Saturn to Shut Down as Penske Deal Collapses

(NEWSER) - Roger Penske could be just what the mechanic ordered for Saturn, analysts tell the Detroit News. By leaving the manufacturing work to others—initially GM and then, for a time, foreign automakers—Saturn's new buyer will be able to focus on sales and marketing and avoid the pitfalls GM faced. “This is blazing a new trail that’s an exciting one,” said Blue Book’s executive market analyst. “He has a very good chance.” More»

Brand was an unsustainable distraction from the start

(NEWSER) - As General Motors’ Saturn experiment ends with a whimper, it’s important to understand that the brand was a failure from the start. Some obituaries blame GM for not providing a fuller roster of vehicles to build customer loyalty—but if anything, the automaker gave Saturn too much, writes Mark Ritson. Saturn was created in the mid-'80s to compete with cheap Japanese imports. But in order to compete, Saturns had to be cheap, too, making the brand unprofitable from the start. More»

(NEWSER) - Saturn dealerships around the country have been using the brand’s planned acquisition by Roger Penske to attract customers, the Wall Street Journal reports. "People want to buy from someone they like," said the owner of a Saturn dealership in Wichita. But dealership owners nationwide have since received letters from GM asking them to downplay the Penske association. More»

(NEWSER) - Roger Penske, the racecar driver turned business tycoon, will buy the Saturn brand and dealer network from GM. The deal will save 350-plus dealerships and some 13,000 jobs if it goes through, the bankrupt parent company said in confirming the tentative agreement. The price is between $100 million and $200 million, a source told Bloomberg. More»

Alliance would keep Detroit automaker intact, but expose Cerberus to more risk

(NEWSER) - Chrysler is considering joining Nissan-Renault, adding a North American arm to the Japanese-French auto alliance that could rescue Chrysler’s operations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cerberus, Chrysler’s majority owner, prefers a merger with General Motors, but overlap with a Detroit competitor would likely eliminate half of Chrysler’s 66,000 jobs. A deal with Nissan-Renault would leave Chrysler largely intact. More»