Worst car I ever owned.
Posted on 05/06/2009 12:01:42 PM PDT by SonOfDarkSkies
General Motors Corp. is in talks about potentially turning its Saturn division over to Renault SA, allowing the French auto maker to use the brand as a launching pad for growth in North America, two people familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. has submitted a bid to acquire GM's Saab unit, people familiar with the situation said.
Renault is one of several auto makers and other suitors interested in taking Saturn over from GM. The U.S. auto maker is surviving on $15.4 billion in government loans and is under pressure to restructure its balance sheet, union contracts and operations by June 1, or face a bankruptcy filing.
GM is considering several options for Saturn, including closing the brand all together.
Any buyer of the Saturn division likely wouldn't put direct cash in the deal, but would need to take on liabilities and the costs of running the business, including production.
Under a deal with Renault -- which controls Japan's Nissan Motor Corp. and South Korea's Samsung Motors -- the French auto maker could eventually use the Saturn network of 400-plus dealers to sell its own cars, including vehicles made by Renault or Samsung and sold as Saturns, the people familiar with the matter said. The Saturn brand has a strong reputation for customer service but has been hindered under GM's ownership due to a lack of consistent innovation.
By essentially giving the brand to another auto maker, GM could preserve jobs in the U.S. and avoid the messy dispute with dealers that could come if GM just killed Saturn.
Renault could eventually build Saturn vehicles in the U.S. if the brand supports solid sales volumes, a person said. But any move with Saturn needs the blessing of the U.S. Treasury Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Worst car I ever owned.
You missed the LeCar then ?
Well, Renault today is a different company. They bought Nissan and turned it around.
I see you checked-off the "Flux Capacitor" option box. ;-)
just kidding
btw I loved the first gen saturns. I am suprised there were no bodykits for those cars, would have been very easy to change the whole look of them, they had the same construction as the Fiero. once they became totally metal they were just another GM clone.
charles. I guess I was typing my response up while you posted yours
Wasn’t the purpose of starting Saturn to circumvent the union labor issue?
GM turned out to use it mainly for another of their infamous multi-badging hoaxes.
Saab has never really made a profit, but it has always built interesting vehicles.
In both cases, almost any management in the world is better than GM’s management.
From what I know, the factories in Tennessee in which the original Saturns were built were UAW.
Saturns are great little cars. I hope the French don’t ruin them.
Who is going to get Jeep?
I really, really hope Ford gets Jeep or stands on its own. Since I own a 6 month old Jeep. rumor has it that Ford said last month it did not want Jeep.
I bought my 4th Saturn and likely last GM vehicle last year. I’m a 3rd generation GM buyer. I see Fords in the family future.
“Wasn’t the purpose of starting Saturn to circumvent the union labor issue?
From what I know, the factories in Tennessee in which the original Saturns were built were UAW.”
I guess my memory failed me. Saturn was started to remedy some ills, at GM. It was to chart new ideas, and make a GM brand that competed well with popular imports.
No haggling over price comes to mind with me.
Of small importance: Rep. John Campbell replaced Chris Cox, who was appointed SEC Chairman under Bush.
Campbell owned Saturn and Saab dealerships in Orange County.
I've never bought a car in such a manner... how does it work? Do people just pay MSRP?
“I’ve never bought a car in such a manner... how does it work? Do people just pay MSRP?”
That was the idea. Not sure it really worked that way.
Jeep is of course owned by Chrysler and I haven't heard of any plans for divvying up the Chrysler brands...yet
That said, I agree that Jeep would be a great addition to the Ford lineup.
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