Penske to buy Saturn from GM

Roger Penske has been a very smart businessman over the last few decades - I hope he does well with his newest venture. He's not getting any factories, but he is getting some good dealerships and the parts operation. He'll also have the right to buy models from manufacturers around the world and sell them as Saturns. A lot of companies make good products but don't have the financial muscle to create a US dealership network - they're going to be lining up to provide products for Saturn.

GM to sell Saturn brand to Penske dealership chain - Forbes.com:
"General Motors Corp. has a tentative deal to sell its Saturn brand to auto racing magnate Roger Penske's dealership group, both companies said Friday.

Penske has signed a memorandum of understanding that would give his dealership chain, Penske Automotive Group ( PAG - news - people ), Saturn's 350 dealerships, the companies said. Penske said that he expects to offer all the dealers new franchise agreements and will retain all 13,000 Saturn employees for now.
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Initially, GM will continue to produce on a contract basis the Saturn Aura sedan as well as the Vue and Outlook SUVs. But Penske said he is in talks with global car manufacturers about building Saturn cars in the future.
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Despite a cult-like following that drew thousands to annual reunions in Spring Hill, the brand never made money for GM.
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"Saturn was kind of an unpolished gem at GM," said Brad Coulter, director at the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., turnaround firm O'Keefe and Associates. "They had never really fully exploited what they developed. Saturn is known for having some of the best-run dealerships. The brand is highly rated. It's a top-notch sales organization."

Today, Saturn production is scattered at plants across the U.S. The Aura is built at GM's factory at Kansas City, Kansas. The Outlook is built in Lansing, Mich., while the Vue is built in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

The Saturn Sky roadster is built in Wilmington, Del., but that plant is scheduled to close in July and the model will be discontinued. The Saturn Astra compact hatchback was imported from GM's plant in Antwerp, Belgium, and was discontinued last year.

Penske Automotive will take over the separate Saturn parts warehouse and distribution center in Spring Hill.

Penske in an interview said foreign automakers would be key to his making Saturn succeed, but they will have to match GM's quality standards before Saturn's dealer network will distribute their products.

"As people around the world look at that, they have the opportunity to tap us on the shoulder and say we have product that we'd like to bring into the U.S." he said.
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Detroit-based GM, which filed for bankruptcy court protection Monday, has said it plans to shed its Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac and Saab brands. Earlier this week, GM said it found a buyer for Hummer in China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co."