Die-hard fans of Saturn’s plastic body panels and no-haggle pricing descended on Detroit last month to demand that General Motors revive the defunct brand, according to one local TV station. But the supposed protest was actually an impromptu stunt by participants in the Lemons Rally, an offshoot of the 24 Hours of Lemons endurance race for oddball and cheap cars.
The group arrived outside GM’s Renaissance Center headquarters on buses holding signs such as “Saturn Matters,” “Make America Plastic Again” and “Plastic is Fantastic.”
The event garnered coverage on the evening newscast of Detroit’s Fox 2, which acknowledged that the cause sounded unusual but earnestly relayed that the group would continue its fight in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The station deleted the video from its website after Jalopnik reported the truth behind the stunt.
GM didn’t respond to the protest, and it’s safe to assume that neither Saturn nor its folksy “homecoming” celebrations in Spring Hill, Tenn., will be coming back to life. The brand was shuttered in 2010 after Penske Automotive abandoned its effort to buy it and keep it afloat.