Saturn Penske walks away from Saturn deal, brand to "wind down"

[Merc1]

PRESS RELEASES

Penske Automotive Terminates Discussions with General Motors to Acquire Saturn

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG) an international automotive retailer, today announced that it has terminated its discussions with General Motors Company ("GM") to acquire the Saturn brand, citing concerns directly related to the future supply of vehicles beyond the supply period it had negotiated with GM.

Since announcing its discussions with GM on June 5, 2009, the company has been in the due diligence process to determine the feasibility of developing an independent distribution model for Saturn-branded products and service parts in the United States, including the sourcing of vehicles from GM and other potential suppliers. The company had negotiated a definitive agreement with GM to source vehicles on a contract-manufactured basis for a period of time. After this period, the company would have been required to source vehicles from another third party under a similar contract-manufacturing agreement.

Penske Automotive Group negotiated the terms and conditions of an agreement with another manufacturer; however, that agreement was rejected by that manufacturer's board of directors. Without that agreement, the company has determined that the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit the company from moving forward with this transaction.


General Motors Media Statement Attributed President & CEO Fritz Henderson

Today we learned that Penske Automotive Group (PAG) has decided to terminate discussions with General Motors to acquire Saturn. This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality. PAG's announcement explained that their decision was not based on interactions with GM or Saturn retailers; rather it was because of the inability to source new products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract.

As a result of PAG's decision, we will be winding down the Saturn brand and dealership network, in accordance with the wind-down agreements that Saturn dealers recently signed with GM. Pursuant to the terms of those agreements, the wind down process will be determined and communicated shortly.

Saturn customers and owners will continue to be able to purchase and have their vehicles serviced at Saturn retailers during this process. Once the wind down is complete, Saturn owners will still be able to have their vehicles serviced at other GM dealerships. We will be communicating with our customers very soon to explain the next steps in this process.

Today's disappointing news comes at a time when we'd hoped for a successful launch of the Saturn brand into a new chapter. We will be working closely with our dealers to ensure Saturn customers are cared for as we transition them to other GM dealers in the months ahead. I'd also like to thank every GM employee and Saturn retailer who worked so hard to try to make this new beginning happen for Saturn.


BREAKING: Penske walks away from Saturn deal, brand to "wind down" — Autoblog


This is bad news for real. Saturn could have been an outlet for any car company that didn't have a presence in the U.S. This ia great chance.....lost.


M

 

[Shining Star]

Sorry but I needed to post this...




From Jalopnik: Obsessed With The Cult Of Cars

 

[Kowalski]

Sell to the Chinese.

 

[NarutoRamen]

Sell to the Chinese.

They have bought a lot of our crap, but they are not gonna buy all our crap. Lol

 

[HighestOfHigh]

I cannot believe it...


Yea I can

But I do feel sorry for all those Saturn owners.

 

[ZicZachZo]

^ yea like me... S***!

Oh well it's a crap car anyway... Don't plan on keeping it more than I have to...

 

[bmer]

Perhaps the French are interested in it?

 

[Kowalski]

^ yea like me... S***!

Oh well it's a crap car anyway... Don't plan on keeping it more than I have to...

But didn't the Aura get high praise from the American motoring media? I think it was even awarded "American car of the year 2007" or something like that.

 

[HighestOfHigh]

Perhaps the French are interested in it?

BMW should buy it! Put some BMW engineering and design into them and they might even turn a profit. Only thing I would suggest is changing that horrible "Saturn" name.

 

[Mr Robert]

I have to say that this is a brand that is almost completely unknown to me. You guys who know it better; what does it stand for? Is it really nothing more than Opels for the US?

 

[Kowalski]

I have to say that this is a brand that is almost completely unknown to me. You guys who know it better; what does it stand for? Is it really nothing more than Opels for the US?

The brand was launched in 1990 by GM as a response to the Japanese onslaught. There were plans to sell Opels as Saturns in North-America but I guess the plans have been canned since GM is now selling Opel and the Saturn brand is now on death row.

 

[ZicZachZo]

Mmmhmm, toward the end here Saturn was producing some good cars. Their model range was extended and cars like the Aura were praised for their quality inside and out... But like G8 for Pontiac it was too little too late. They sold only one car for the longest time and GM could never turn a profit on it even though they sold a ton of them here.

 

[Gullwing]

I have to say that this is a brand that is almost completely unknown to me. You guys who know it better; what does it stand for? Is it really nothing more than Opels for the US?

