GM to shut down Saturn after Penske ends talks

[jason]

DETROIT - General Motors Co. said Wednesday it would shut down its Saturn division after an agreement to sell it to Penske Automotive Group Inc. fell apart. The Bloomfield, Michigan dealership headed by auto racing magnate Roger Penske walked away after it was unable to find a manufacturer to supply vehicles to it after a contract with GM runs out in 2011.
A tentative deal for Saturn was announced on June 5. Penske was to get Saturn's 371 dealers and promised to retain the 13,000 Saturn employees. The proposed price was never disclosed.



GM to close Saturn after Penske ends bid - Autos- msnbc.com

 

[Tumbleweed36]

What a shame, I think Penske would have had a winner for a car under the leadership of the of this organization. The car would have evolved into a "special" car instead of a clone of other GM cars. Personally, I thought this would be the BMW of American cars after this purchase was completed.

I guess this means their recent fray into positive advertising which was rather effective is now a moot point. GM loses, Penske loses, and the workers at the Saturn plant lose big time.

 

[HomeMechanic]

I was really heartbroken about this. I have a Saturn and I love working on the car. It's so easy to work on and I've learned so much.

 

[chillen]

I do not own one myself but I know someone that had and she has always bought Saturn. She was in a car wreck moons ago and her insurance wanted to pay her out as the car was totaled, they tried talking her into getting any other car but a Saturn and she almost dropped them as a company for it.

 

[Weezer]

Yeah, it is a shame. I've always wanted a Saturn and never had the chance to buy one. It's just another step down the road to complete automotive industry failure in the US. I really wonder if the auto industry is going to recover in this country. It would be a shame for us to only have import vehicles in a few years.

 

[Roscoe]

I've never owned a Saturn, but I've never heard anything negative about them. My biggest concern with this news is all of the workers who will be out of work. I personally know people who work for Saturn and even people who have relocated to other states simply to work in the plants. That's just another large group of people who will be out of work in a faltering economy.

 

[HomeMechanic]

The tough part about this for me is that since there is no longer a Saturn dealership, I have no place to get OEM parts that I know of. Any suggestions?

 

[Midnight Tech]

I've seen some Chevrolet dealerships that are honoring Saturn warranties - not sure if they are gonna have the parts available at all the dealerships though.

 

[HomeMechanic]

I've seen some Chevrolet dealerships that are honoring Saturn warranties - not sure if they are gonna have the parts available at all the dealerships though.

Yeah, I received a piece of mail from my local Chevy dealership saying how they'll take care of my car. The problem is that mine is a 1997 so I'm really more interested in having a source for OEM parts. Think I'll give them a call and ask.