GM to sell Saturn brand to Penske

[renovation]

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. has a tentative deal to sell its Saturn brand to auto racing magnate Roger Penske’s dealership group, both companies said Friday.

Penske has signed a memorandum of understanding that would give his dealership chain, Penske Automotive Group, Saturn’s 350 dealerships, the companies said. Penske said that he expects to offer all the dealers new franchise agreements and will retain all 13,000 Saturn employees for now.

im glad that penske is saving saturn personally. I own 2 Saturn VUE's and love them bought a 2002 brand new and drive it every day and a 2008 the wife drives.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31123726
i hope penske keeps the sporter red line upgrades going .but he uses better designers to design the flaring for the Vues.

[mechmike0034]

I remember Penske Auto Centers (http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1740888/Penske-shuts-down-562-auto.html-page.html)...

[Markel]

IMO, Saturn is/was one of the better divisions of GM, although a bit more removed (which probably reflects back on the first point). I hope Penske keeps the brand going and improving.

[DarkFury]

I remember Penske Auto Centers (http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1740888/Penske-shuts-down-562-auto.html-page.html)...
yeah... "Penske Dodge" screwed me over royally when I had a Dodge Dakota back in 2001.

[Jeffbx]

I suspect he did it mainly to get the dealership network - maybe revive the service centers & grab a bunch of business from GM in areas where the closed too many dealerships.

I'm very curious to know where he's planning on producing these, esp. since both the Outlook and the Sky have almost identical models in other GM lines.

But I'm really glad to see that they didn't close it down altogether - I love the Saturn brand.

[DarkFury]

I'm very curious to know where he's planning on producing these, esp. since both the Outlook and the Sky have almost identical models in other GM lines.
Pontiac is officially closed, so the Pontiac Solstice is not an issue as far as the "Sky" goes.

[mechmike0034]

I'm very curious to know where he's planning on producing these, esp. since both the Outlook and the Sky have almost identical models in other GM lines.

The Sky is history - that plant (Wilmington) is closing. He's going to buy product from GM (Outlook, Aura, Vue) for two years (http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-06-05-Saturn-sale_N.htm) while coming up with another manufacturer to source from.

[renovation]

I'm guessing but I'm betting my money he brings the cars in from the same place they were offer first. http://www.opel.com/ Europe. Saturn autos have really been Opels the whole time. just the opel had such a bad rep in the states from the late 60's when GM had to pull them due to there poor craftmenship back then.

[zippyjuan]

I was reading somewhere that he would still agree to buy the cars from GM for at least two years but could find another source for manufacturing them later. Saturn has supposedly not been profitable as a division since it was launched.

[Jeffbx]

The Sky is history - that plant (Wilmington) is closing.

That's too bad - I had heard before that they were going to keep that with Pontiac as a niche brand (along with the G8). Grab a Solstice Coupe while you still can (http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2009/06/through-ians-lens-2009-pontiac-solstice-coupe-gxp.html)- those will be collector's items in 20 years.



Saturn has supposedly not been profitable as a division since it was launched.

That's true, although it has more to do with GM's mismanagement of the brand than anything else. Back in the mid 90's when they were close to moving into the black, GM changed Saturn from an independent brand to part of the Small Car division to help offset the craptacular sales of the Sunfire & the Cavalier. Saturn quality & brand management plummeted with the new management in place, and didn't recover until about 2006 with the new Opel Aura.

If Penske can get it back to the way it was run in the early 90s, he could have a winner on his hands - esp. if he can get the Spring Hill plant as part of the deal. Although that area may be a ghost town before he's ready for production...

[DarkFury]

If Penske can get it back to the way it was run in the early 90s, he could have a winner on his hands - esp. if he can get the Spring Hill plant as part of the deal. Although that area may be a ghost town before he's ready for production...
True statement there..

I have a cousin that used to work at the Spring Hill location as an engineer... however he recently took the severance package and is currently looking for another job.

More or less, folks are bailin' on that sinking ship.