Saturn a different type of car, a different type of car company.
When they started they only had a few models, sedan, coupe and wagen.
They would not hound you when you walked onto the lot, there was no haggling over costs, you paid what the sticker said and that was it.
It worked for a while, customer statisfaction was high, but not enough cars were sold and GM just dragged it in so it was like everyone else.

 

[Merc1]

The problem with Saturn is that like the rest of GM, they made junk cars for years and years and had the nerve to charge sticker price for them. Saturns were a joke until the 2007 Vue, Outlook, Aura and Sky came along....then look at the sales in 2007 they skyrocketed. Too bad this was too little too late and GM had written them off. Saturn just like a many GM product was well on its way when it was cut off at the knees, the victim of past mistakes.

Saturn would have been a great division to bring over Opels as they are with a few tweaks for the American market, but no its going away now along with Opel.

I don't see why a company with no presence in the U.S. didn't jump to partner up with Penske. Saturn has some of the newest and best dealerships around. They could have sold GM made products until the other brands got their products ready for Saturn to sell. It could have worked, but the interest wasn't there from anybody I guess. Oh well whats another 300 closed dealerships.

GM has no excuse now for Chevy, Buick, Cadillac and GMC not to be class leading cars now that all those other brands are gone.


M

 

[Gullwing]

I don't see why a company with no presence in the U.S. didn't jump to partner up with Penske. Saturn has some of the newest and best dealerships around. They could have sold GM made products until the other brands got their products ready for Saturn to sell. It could have worked, but the interest wasn't there from anybody I guess. Oh well whats another 300 closed dealerships.
M

Chrysler-Fiat-Alfa-Saturn would have been interesting

 

[Merc1]

Death Comes Really Fast...............

General Motors Co. has halted production of Saturn cars and crossovers and plans to sell the thousands of Saturn vehicles it has in stock within the next four months.

Many of the vehicles were built to supply to Penske Automotive Group Inc. But on Wednesday, Sept. 30, GM's expected sale of Saturn to Penske was canceled.

Within 24 hours of that news, GM built the last Saturn vehicles, said GM spokeswoman Sherrie Arb.

GM built the Saturn Outlook crossover at its Lansing Delta plant in Delta Township, Mich., the Aura sedan at its Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan., and the Vue small crossover at its plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

GM has about 12,000 Saturn vehicles in inventory, said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of U.S. sales. It is unclear how many of those are 2009s.

"We sold about 3,000 Saturns last month, so that's about a four-month supply if you maintain that selling pace," LaNeve said. "I don't think [the canceled sale of the brand] will affect our total 2010 production rate at all."

There are about 500 2010 Outlooks at the Lansing Delta plant waiting to be shipped, a GM spokesman said.

Several dealers said they were told during a conference call that GM would not allow them to order 2010s. Some believe GM will dole out its inventory so that all continuing dealers' needs would be met. But others interpreted the no-order news to mean GM wouldn't ship the cars it has built lest that open GM to lawsuits under the terms of the dealers' wind-down agreement.

Said GM spokesman John McDonald. "The intent here is to wind the dealers down ... not to keep pumping new product in the pipeline. But how do we pull back on the ordering process? We don't know yet."

GM is confident it can quickly sell down the remaining Saturn inventory, citing the Pontiac precedent. On Aug. 31, GM had 18,000 Pontiac vehicles in stock, McDonald said, or about a 30-day supply.


Saturn done in four months: AutoWeek Magazine


M

 

[Wolfgang]

...speaking of Penske, here's a deal he didn't walk away from.

Penske Truck Leasing

Penske Orders 750 Freightliner SCR Trucks

Penske Truck Leasing has ordered 750 Freightliner Cascadia trucks with selective catalytic reduction technology, making the manufacturer the majority supplier of 2010 tractors to Penske, Freightliner said.

The order includes 113-inch single-axle day cab tractors, 125-inch tandem-axle day cab tractors and 125-inch tractors with 72-inch raised roofs, Freightliner said.

All of the trucks use BlueTEC SCR technology to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 emissions standards for diesel engines. BlueTEC is the SCR technology of Daimler Trucks North America, of which Freightliner is a part.

Penske has been a Freightliner customer for more than 25 years, Freightliner said. Penske ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

Penske Orders 750 Freightliner SCR Trucks | Transport Topics Online | Trucking, Freight Transportation and Logistics News