The following text is the transcript of Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak's speech at the 2005 Traverse City Automotive Management Briefing Seminar last week:

Thank you John [Waraniak]. It's a pleasure to be with you in such a beautiful setting as Traverse City in the summer. It's even more of a pleasure to be here with some great Saturn products to talk about. Admittedly, that would not have been the case not too long ago. One thing, though, that was true in the beginning and true today is then and now is Saturn's commitment to people. Here's an example. A father recently called the Saturn customer service center. His daughter's car had had broken down on the highway – she was alone, away at college and rang her dad for help. So he called us. The Saturn customer service representative spent a few moments soothing the anxious dad, and then began taking the information: name, phone numbers, location, type of Saturn.

The man said, "Her car's not a Saturn; she drives a Honda." The service rep said, "The car's a Honda? Sir, are you aware this is the Saturn customer center?" and the caller said, "Yes, I am. You're the company that cares about people and that's why I called you." So, we picked her up, towed her Honda and got her home safely. There was never a doubt we'd respond in any other way.

That's the Saturn brand promise. And that's what makes Saturn a great brand. More on that in a moment.

Yesterday many of you heard my colleague Mark Reuss talk about what the GM Performance group is doing to provide divisions such as Saturn with great cars and trucks as part of GM's niche vehicle strategy. His group is doing some remarkable work. Today I'll expand on some of his remarks as I share details about the revitalization of the Saturn brand and how we've leveraged GM's global design and development resources in our new vehicle lineup. In the beginning, Saturn was built on the three core elements of enduring brands, no matter what the industry – innovative and high quality product, great marketing, and a terrific retail experience.

Saturn inspired emotion, passion and fierce loyalty among its owners. There was, and still is, a kinship among Saturn owners. They loved the cars and the different kind of company that created them. Our retail experience is still unmatched in the industry.

Using a unique market area distribution strategy, we selected a group of retailers that embraced the Saturn promise of doing business differently, and today, many of these men and women still own Saturn franchises. I will put our network of 440 retailers up against any other group in the business. We also invented "no haggle, no hassle" pricing 15 years ago, which became a hallmark of our brand. We owned it long before it swept the country this summer. The response to the Big Three's promotions demonstrates this approach still resonates with consumers.

So what happened along the way? We didn't grow our portfolio and the product didn't evolve. We survived with only one vehicle for 10 straight years. And we all know you need both sides of the equation – great product and retail – to succeed.

Saturn has a special role at GM and we need to capitalize on it. Our conquest rate is 70 percent, so we're still attracting new buyers to GM – both import intenders and non-GM domestic buyers. Our demographic is terrific; A Saturn owner is most likely a highly educated, affluent, 43-year-old and likely to be a professional.

But there's no question – we're at a crucial turning point. We need to build on the positive brand equity we've amassed and let the world know there's been a dramatic shift at Saturn. This shift, of course, is all about the product. We're embarking on a major product revitalization by leveraging the best of GM's global design and engineering talent. By the end of next year, we'll double our portfolio by introducing three dynamic new vehicles. We're moving into new segments with a roadster and a midsize crossover utility, and we'll also debut an all-new midsize sedan. These vehicles will feature a distinctive design that will quickly spread across our future products.

We knew we needed a strong design statement and a lower cost structure to make the division work. On the design front, we looked for a global solution to develop our new Saturn look. Seven of GM's 11 global design and engineering studios collaborated to create the face of Saturn. Our new, European-influenced styling is characterized by dynamic exteriors and refined, sophisticated interiors. It's contemporary, with a bit of an edge.

Saturn's primary buyers are import intenders, so it made sense to look globally for our future look and feel. We're working with our colleagues at Opel in Europe, sharing an external and internal design language and product development processes. As you can imagine, this partnership enables cost sharing, sourcing and numerous other efficiencies. It also will result in great vehicles for both brands, Saturn here in North America and Opel in Europe. Saturn's new look is bold, contemporary and fresh, with taut, crisp forms. It's dynamic, technical, emotional and evokes speed, even when the vehicle is standing still. The interiors are thoughtfully laid out and use premium materials throughout for a greater sense of precision and sophistication. This is Saturn's boldest design statement yet, but the vehicles will still be inviting and approachable, in keeping with what consumers expect from Saturn. These vehicles are warm and comfortable, with rich, soft textures and materials.

Near term, the first vehicle to wear the new look is the highly anticipated Sky roadster. The fastest and most effective way to change minds is with a signature car, a halo vehicle, and for us, this is the Sky – the snapshot of Saturn's future. The exterior has a wide, muscular stance with short overhangs and 18-inch wheels that are pushed to the corners for a true sports car feel. The interior continues the exterior cues, communicating quality, richness and precision. It also has quick, agile performance to back up the styling – 0-60 in 7 seconds and an estimated 170 horsepower. This vehicle gets up and goes!

The first of a number of stylish, aspirational products, the Sky sends a powerful message about the revitalization of the Saturn brand. But beyond that, the Sky is an example of the innovative thinking taking place at GM.

If you were in Mark's session yesterday, you heard him talk about the Pontiac Solstice development. Based on the Solstice, which is just now hitting the roads, the Sky's state-of-the-art, global rear-wheel drive compact performance architecture was developed in 14 weeks from scratch to concept car. It went from computer math design to foam model in three weeks. This highly adaptable architecture enabled us to develop an appealing family of compact, affordable sports cars quickly and efficiently, with minimal investment and maximum use of resources. This is a great example of the changes taking place at GM.

