Posted on 06/05/2009 1:10:36 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Bankrupt General Motors Corp. has reached a deal to sell its Saturn unit to Penske Automotive Group, a dealership chain owned by former race car driver Roger Penske.
The automaker said the deal to sell Saturn and its distribution network would save up to 13,000 jobs and hundreds of dealerships. It did not release financial terms of the arrangement.
"There has been a groundswell of support for Saturn, with our retailers and owners urging us to save the brand," said Jill Lajdziak, general manager of Saturn. "We heard their call loud and clear, and it inspired us as we worked to secure Saturn's future."
It's the latest in a string of asset sales from the Detroit automaker. Because of its Chapter 11 filing this week, GM's restructuring plans have been progressing rapidly in recent days.
On Tuesday GM announced plans to sell its Hummer brand of sport utility vehicles to a Chinese industrial company, Sichuan_Tengzhong_Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. That deal, which has not been finalized and is subject to regulatory approval in China, would allow Hummer's roughly 150 dealers to stay open, and would also open the U.S. auto market to a Chinese company for the first time.
That deal came just days after GM agreed to sell a majority share in its European Adam Opel unit to a consortium led by Canadian parts maker Magna International.
GM has had Saturn on the block since December, when it announced it would sell or close the brand, along with Swedish brand Saab, as part of its first restructuring plan submitted to the federal government. If a deal to sell Saturn had not been made, GM planned to shut it down by year's end. Because Saturn is structured as a separate corporation from GM, it too filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I could be way off base, but I believe that Saturn is mostly if not totally non-union. There no upside for the UAW to keep the non-union subsidiary.
Huh, well, we have one Saturn already, maybe more if this new group builds quality and has no UAW. We love the Saturn we have.
Are we going to let the Chinese build our soldiers’ vehicles? (Hummers) Just imagine the problems we will have if China builds the enhanced-for-war Hummer.
The Saturn workers do belong to the UAW, but I don’t think they have the same contract as most of the union folks that work for GM.
Hummers have nothing in common with HUMMVEE’s. They are made by AM General LLC
"You sound unconvinced. Do you wanna see the Penske files?"
The military HumVee is not made by GM.
Because Saturn was not properly marketed or managed to capture the American imagination?
No the real HMMV is built by Am General it has nothing to do with the “Hummer” which is a look alike dropped on a GMC Sierra truck chassis.
So Penske is stuck with them?
Great! Thanks for the correction.
The replacement to the Hummer if the International MXT. New hummers are not going to the field of battle.
I guess the irony would be that the original purpose for Saturn, was to develop a model for new ways of being in the car business; labor, products, marketing, etc.
I think initially some of the assembly labor was either non-union, or different contracts.
Some of their products were innovative.
Marketing was to be fixed price, no haggling. And salaried sales staff, not commissioned folks.
Penske is a very successful company. If anybody can salvage the good aspects of Saturn it should be them.
Yes I may look at one since the filthy UAW in not involved.
I would imagine Penske can hire whomever they want, under whatever terms they decide. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. The Saturn plant in TN stopped making Saturns about 2 years ago. I think they were making one of the smaller SUVs for Chevy or GM.
That was a funny episode.
so the saturn cars are not made in that “new” state of the art tennessee factory?
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