2008 GM Congressional Restructuring Plan
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GM Readies Break with Saturn
Michelle Krebs from Auto Observer: Nobody's leveling much skepticism of Penske Automotive Group's plan to be running Saturn by the end of next month because, ah, Penske isn't exactly known as a guy who messes up. But realists will admit Penske has his hands full in resurrecting a name that began promisingly as GM's hip, inhouse alternative brand, but whose early potential was frittered away through years of almost deliberate erosion of the brand's prominent non-GM-ness. Penske plans to sell curr...
GM Says "We are Completely Behind Saturn"
Sharon Terlep from the Dow Jones by way of CNN/Money: General Motors sales chief Mark LaNeve on Monday played down speculation the auto maker will kill its Saturn brand, saying GM is instead focused on finding a new business model for the money-losing lineup. "We have a very successful consumer brand with Saturn. We need to find the right business model," said LaNeve, adding that the company has received hundreds of letters from Saturn customers supporting the brand. "We are completely behind S...
GM Says it Will Close Saturn After Sale Falls Through
Ken Bensinger from the LA Times: General Motors' deal to sell Saturn to the Penske Automotive Group has fallen through, forcing the automaker to shutter the brand altogether. The sale had been expected to be completed as soon as this week. The news is a blow to GM, which had made selling three of its brands, along with shutting Pontiac, a key component to its post-bankruptcy restructuring efforts. Instead of selling Saturn, GM will now close the brand altogether. It said today that its Saturn de...
GM Throws Lifeline to Flailing Saturn Brand, Admits It "Didn't Spend Enough On Marketing to Introduc
Jean Halliday from Advertising Age: General Motors is working behind the scenes to save Saturn. The automaker is working with dealers to keep Saturn in the GM orbit. It hopes to have an action plan ready within 30 days, said Fernando Somoza and Todd Ingersoll, two dealers on the brand's Franchise Operating Team. Neither dealer gave any details of options that are on the table, although Mr. Somoza said one proposal being studied "will have global implications." One consideration is finding a non-...
GM to Accelerate Saturn Shutdown to this Year If No Buyer Found
Richard Truett from Automotive News: General Motors plans to build the last Saturn vehicles this year, two years earlier than first envisioned, as it speeds up efforts to shed dealerships and divisions, CEO Fritz Henderson said today. The Saturn brand still may survive if GM can sell it to another automaker or investor, but GM no longer will build vehicles for Saturn after the 2009 model year, Henderson said on a conference call. GM has begun talks to sell Saturn to a private equity group workin...
GM to Auction Near-Classics from Corporate Museum
Cash-starved GM is set to auction many recent and slightly less-important vehicles from its Heritage museum Collection at the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction.
GM to Close Saturn After Penske Ends Talks
From the Associated Press via MSNBC: GM will stop making Saturns as soon as possible, but no layoffs are expected, said spokeswoman Sherrie Childers Arb. GM had stopped building the Aura midsize sedan in Kansas City, Kan., and will not resume assembling them. Production of the Outlook large crossover near Lansing, Mich., and the Vue small crossover vehicle in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, will be phased out as soon as possible, she said. "Those plants produce products for other brands, and we think we c...
GM to Wind Down Saturn Brand After Penske Halts Talks
Mike Ramsey and Bill Koenig from Bloomberg: General Motors will close Saturn, the brand created 24 years ago to mirror Japanese companies' carmaking, after Penske Automotive Group broke off discussions to buy the unit. Penske, operator of 310 auto retailers, backed out because of concern it wouldn't have access to cars and sport-utility vehicles after 2011 when GM was due to stop supplying them, Penske said in a statement. Renault SA's board rejected a deal to build cars for Saturn, a person fam...
GM Will Keep Saturn Hybrid Powertrains
Richard Truett from Automotive News: The next generation of General Motors hybrid technology will not be delayed by the phase out of the Saturn brand, Tom Stephens, GM's vice chairman of global product development, said today. But in a reversal of plans, Stephens told Automotive News that the drivetrain that was destined for plug-in version of the Saturn Vue hybrid will be delivered to fleets in early 2011 and could also be offered to consumers. Stephens would not say which vehicle will get the ...
GM Won't Save Saturn if Penske Deal Falls Through
Rick Haglund from Michigan Live: As part of his effort to communicate directly with consumers, General Motors Co. Chief Executive Fritz Henderson took questions from the public on Detroit's Fox 2 and simultaneously in an online Web chat. Several questioners said they were unhappy with GM's decision to shed Saturn. GM has tentative agreements to sell Hummer, Saab and Saturn, although none of those deals have closed. One person asked if GM would keep Saturn if the deal to sell it to auto entrepren...
GM's New Moonshot: Open Saturn to Rivals
Soyoung Kim and Poornima Gupta from Reuters: General Motors set up Saturn with big ambitions 25 years ago reflected in its decision to name the brand after the rockets that carried astronauts to the moon, a symbol of American ingenuity. Now Saturn could become a launching pad for GM's overseas rivals who are being invited to consider the brand's dealer network as a low-cost way to break into the U.S. market. GM said on Thursday it was working to spin off Saturn as a distribution company to sourc...
GM, Retailers Begin the End to Saturn
Robert Snell from the Detroit News: Dealers have until the end of October 2010 to close, but many will be gone by January because inventory is low, dealers said. The automaker will begin winding down Saturn dealers, who are being offered between $100,000 and $1 million to stay open and gradually sell inventory. Saturn dealers this year signed wind-down agreements that provide for the orderly closing of their stores instead of seeing their dealerships left in bankruptcy court. GM late last month ...
Got advice for Roger Penske?
Mark Phelan from the Detroit Free Press: What should Roger Penske do with Saturn? When the business legend and motor sports icon bought the brand from General Motors, he promised to keep Saturn's 350 dealers supplied with vehicles after GM stops building Saturns in 2011. "Saturn has an outstanding dealer network and a passionate, loyal customer base," Penske said in a statement provided to the Free Press. "We look forward to serving these customers and dealers as we work to redevelop the Saturn ...
Grand Saturn Experiment Yielded 25 Years of Innovation
Lindsay Chappell from Automotive News: As far as auto industry Grand Experiments go, Saturn lived a long life. From the time General Motors Chairman Roger Smith incorporated Saturn Corporation in 1985 until October 2010, when GM officially will bury the brand, it will be 25 years. Saturn gave us dent-resistant body panels, the three-door coupe, the no-haggle sales approach, a working model for friendly union-management relations, low-cost aluminum casting techniques, the concept of multiple-stor...
Handcuffed Saturn Retailers Consider their Fates
Steve Finlay from Wards AutoWorld: GM says it will shut down Saturn after Penske announced that his plan to buy the brand has failed due to an inability to find a supplier of vehicles beyond GM. Some Saturn dealers have other brands to fall back on. Those that don’t are the hardest hit. One of them is Todd Ingersoll, owner of Saturn of Danbury, a facility that opened last year. At the grand opening, the Danbury, CT, store was hailed as "a vote of confidence in the division's future." When the ...