Posted on 06/05/2009 9:15:20 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bankrupt automaker General Motors Corp. announced Friday that it will sell its Saturn unit to car dealership operator Penske Automotive Group.
Penske (PAG, Fortune 500) is owned by former race car driver Roger Penske, who owns NASCAR and IndyCar racing teams. The deal would give Penske the rights to the 19-year old brand, but GM would continue production of Saturn's three highest-selling models, including the Aura sedan, and the Vue and Outlook cross-over SUVs.
The deal, which GM expects to be completed in October, would save more than 13,000 jobs at Saturn and its roughly 350 dealers nationwide. All of Saturn's dealerships sell only Saturn vehicles, so they are reliant on the brand's continuation for their survival.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
The Saturn Sky roadster won’t continue.
“They couldnt even prove that he was intending to cheat.”
Was Tom Cruise involved in their witch hunt? I think I sw a movie about that kind of justice...
Guess they have a plan.
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My guess is that Roger will have the #2 brand in the US in a few short years,, he’s a car guy and will build quality cars...economical cars... and FAST cars.
Why couldn’t they make any of these sales before taking a boatload of my money?
Because then they couldn't give half the company to the UAW, silly.
Job one for Roger Penske: FIRE UAW STEW-WARTS!
Magna, the company that just bought a controlling interest in Opel, is reportedly prevented under the terms of its deal with GM from selling Opel vehicles in the U.S. at least for a while. Not sure if this will apply to Opels rebranded as Saturns.
“Magna, the company that just bought a controlling interest in Opel, is reportedly prevented under the terms of its deal with GM from selling Opel vehicles in the U.S. at least for a while. Not sure if this will apply to Opels rebranded as Saturns.”
Wow, that would really suck for Saturn if that turns out to affect their lineup. I would think Penske would’ve done his homework on this event and would assume the deal doesn’t apply to Saturn rebadged products.
I would like them to bring back the plastic body panels. That was a great idea here in the rust belt.
I like that....
I’ll bet the factories will be split off from GM in due time - and go non-union.
George Castanza finally gets working on the Penske file.
Why would you buy the brand but not the production lines?
Is Penske gonna develop a new car himself or buy one of these new inventor’s 400 hp 110mph inventions and go with a completely new line of “Saturns”
To replace GM as the brand's manufacturer, Penske is in discussions with several global automakers.
I thought these were built in Tennesssee, which is a right-to-work state?
“George Castanza finally gets working on the Penske file.”
Hahahahaha....great....The Penske File....that’s what we call the dropped balls in our office, as in, if you screw up a sale or a delivery it’s the Penske file...
“Why couldnt they make any of these sales before taking a boatload of my money?”
They owed the UAW...
I thought I read somewhere that Penske was going to re-sell/re-badge vehicles made from different parts of the world...vendors that do not necesserily want to open manufacturing/dealerships stateside. Example, Penske would import a few Chinese cars (Chery, etc), Renault, SEAT, etc...a smorgasborg of different brands. I think he would do well to import several mid-size diesel pick-ups that are available in other countries...
Perhaps Penske will recast the Saturn dealerships to include some BMW’s?
Some Saturns are, others are made at other GM plants. All are UAW, although at Saturn’s Spring Hill, TN plant, they have a special agreement that makes the plant more productive. I’ve toured the plant a number of times.
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