In fact, the Sky doesn't share a single piece of sheetmetal – not one inch – with the Solstice, and has its own unique interior, as well. That's really using the vehicle architecture to its fullest advantage to benefit two of GM's brands.

We also revamped our development processes in creating the Sky's architecture, with speed and flexibility as the primary drivers. We used computer math design and quickly moved to production tooling, eliminating multiple rounds of engineering and design prototypes. We used existing parts when possible, and, in a GM-first, adopted a hydroforming fabrication process for the sheetmetal – a low-cost method appropriate for low-volume production. By leveraging the product development process within GM and developing both the Solstice and the Sky off the same platform with a completely different look and feel, we can build low-volume vehicles efficiently, and make the business case work financially. I see Sky as a low-volume product with mass-market appeal. You can be sure it will change the way people think about Saturn.

Next up is our midsize sedan, which received rave reviews in concept form at the Detroit Auto Show this year. I want to confirm today that the production model will be called the Aura, just like the concept, and it will launch in summer of 2006. Although we will not be showing you the production Aura today, you'll be pleased at how true the production version is to the concept car. The Aura, which is based on GM's global midsize car architecture, offers another example of how we accelerated our development processes and took advantage of our global resources to bring a new car to market.

In addition to reducing development time, taking an architectural approach enables us to increase our manufacturing flexibility and, importantly, develop distinctive-looking vehicles. We used what we learned with the Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6, which are built off of the same architecture, to make the Aura an even more refined vehicle. In doing so, we made improvements to Aura, which we will play back into the G6 and Malibu. This type of sharing and integration really maximizes technology and component advancements across all of our vehicles and divisions.

The Aura also carries our new design language and features a spacious interior with upscale materials, rich textures and sculpted surfaces. The Aura will be equipped with GMs new 3.5L V-6 engine with variable valve timing as standard equipment. Or, buyers can opt for the sophisticated, dual overhead cam 3.6L V-6 VVT with an estimated 250 horsepower that's mated to GM's new, advanced front-wheel drive six-speed automatic transmission. It features Euro-inspired precision-tuned hydraulic steering and it's going to be a blast to drive.

Saturn also will jump into a rapidly growing segment with an all-new midsize crossover utility vehicle. In another announcement, I want to officially let you know today that this midsize crossover will be named Outlook. The Saturn Outlook will seat up to 8 passengers in 3 rows, and will have the interior space of a full-size utility in an efficient midsize package. Outlook is the logical next step in the evolution of Saturn. It will round out our portfolio and is an essential part of GM's continued truck leadership.

With all these new products coming, were continuing to improve our current offerings, as well. Weve added more refinement and content across the board, while reducing MSRPs, giving us a stronger total value proposition in the marketplace versus our competition. In addition, OnStar is now standard on every new Saturn. Safety has long been a Saturn hallmark and this brings it to a whole new level.

The Vue compact SUV receives major interior and exterior refinements for the 2006 model year, and its Red Line performance variant receives more unique styling elements inside and out.

In fact, one of the first examples of Saturn's experience with profitable low-volume variants was our Red Line Series. As you might expect, Mark's Performance Division was involved from the earliest stages of these products. With both the Ion Red Line and Vue Red Line, we offer a sporty performance package with unique, tuner-inspired exterior styling cues. Clearly we sell several higher volume models – but the lower-volume Red Line performance variants make Saturn a stronger brand with more options for a broad range of customers.

In mid-2006, Saturn will debut the Vue Green Line with GM Hybrid Assist, as a 2007 model. We talked about the system at the Detroit Auto Show, and we really think this is an exciting development for us. This affordable system provides good fuel economy in stop-and-go driving by shutting off the engine at idle and enabling early fuel cutoff to the engine during deceleration. The system also provides regenerative braking and momentary electric power assist during acceleration.

Indeed, it might seem like everything's changing at Saturn. But I'm here to tell you that some things at Saturn will never change. We will always be a trusted brand that treats our customer right. We will always put people first and offer them a premium purchase and ownership experience. And as our competitors have tried to emulate the Saturn experience, we've moved our customer focus to an even higher level. I can tell you, we continually look for ways to improve.

Our recent J.D. Power CSI score confirms this: With our highest score to date, Saturn is the top non-luxury brand, ranking in the top 5 overall. We're well aware our brand is still standing because of the strength of our retail network, and the equity we have attained in the marketplace – leveraging this enabled us to stay in the game until we expanded our portfolio.

Saturn is still a brand people trust. I'd argue that even today no one takes care of customers – or the competition's customers – better than we do. This is why we survived, and why GM is investing billions of dollars in the brand today. Now the challenge is to take the Saturn promise to new segments and new customers. To do this, you must know the core of your brand. A brand must consistently stand for something clear to the consumer.

A great brand taps into emotions with a connection that transcends the product – for us, it's our human approach to retailing. Sure, Saturn owners sit in the service department and talk at length about trunk space or fuel economy, but they're just as likely to talk about how consistently friendly and helpful the retailers are. They talk about how nice it is to feel respected during the purchase experience. They talk about the free doughnuts!

Now, of course, we're expanding our core to make great product an integral part of the brand proposition. Saturn has a rich and fascinating business story – the rise and fall and rise again of Saturn is a case study worthy of any business textbook, while offering all the drama of a primetime soap. And if there's one thing we love in America, it's a great comeback story – watching the underdog transform and finally succeed, despite overwhelming odds.

We're determined to overcome our odds and make Saturn a great brand again – with great marketing, retail and product. By leveraging our global resources, we will take Saturn to the next level. To be sure, it's an exciting time to be at Saturn – stay tuned as the next chapter of our story unfolds.

Thank you for your kind attention today.

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