant, and I am delighted to report that while it may not happen every day, it happens often enough to remind me what we are all about.

Saturn of Scottsdale has received more than 120 deposits so far for a Saturn SKY, and in recent days, I have been answering some questions in the forums about how allocations work now and how I expect them to work in the future.  What became abundantly clear from this, however, is that there is a great deal of frustration out there among customers who want to get more up-to-date information on their orders, instead of just calling the sales rep and being told "I don't know."

In response to our customer's wishes, we have created a new website which will eventually become a customer loyalty site to better serve our owners (and those with cars on order).  The first order of business for this website was to develop an order tracking system which accurately notifies customers of changes in their order, and equally important, gives them a better sense of how the order process is working with others who have gone before them.

So, please check out www.ILoveMySaturn.com. On this site, our customers will be able to follow their order through every stage of production, more than 60 possible event codes telling them exactly where the cars are in the process.