REPORT: GM says it has 16 buyers interested in Saturn
General Motors' bankruptcy filing is only a few days old, but the struggling automaker already seems to be pressing ahead full steam. The General has already announced 14 plant closings, 23,000 more job cuts, 1,300 dealer closings, and a buyer for the Hummer brand. Company CFO Ray Young told reporters at a recent conference call that GM has three buyers interested in Saab and an astonishing 16 suitors for the Saturn brand.
Saturn is likely appealing to investors because it has a right-sized, ready-made, stand alone group of dealerships with a stellar record for good customer service. The terms of any Saturn sale will likely include GM supplying vehicles in the short term until the new buyer can attract vehicles from other automakers. GM hasn't yet revealed any potential Saturn buyers, but names ranging from Roger Penske to Malcolm Bricklin have been discussed as candidates.
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Hike15 10:32AM (6/03/2009)
It is all looking good, but nobody could by pontiac? the one brand i cared about?
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zamafir 10:57AM (6/03/2009)
priceless.
tuxchown 11:20AM (6/03/2009)
An offer was made to buy Pontiac, remember? GM refused. I believe the speculation that Pontiac is actually being put on mothballs to appease the fedarales for now. Pontiac may reemerge once the dust settles.
Coolio 11:55AM (6/03/2009)
Shouldn't the title be "REPORT: GM says it has 16 buyers interested in A Saturn"
There are sixteen people looking to buy a Saturn over any other make...sweeet.
Not funny I know but I try (sometimes)...but I do love the newer Saturns esp the Sky.
bakka 12:20PM (6/03/2009)
The Pontiac name could become a Saturn. As in G8 Saturn.
Possible.
Sheepszies 10:35AM (6/03/2009)
Magna should pick this one up too. The majority of the saturn portfolio of cars are already rebranded OPELs anyway. Saturn would be a good vehicle to continue to sell rebranded OPELs in the US and Canada.
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falcon5768 11:17AM (6/03/2009)
If by many you mean 1 right?
Only the Astra is a Opel, though the Vue and Sky are shared with Opel. Only the Astra was actually developed by Opel and brought here, the other two where developed here and brought to Opel.
And the Aura is its own car, and shares more with the G6 and was the basis of the new Malibu and shares nothing but body lines with the Opel Vectra
Redline 11:49AM (6/03/2009)
Falcon, I thought the Sky was a rebadged Opel GT? Or is that the other way around?
montoym 1:03PM (6/03/2009)
The Vue is a dead ringer for the Opel Antara and was availalbe as the Antara before the US saw the new Vue. Though, yes, technically, it was developed in S. Korea and not directly by Opel. However, it's an Opel with a Saturn badge. The Antara and Vue are twins while the others built on the same platform(Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac Torrent, Suzuki XL-7) are easy to tell apart.
The Aura is based on the same platform as the Vectra, G6, and Malibu. It does however share much more styling with the Opels than it's domestic brothers. You could essentially replace the Saturn logo with the Opel one and no one would bat an eye. It's not as similar as the Antara/Vue, but the relation there is strong.
The Sky is the only Saturn which became an Opel. All the others(save the Outlook) were built off of other Opel models(Vue & Astra) or shared platforms with significant styling similarities to Opel(Aura).
falcon5768 4:01PM (6/03/2009)
@montoym
The Vue was a world car, so while it was a Opel first, it was actually developed with Saturn and Opel in mind. The idea was to be eventually by 2011 all Saturns would be Opels and vise versa, with the Astra and Aura replacements being designed from the getgo with North America in mind.
The Aura though you wrong with, the platform is only the same in name, it shares nothing and is actually wider for the Aura than the Vectra (as is the G6 and Malibu wider than the Vectra) and you can not use Vecra parts in a Aura (people have tried, they dont fit).
montoym 7:33PM (6/03/2009)
Allow me to elaborate further.
The next-gen Aura was to be the Insignia. Since Saturn is no longer, obviously that won't occur. Once again, it is an Opel first, it's already on sale overseas. It would have been rebadged to become the Aura. The Epsilon II platform was always designed to be a world platform, just like the Epsilon before it.
Nonetheless, that doesn't take away my argument whatsoever. Your claim was that only 1 Saturn had its roots in Opel and I countered that with numerous examples to the contrary. You haven't disproven anything I said. In fact, this comment is about 180 degrees away from your first comment, sounds like you agree with me.
As far as the Epsilon platform differences, there is an extended version of the platform(which the G6, Malibu, and Aura use), but I've not seen anything regarding the width being different. Wouldn't surprise me too much though since European cars have to deal with smaller roadways in many areas.
Anyhow, as I mentioned in my first comment, the styling is mainly the common feature between the Aura and Vectra as opposed to actually being a rebadged model, nonetheless, they are both Epsilon cars. The Aura face looks every bit an Opel as the Vectra. The other models I mentioned, however, share much more than just styling. By the time the Insignia would have made it here though, all Saturns but the Outlook would have been almost indistinguishable from their Opel cousins. That was the plan and it was already well underway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Epsilon_platform
dukeisduke 10:44AM (6/03/2009)
Don't let that con man Bricklin buy it. He'll bring in Chinese crapmobiles, and it'll be Yugo all over again (yes, he was the Yugo importer).
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010111 8:38AM (6/04/2009)
he also was the original Subaru importer. the SV-1 is pretty cool too.
ryan 10:45AM (6/03/2009)
so does this mean my five dollars, a case of miller, and the remainder of my pocket lint still puts me in the running?
no?
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cowboy bob 10:46AM (6/03/2009)
Who is going to buy any GM/Chrysler car/truck with any belief that GM/Chrysler will be able to supply parts or service in the future? I don't think so. They can say anything, but look where they are today.....
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falcon5768 11:21AM (6/03/2009)
Last I looked Olds parts are all over the place. Hell AMC parts aren't even hard to find.
Just because the brand dies, it doesnt meant the parts are hard to find. The manufacturers dont make parts as it is, they buy them from other companies.
Its harder to buy even recent foreign parts than it is old American ones.
cowboy bob 3:21PM (6/03/2009)
Well Falcon..... what happens to these suppliers when they don't get paid, as in ......oh yea, BANKRUPTCY.
falcon5768 4:06PM (6/03/2009)
you assume they will go under if they dont get money from GM, or that they wont get money at all (unlikely as they are some of the first on the list for getting money)
Also you assume they dont make money elsewhere. Many of the same manufacturers ALSO make money selling to Chrysler, Ford, and even foreign manufactures.
The simple fact is, you are wrong and are as clueless to the nature of auto parts sales as a Senator. They will hurt no doubt, but there will be PLENTY of parts to be had. Like I said plenty of manufacturers have gone bankrupt and they still make replacement parts for their vehicles.
cowboy bob 8:25PM (6/03/2009)
Falcon- The interesting thing I have found in life is how easy it is for people to put their assumptions into what they think someone else is thinking. You say I havn't a clue. So, you think you have all the answeres 'eh? Well, you go with that. I always get a kick out of hearing how smart someone else thinks they are. I won't bother to lecture you, probably pointless as I have seen in many others. No, I don't think I know everything, but I do know that I don't. That's what growing up does for you.
Alan 10:51AM (6/03/2009)
16 buyers for the entire company or 16 people thinking about buying a car from Saturn?
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