Posted on 06/18/2009 6:07:22 PM PDT by Kaslin
Before I lost my mind and entered politics, I was in the car dealership business for 25 years. In fact, I was the first Saturn retailer chosen back in 1988, and served on the Franchise Operations Team. I opened one of the first 25 stores in 1990 and eventually owned and operated five Saturn Facilities in Orange County, Calif.
Saturn was truly an American innovation with a great concept, rethinking how cars had been built and sold over the previous 50 years. But Saturn was an entrepreneurial idea, smothered inside one of the world's biggest nongovernmental bureaucracies.
Saturn needed to move, change and react quickly, but it was prevented from doing so. Even Saturn's breakthrough, one-page union contract was eventually replaced with a standard UAW agreement.
The one area where Saturn remained true to its mission, however, was at its retail-dealer level. These committed independent businessmen and women continued to provide customers with industry-leading levels of care and innovation.
Some became disenchanted with GM and the UAW's lack of commitment to the brand and its ideals and left. But many stayed, and that's what Roger Penske is now buying. He wants an excellent, dedicated and creative dealer body through which to sell and service cars.
Penske is already the distributor in the United States for the Smart car (built by Mercedes), which has demonstrated significant success. He will have the option of having other manufacturers build Saturn branded cars and/or sell other brands with the promise of Saturn treatment and service.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
I don’t see where Chinese owned and built Hummers and Korean built Saturns are going to be really good for America.
It could have been worse.
The Gubmint could have sold off Uranus.
It would be nice if Penske imports more of the Opel models into the USA - the ‘good’ ones that GM never did.
My 2001 Saturn SL1, with 162,000 miles, still gets 35mpg when I can find decent (non-ethanol) gasoline.
1.9L, 5 speed manual. Why did they discontinue this engine when they introduced the “Ion”?
I would buy a new one in a heartbeat if they were still made!
Well you know the Koreans build cars (Kia and Hyundai) in America paying Americans a decent wage, what is your problem with that? Not being a SA just don’t get your point.
Sold it off? They take too much pleasure in having it.
Really? Where and what model?
Say like the Astra Sedan, or the Astra with the glass roof?
I’d be willing to bet that a very small percentage of the “cast-offs” will be re-invented. An example would be the recent announcement of T. Boone Pickens and a group of investors who plan to build cars at a former GM plant in Louisiana. “former” is the operative word there. They are just using the physical footprint of an old GM facility - everything else will be new - no UAW, no ossified management layers. And that’s if it gets launched. The minimum efficient scale for producing autos is pretty large, so I’m willing to bet that the Pickens venture is a press release that is never realized.
What is hard to accept at first is the realization of how far of the tracks GM’s business model had become (try $82B in losses in the last 4 years.) It was so bad, so inappropriate that it is entirely possible that very large portions of what used to be GM will be liquidated for salvage value, and will not return, in any way, to the production of autos.
Not sure about that one, I thought that one was imported as a Saturn already. I was thinking the Opel Insignia and Tigra.
“Well you know the Koreans build cars (Kia and Hyundai) in America paying Americans a decent wage, what is your problem with that? Not being a SA just don’t get your point.”
I own an American assembled Toyota. I have no problem with that. But there is a bigger issue.
When Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyndai, etc. assemble cars here, they generally source the parts from their home country and send them here. Most of the expertise for the manufacturing, intellectual property, is in the home country. So, the final assembly is done here. Better than nothing, but that leaves us lacking things that ultimately could be a security issue, as well as not spawning jobs in related industry.
It’s interesting to me that conservatives are staunchly against a one world government, yet, are ok with a global economy in which much of the things necessary for national security are offshored.
Or maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough to understand all this? Like when freepers told me offshoring was good, but then freepers said recovery from recession would be difficult due to our contracted manufacturing base?
HYUNDAI MOTOR MANUFACTURING ALABAMA, LLC
Welcome to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC (HMMA), Hyundai’s first assembly and manufacturing plant in the United States. This $1.4 billion automotive plant is one of the most advanced assembly plants in North America.
HMMA currently provides employment for more than 2,700 people who are building Hyundai’s 2009 Sonata sedan and 2009 Santa Fe sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the Hyundai Alabama plant.
My wife's 2002 LW200 2.2L is pushing 230K runs like a clock. I'd buy her a new Aura if it was rear wheel drive.
The Astra is here ,, the wagon is real nice.. I always liked the Senator (Cadillac Catera) ... The Insignia you mentioned looks like a G35 competitor...
The Insignia looks more like a Mercedes than a current Mercedes does - fantastic styling inside and out on that car.
That is the same Astra then, it’s a really nice car as well. GM should have been using the Opel platforms 20+ years ago, they still might be in business as GM, not ‘Obama Motors’.
The Catera was a really nice looking car as well.
Say like the Astra Sedan, or the Astra with the glass roof?
“HYUNDAI MOTOR MANUFACTURING ALABAMA, LLC
Welcome to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC (HMMA), Hyundai’s first assembly and manufacturing plant in the United States. This $1.4 billion automotive plant is one of the most advanced assembly plants in North America.
HMMA currently provides employment for more than 2,700 people who are building Hyundai’s 2009 Sonata sedan and 2009 Santa Fe sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the Hyundai Alabama plant.”
My Alabama built Sonata regularly gives me 30+MPG-not bad for an EPA classed large car-not midsize, but large. IIRC, within a foot cubic foot wise compared to a Crown Vic. OTD new after rebates for $15K. I would have liked a wagon version which would have been an even better work and play car.
Please...GM and Chrysler have been making tier one and two suppliers use Chinese components for years, not to mention Mexican seats, etc. GM used to sign off on any defect in the Chinese material I was aware of, which was brake pads!
The larger problem is that we still have pols and execs in charge who think the nation can support itself on financial services and insurance.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.