But after a meteoric rise, GM's largely independent Saturn found itself struggling in a sluggish small car market, while it also missed out on the sport-utility and pickup boom. Lacking product investment from GM, Saturn languished for a decade with no new models until the L-Series went on sale. Saturn is to introduce the VUE, a new compact sport-utility vehicle, later this year. The company is widely thought to be working on a fourth product. Lizabeth Ardisana, CEO of auto supplier ASG Renaissance in Dearborn, expressed doubts that Trudell's gender was related to her departure.
People leave for all kinds of reasons, both good and bad.
I think the auto industry may see more of that job movement, man or woman. In the mid-1990s, Saturn sold about 285,000 cars a year, but sales slipped to 232,570 in 1999. Saturn sales jumped nearly 17 percent in 2000, to 271,800 units. But that figure was inflated by sales of the L-Series. Sales of the compact S-Series fell nearly 15 percent in 2000.