Barbara Collins gets teary-eyed and choked up when she talks about Saturn — the car, not the planet.
A 14-year employee of Saturn of Denver and a 16-year Saturn owner, Collins is credited for reviving interest in the mission of Saturn and reminding executives of the passionate fans who have kept it alive.
Her efforts have been tied to General Motors’ decision in February to spin off the company and sell it rather than kill it.
“I just felt we needed to take a stand and tell people they couldn’t close down our brand,” she said. “Corporations are flying at 65,000 feet and they have no connection with the retail people or people who drive the cars. I think that’s what turned it for us.”
Collins felt distraught after listening to a dealer conference call in December. Everyone seemed to have given up.
So she wrote a letter highlighting the history of the brand, the love of those who founded the company and the commitment of those who sell and drive the vehicles.
That letter went to key GM executives and grew into an online video and website, . The website ended up with 800 online petitions from dealers, employees and customers pleading for General Motors to keep the brand.
“I wrote this letter to remind everyone why we were built,” said Collins, who named her white Saturn Astra “Lily.”
“There were 99 people who started the thought process of making a different kind of company to compete with the Japanese market,” she said.
The first Saturn rolled off the line in 1990. It’s a newbie as car companies go, but Collins, who has owned four Saturns, wasn’t going to let it die.
Jay Cimino, owner of Phil Long Saturn of Denver, took the petitions and the video, which the dealership helped produce, to Las Vegas to a meeting of high-level Saturn dealers and GM executives.
“They were blown away,” Cimino said. “At that point it had to do with cars and whether we were going to build cars, but the . site was not about cars, it was about people.”
Dealers nationwide watched the video and read the petitions. Collins got a call from Saturn president Jill Lajdziak; rumor was that former GM head Rick Waggoner saw the video.
“Barbara exemplifies the Saturn spirit in her work to serve customers and with her efforts to garner support for the future of the Saturn,” Lajdziak said.
“That kind of passion, loyalty and enthusiasm clearly helped draw so many parties to express interest in buying the brand.”
The petitions praised Saturn, its buying process, its people.
“Please keep Saturn, you finally got it right,” wrote Kathy Pierson from Lancaster, Pa.
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
