Uh yeah, they are extremely rare. Even if every one of those models sold with an ADM, it would still be extremely rare.

Saturn never had to worry about ADMs because they were never in that kind of demand. Just economy cars.

 

I guess it's just a personal difference between what I would call "rare" and the way you see it....fine and good. I'll leave it at that.

The Sky roadster had chronic shortages.....Demand always exceeded supply. That's why the dealerships knew they could sell them even with high-profit accessories tacked on....which was allowed in the franchise.

 

It’s the same thing, an ADM vs putting a bunch of worthless crap and overcharging.

 

That's not because they legally couldn't. Who would pay an ADM on a Saturn when you could just go to any other Saturn dealer and get it for MSRP? Saturns weren't in sufficient demand to justify an ADM anyway. The only reason I got one was because it was cheap, with my GM Supplier discount.

 

Supply/demand on the Sky was not like for other Saturn products. There were some real shortages. You couldn't just shop around from one from dealership to the next....unless maybe you wanted to special-order one and wait. Those very few in stock often had dealer-accessories hung on them.

And, if you were following earlier posts, ADMs were officially not allowed on Saturns, even if there were sufficient demand for them that the dealership could actually collect on the sale......that was simply the company policy, which was aimed at consumer-friendliness. And, conversely, you were not allowed to discount either. When you signed for a Saturn franchise, you agreed to it.

 

It’s fun to reminisce. But I don’t think these cars really matter ….

 

It is not legal for ADMs to be "not allowed" as @SW17LS said above.

 

No. That is NOT correct. The Saturn franchise-requirements (which were legally recognized in all 50 states) simply did not allow ADMs..or discounts. Period. End of argument. The only way that the dealers could sell over list price (which they usually didn't do, except for the Hard-to-Get Sky roadster) was to add on dealer/factory approved accessories. An ADM is when the asking-price is raised over list, and you don't get anything extra for it. This is not simply me talking....but history.

This article, BTW, explains how some Saturn dealerships got in trouble with the parent corporation for trying to break the no-ADM rules on the Sky.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a20700...icker-sticker/

 

Your article itself proves you wrong:



They cannot force the dealer to comply with the pricing rules. There are things they can do to ENCOURAGE them to, but it’s illegal for them to force them, it’s an antitrust violation.

Its clear they ask the dealers to comply but cannot force them
Im a business owner in a field where antitrust violations are commonplace, I know what I’m talking about.

 

Well, it's true that neither the Solstice nor the Sky roadsters ever had the popularity of the Mazda Miata. For one thing, their tops were substantially more difficult to raise and lower....the Miata manual-top-operation is truly a work of genius. And they were not as reliable mechanically as Miatas...which consistently rank as one of the top ten most reliable vehicles not he road.

 

In extreme cases, franchises could be revoked....that was in the contract.

It is true, though, that most of the time, Saturn dealerships abided by the rules....I bought two S-Series myself, but returned the second one within the 30-day grace period for the refund because I considered it defective. It was the Sky roadster that caused most of what few complaints there were. In fact, one person I was shopping with at the time (friend of mine) actually bought a Pontiac Solstice instead of the Sky, because (believe it or not) A local Pontiac dealer, just by the luck of the draw, happened to have a Solstice in stock (I can't remember if it was a stick or automatic) in the color my friend wanted. They greed to sell it at Factory-List....very unusual with the demand for that car. The Saturn dealership, of course, added on dealer-accessories to the Skys they had in stock.



I respect your knowledge, but I also know something about the Saturn company. It was arguably the most unique automotive organization I ever saw and experienced in my lifetime....and I'm still irked today at the bozos in marketing who screwed up their products after 2000 and led to its demise. of course, I'm still glad that Buick is still around in the U.S....but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

We're also getting off-topic, BTW....the new Bolt EUV.

 

My favorite reviewer. Here's Alex Dykes' take on the Bolt and Bolt EUV. He does a static-review (no test-drive), and goes into the car's details in depth.

 

LOL you can declare "end of argument" all you want, but Saturn franchise agreements can't skirt Federal law on price fixing. The agreement may stipulate that if a dealer does it, the agreement won't be renewed. This is the *exact* same thing that Ford was doing this past year. Ford can't stop the ADM practice, but they can certainly "remember" in the future which dealers did it when they were told not to.

 

With all due respect, you apparently do not understand the law. First, One company selling at their own MSRP (two, if you include Scion) is not price-fixing. Second, Saturn set its own MSRPs, independent of other companies...........to be guilty of price-fixing, it has to be a collusion between several different companies (in effect, a monopoly) to sell at the same price, and not undercut each other. Saturn and Scion did not do that.

I'm not trying to be rude....I know where you are coming from, and I respect that. But the law is the law on price-fixing, and Saturn's franchise-policy-reqirement did not violate it. If it did, Saturn would not have been allowed to operate for some 18 years.