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Some Retailers Want an End to the Mandate for Stand-Alone Saturn Stores (Visit this link)
Stuart Lasser, who owns a Saturn dealership 34 miles west of New York City, sued GM on Nov. 20 after the automaker rejected an attempt to subdivide his showroom and sell vehicles made by GM and South Korea's Kia Motors, according to federal court records. "All I'm trying to do is survive here," Lasser said in an interview with The Detroit News. "They're not letting me do that." Lasser's request would have been unprecedented for Saturn. Many GM brands are sold under one roof - Buick, Pontiac and GMC, for example - but Saturn was established as a stand-alone brand, and there are no permanent Saturn stores in the country where rival brands are also sold, Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse said. But Lasser said the brand went from being a different type of company selling different types of cars to "just another car company, producing just another car," according to the lawsuit. Lasser, who heads Saturn of Denville, is suing for punitive damages. As Saturn unveiled fewer exclusive vehicles, dealership sales suffered, according to the lawsuit. Last year, Saturn sold 188,000 vehicles in the U.S., down 21.7%. Lasser said GM is creating a situation that will starve dealers of customers and sales, and force them out of business.
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