Homecoming Report
Gary Aulfinger
Nashville. I had to go to work at least a half day, but we were
determined to cash in on an invitation to a private retailer reception
in Nashville at 7:00pm. With 9.5 hours to cover the 590 miles from
Pittsburgh, we had to keep up the pace. Traffic on the way put quite a
drag on our average speed. I-71 just south of Cincinnati was terrible.
Torrential downpours, one lane closed for construction, and then another
lane lost to a broken-down 18-wheeler, but we arrived in downtown
Nashville just in time.
Along the way, we saw our first fellow Homecoming traveler around
Louisville. We had seen a red ball on an antenna sometime earlier, but
it was just a confused driver wondering why all these Saturns were
honking and flashing lights at him and his Union 76 antenna ball... The
cars spotted from our white SW2 included a gold SW2 and white SC2 from
Ohio, red SC2 from Minnesota, blue-green SL2 from North Dakota, red SC2
from Illinois, silver SC2 from Pennsylvania, medium red SL1 from
Minnesota, plum SL1 and medium red SC1 from Ohio, a Homecoming Special
from California (who had a cross-stitched Homecoming plaque in the
window). Older drivers tended to wave sheepishly, but the younger owners
were grinning and waving madly.
Once in Nashville, half the cars on the road were Saturns. We saw them
from all over North America--with all sorts of messages on signs, soaped
in windows, etc. We parked about 2 blocks from the Wildhorse Saloon in a
garage half-full of Saturns. The retailer reception was held at the
saloon, with about 1500 owners, managers, and sales people plus
marketing and Saturn Corporate folks. Skip Lefauve was there as well as
other notables.
The reception was nice: good food & drink, music, and country dancing
(they gave the crowd lessons, thankfully :-). As is typical of Saturn
get-togethers, many "I says" were heard, and lots of prodding for folks
to get on the dance floor. With food like fried crab cakes, clams on the
half shell, Texas torpedoes, and tamales--we hung around the buffet line
more than the line dance.
After the reception, we stopped by the Marriott Courtyard in Brentwood
where Bill Bierman & company were staying. We knew we were in the right
place when we saw all the "SOANA" license plates. But the people weren't
there. Fortunately we met them coming out of a restaurant across the
street. We hung out in a hotel room for lots of laughs while swapping
Saturn stories.
Friday morning was the start of the main events. Things kicked off a
little late after morning showers (coupled with days of rain before)
turned the parking lot into a swamp. None-the-less, we were waiting in
the neatest traffic jam ever as we approached the plant. I never thought
I'd *enjoy* a traffic jam, but when it's Saturns as far as the eye could
see, with chatter through rolled-down windows--hey! Of course it was fun.
The parking was well laid out, Disney World style. They had Saturn
factory team members and their family greeting us with hearty hellos and
helpful information. Shuttles ran from the well labeled parking areas to
the main attractions. Except for the muddy ruts, it ran very smoothly.
Even with scenes like seven medium red SL2s in a row, people were't
having trouble finding their cars. The "Hello my owner's name is"
windows stickers plus other "personalized" items made it easier than I
expected.
At the main attractions were tents galore. From local businesses and
government agencies, to Saturn suppliers and operating units, it was a
full house. Local arts and crafts people, performers, and food stands
were plentiful. (We picked up the perfect hand-made pottery clock for
our remodeled kitchen.) Many of the booths had giveaways, such as
lost-form cast paperweights from the folks in the powertrain foundry,
sunglasses and drink sippers from Saturn Service, a road-trip CD from
the gang in Delco electronics, etc. The advertising group invited Judith
Reusswig, the school teacher from the TV ad, to stay with them for a
while. We had a nice chat.
An antique car show had some very nice entries, including a 1952
Cisitalia--a pininfarina roadster that predates the founding of Ferrari.
A few people displayed customized Saturns. Most of the changes were
custom sound systems and windows treatments, though other styling
changes were noted. If Saturn offers a future get-together, a more
formal call for "show cars" might yield some really wild creations.
