GM attacks hybrids in latest ad

If Toyota were feisty they might run ads showing a Prius beating the typical SUV or light truck doing zero to 45. I enjoy doing this at traffic lights at the bottoms of some local hills. Highlighting hybrid performance will give them even wider appeal.

 

It is Saturn, after all. I think some poor idiot is having a difficult time accepting the size of his minuscule head.

:cussing: Tired of guys(mostly guys) obsessing over horsepower!

 

Perhaps Toyota could run an ad that points out that while the gas engine is 76 HP, the electric motor puts out 67 HP, giving a total of 143 HP....

 

I think it's funny how the Prius is the most "satisfying" vehicle of the year,
while in the same Consumer Reports issue, the Saturn Ion is the least satisfying in it's class. Correct me if I'm wrong, but only 49% of Ion owners said they would definitely buy one again.

The Ion gets 24 and 32 mpg... oooooh....wow, I am so impressed. How many horses??? 140.... ooooh I am so impressed.

That's just some cheap shot from a lousy car company that will NEVER have any edge over an innovative powerhouse like Toyota.

I wouldn't buy the piece of junk anyway, the steering wheel fell off in the IIHS 40 mph frontal offset crash test for crying out loud! What a piece of tin.... GM at its finest.

 

I saw that ad, and not only is it dumb... but... it's dumb.

The Accord Hybrid has 115 more hp than the ion, and gets 38mpg (6 more than the ion). Who's zoomin who?

 

Oh well...maybe Toyota could then show a Prius speeding down a freeway neck to neck with an Ion with the tag line - one's getting 55 mpg, the other one isn't.

Rick...I notice you have the coastal hitch..I.m assuming it's for carrying bikes - how's it work out for you?

 

The Prius has plenty of zoom. Not just a little, but at times feels breakneck if you really push it. Merging onto the freeway is a lot easier than my previous car. I mean a lot easier and a lot less stressful.

Well, GM marketing has been questionable for a long time. Their vehicles have been even more questionable. An American Devolution.

 

[only because you asked]

The Saturn Ion is NOT the least satisfying in it's class. You are correct that only 49% of Ion owners said they would definitely buy one again. But the least satisfying car in the class is the Nissan Sentra at 41%.

But being at the top of the bottom is no badge of honor for the Saturn Ion either.

http://priuschat.com/forums/consumer-repor...-is-vt7178.html

 

Toyota's revenge will be when their stated plan of unseating GM as the worlds largest car builder comes true. Then they should send GM ads like these.

While GM pats itself on the back for what it believes is a great job, in their rose-colored view from inside their unreal corporate bubble world, Toyota inches ahead and will overtake them in the real world.

Ford said it would never happen to them. It did last year.

 

I'm sure glad i haven't seen the commercial, seeing i would be quite pist all day... but i want to see it now.

Figures... GM.. has anyone read the post about the EV1s? This is just like GM.

 

To h*** with GM, if this is the *best* they can do to counter their incredibly stupid miscalculation on what the Hybrid automotive scene would do, they're doomed.

I suspect that ad was targeted to the gap toothed redneck hicks who obediently purchase their pickup trucks. You know the kind of driver: they always feature a sticker of the defunct Calvin with his britches down, an evil sneer on his face, peeing on the trademarked Ford/Dodge/Toyota name.

 

LOL :lol: Good one jayman.

 

I bought a brand new Saturn SL2 in 1995 and owned it for two years. It was a pretty decent car.

The Saturn dealerships back then were second to none in customer service.

<story time...>

When I took my car in for it's first oil change the service manager came out to inform me that they found a crack(!) in the transmission housing. I said Holy Cow! or something similiar but the guy just said take this and we'll call you in a couple days. He handed me a set of keys to a brand new SL2 they pulled in front of the dealership. I was dumbfounded. No papers to sign - no nothing - they just tossed me the keys like I owned it.

Even ten years later - that was pretty impressive.

 

What an idiotic commercial. I guess when you're trying to sell a car that finished last in an eight car comparison, against stiff competition like the Suzuki Aerio and Hyundai Elantra, there isn't really anything of substance you could put in a commercial. If they were comparing the acceleration of the Ion Red Line to the Prius, it might mean something. But the regular Ion is slower than even your typical econobox:

0-60 times from Edmunds.com:

Prius: 10.4 seconds
Saturn Ion: 9.9 seconds
Toyota Corolla: 9.4 seconds

Isn't there a rule that says no car that's slower than a Corolla is allowed to brag about its performance?

 

Consider the target audience: potential Saturn buyers. They're aiming at fools on a budget, so they don't have to worry about the intellectual quality of the message.

 

"I suspect that ad was targeted to the gap toothed redneck hicks who obediently purchase their pickup trucks. You know the kind of driver: they always feature a sticker of the defunct Calvin with his britches down, an evil sneer on his face, peeing on the trademarked Ford/Dodge/Toyota name."

You forgot to mention the "W" bumper sticker...

 

Let's see, this wouldn't be the same GM that decided to crush the lease-returned EV1s, would it? Hmmm...

While I don't want to profess love nor hate for a car or the company that makes it, the failure of the U.S. car companies to take a leadership position in anything except making bigger gas guzzlers has me beating a path to one of the few companies sticking their neck out -- Toyota. Heck, Toyota may even regret going down this path, considering press reports of how much they've spent developing the hybrid technology. But they did it, they appear to be sticking with it, and I'm proud to be paying my early-adopter penalty to own a Prius. GM can go the way of the dinosaur for all I care; they will likely reap what they sow.

Goodbye, EV1... we barely knew thee.

- Leo