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David Booth from the National Post: So, Saturn is no more. One more bastion of the U.s. auto empire sinks into the quicksand that has been The Great Recession. Its would-be saviour, Roger Penske, has pulled out of the deal quite dramatically one day prior to taking over the "Saturn Homecoming" brand. Penske's master plan was to find some other automaker that would pick up the slack in supplying 350 American (but no Canadian) dealers with a full lineup of cars and crossover SUVs after General Mot...

Jeff Bodary from the Examiner: Previously I discussed the idea of a business model that separates manufacturing from retailing and distribution. It puts all marketing responsibilities in the hands of the distribution channel and essentially sub-contracts vehicle manufacturing out to one or more automakers. It saves the distributor the huge fixed costs of production and saves the manufacturer the huge costs of having to maintain a sales and marketing function. Many Asian automakers operate in a s...

From the Post and Courier: A grand automotive experiment appears to have died this week when a dealer network led by the Penske Automotive Group announced it would not, after all, buy the Saturn brand from General Motors. The attributes that made Saturn distinctive had already faded in recent years until all that was left of the original experiment was mainly a nameplate in an industry overcrowded with models. General Motors and the United Auto Workers struck an unusual contract at the Spring Hi...

Associated Press from Forbes: Auto industry analysts suggest General Motors' Spring Hill plant could become vulnerable as the Obama administration makes steeper demands in return for federal financial support, and workers say they are nervous. President Barack Obama had said GM's initial plans to become viable didn't go far enough. Last week, he told the company it had 60 days to make more cuts and get more concessions from bondholders and unions, or it won't get any more government help. "We're...

Soyoung Kim from Reuters: An investor group including private equity firm Black Oak Partners has approached General Motors about buying its Saturn brand assets and dealership network, both sides said on Wednesday. The investment group, which includes some Saturn dealers, said its goal was to set up an independent distribution network that would first sell GM vehicles and then branch off into products — including electric vehicles — from its rivals. GM confirmed it had been in discussions wit...

James R. Healey from USA Today: Roger Penske's pending purchase of the Saturn brand from General Motors could be the beginning of the biggest change in how cars are sold since the dawn of the auto industry early last century. Penske can shop globally for low-cost automakers able to build to his specifications quickly, fielding Saturns built in, say, China or India and developed for half the cost and in half the time it would take traditional automakers. Fast turnarounds would let Saturn exploit ...

Sharon Silke Carty from USA Today: With bidders seemingly coming out of the woodwork to buy the Saturn car brand, one might wonder what investors could possibly see in the battered vehicle line. "There's still a lot of loyalty between the customers and the dealers," says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research. "That's got some value." Already, there are two companies willing to talk publicly about their interest in the brand: Penske Automotive dealer network and private equit...

From WISH TV Channel 8: Penske has decided to buy Saturn and that could be good move for Indiana. "The greatest strength of Saturn is the 3.5 million customers that they have in the market today," said Penske. Matt Will, an Associate Dean of the University of Indianapolis School of Business said Penske is getting one of GM'S best brands without the baggage. "I think it's pure genius on the part of Roger Penske," said Will. "He doesn't have to buy the cars from General Motors and that's really wh...

Vince Sims from Pittsburgh's Channel 11: In the waiting room a Saturn dealership in Monroeville, Kirsti Adkins waited for her car to be inspected. But she also wanted some answers about what's Saturn's future. "I heard they might discontinue the line," Adkins said. Having owned her third Saturn and being and satisfied with the company, she doesn't want to see it go away. Adkins said, "I hope they keep on manufacturing them so that I can keep on having a car I like." President of the Saturn deale...

Two brothers who own Saturn retail facilities in Michigan tell WJRT ABC 12 that they are holding out hope for Saturn. Both feel Saturn will survive this ordeal. "It's a special brand. The way we do business is different," Serra Automotive Group's Joe Serra told the television station. "If I were GM and I was looking at my portfolio of brands and I had to throw them out one by one, I wouldn't throw out Saturn."

Cathy Shafran from WJRT ABC 12: Joe Serra of the Al Serra Auto Group has been working as an advisor to Roger Penske since discussions began on Penske possibly acquiring the Saturn brand. Friday morning, a bleary-eyed Serra, who had worked late into the night helping out with some final issues on the plan, shared details of a tentative pact. Serra says the tentative agreement means that Penske will be purchasing the branding and distributorship of Saturns. The local auto dealer says he was brough...

Automotive News: U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, emerged as a harsh critic of General Motors and the UAW during Congressional debate over an industry bailout last year. "GM is spiraling downward," said the freshman senator in November. But Corker was once an enthusiastic proponent of GM - or sure sounded like it. A video circulating on YouTube shows just how enthusiastic he was. Corker visited GM's engine plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on April 27, 2007. Afterward, Corker said he saw "a ...

Joseph Szczesny from the Oakland Press: The theory of the virtual car company is a favorite concept of a lot of consultants and analysts that are part and parcel of the car business, not only in the U.S. but around the world. The idea draws a lot of its energy from the idea that a virtual company wouldn’t need to have expensive engineering labs and assembly plants. Instead, they would belong to a supplier. In addition, the virtual company would limit the need to keep many expensive employees o...

Sam Abuelsamid from AutoBlog: General Motors chief financial officer Ray Young held a conference call with bloggers to discuss the announcements made by CEO Fritz Henderson this morning. With whole brands and car lines being terminated in the coming months, it's clear that many more plants will be closed, but no further details have been announced. With the demise of the Saturn Outlook, it seems probable that either the Delta Township plant in Michigan or the Spring Hill Tennessee plant will be ...

Mike Copeland from the Waco Tribune-Herald: Saturn, one of three brands that General Motors plans to drop, has been running ads that tell skittish car shoppers, "We're still here." Justin Lines, general manager at Saturn of Waco, said local car shoppers apparently know that. "We're thriving. Business is great," Lines said. "Banks are loosening up on the credit, and we’re making lots of deals." GM has urged Saturn dealers to be patient as it explores selling or spinning off the brand. A group o...