Another tent had attractive new GM models, including the Aurora (!),
Blazer, and Lumina.
The best part of all were the Saturn product info booths. They went "two
ways." Some gathered suggestions from everyone about how to improve the
cars. Others provided info about 1995 parts and cars--on display. I
loved it!
The big change for 1995 models is the dashboard: passenger side airbag,
more rounded shapes, larger and nearly round gauges, and the most clever
pair of ash trays--pull them out for instant cup holders! Overall he new
dash has great ergonomics. It uses all-new radios that are custom shaped
to the bezel--which might make after market installations more
difficult. The radio offerings will include a base AM/FM stereo, an
entry-level cassette, and cassette with EQ. The dash-mounted CD player
is gone, to be replaced by a retailer-installed 12-disc CD changer to
wire in through the top-end sound system option.
Other comments on the interior: the glove box is still usable despite
the second airbag. A low-profile airbag in the new steering wheel is a
major improvement. The manual belts look great, though only the coupes
have a height adjustable upper mount (can't you just hear the Chrysler
heads at Car & Driver B&Ming already?) Finally, all the seats (except
the optional leather ones) have been redesigned with new fabrics and
shapes. They are much nicer for the Sx1's. The SC2's have prints that at
first seem a little bit wild.
Exterior changes were nil on the sedans and wagons, but the coupes have
been pleasantly revised. The new front bumper on the SC2 is much
smoother; it no longer looks like it's smiling. The SC1 now has the SL2
style lower bumper. Both new bumpers provide for optional fog lamps. The
small round lamps mounted to the outer corners of the SC2 particularly
appeal. And the new rear reflex panel on the SC2 evoked a "cute tushy"
from Tracy.
Engine changes were surprising and very pleasing, indeed. I've long held
that the single cam engine should get multi-port fuel injections like
the twin cam engine. I figured it would be good for 100hp. Well, we're
getting it in '95! And the power change is in fact 17% more horsepower
and 9% more torque. Mighty pleasing! The engines also get a revised
compression ring design that places the ring closer to the top edge of
the piston. It improves both emissions and fuel economy. No EPA numbers
yet, but it~s a welcome change.
The Saturn Owners Association had a great turnout! It was a treat to
hang out with the personalities from the net. But more than that, we
found out just how many people would want to join! My favorite
suggestions to name the organization: Enceladus (the smooth, highly
polished Saturn moon with an eccentric orbit) and the ROSE (the Ring of
Saturn Enthusiasts).
Since Tracy and I had toured the plant a couple years ago, we opted out
of the crowd when our 8:30am Saturday appointment had come. We would
have enjoyed watching others discover the excitement of the place, but
we wanted to spend our time staffing the owner association booth. We
also passed on the Opryland visit--just not enough time with so many
things to do.
Saturday will be remembered in many ways. "I sailed on through
Homecoming" comes to mind. So does "and they boarded Saturn's ark
two-by-two." An unbelievable rain storm created such geographic features
as "EDS River" as streams of muddy water winded their way through the
tents like the EDS display. Several tents were blown down--anyone for a
scratch and dent sale from the '95 prototype tent? The Owner'
Association tent stood with the help of members hanging on to the poles.
Unfortunately the rain took down more than a few tents. The Saturday
concert and fireworks were also victims. We heard from those that
attended Friday's show that it was impressive. But hey, we got to watch
an ocean of white rain ponchos march back to the shuttle buses.
And then the parking lot! Sure glad we have traction control. In a way,
it was fun. Adversity like the rain and mud bind people together. I'm
sure there will be "I survived Homecoming" T-shirts appearing all over
the country...
When we return from Spring Hill (sending this from my brother-in-law's
apartment) we'll get our many photos of the event scanned in and
available through Mosaic.
Gary
P.S. Pardon any tilas--I typed this on a Mac and it dumped "smart
quotes" into the mail program that couldn't translate to normal ASCII.
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