BREAKING: GM reportedly agrees to sell Saturn to Penske
by Chris Paukert on Jun 5th 2009 at 9:26AM 
According to The New York Times, General Motors has come to terms with a consortium led by industry icon Roger Penske to sell its ailing Saturn brand. The agreement, which is expected to be announced later today, will apparently see Penske add Saturn brand and its stand-alone showroom network to his existing portfolio of 310 global dealers.
Penske, as you may recall, already has sole distribution rights to the Smart microcar lineup in the States, and he will apparently continue to sell GM-produced Saturn vehicles initially, after which he is expected to begin importing foreign autos from companies like Renault's Samsung Motors subsidiary in Korea.
[Source: The New York Times | Image: A. Messerschmidt/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Yikes 9:33AM (6/05/2009)
So Penske thinks he can make a profit selling rebaded vehicles.
LOL
Reply
Yikes 9:34AM (6/05/2009)
"baded"
sort of a freudian slip I guess
hypermiler 9:38AM (6/05/2009)
@Yikes
> So Penske thinks he can make a profit selling rebaded vehicles.
When the vehicles he intends to sell has Honda-level quality right now, better than Nissan and Hyundai. They are not cheap, but the quality is first class.
If GM executives knew what Penske's plotting to import, then they wouldn't have sold Saturn to Penske because that means another Honda in the crowded US market.
vwboyaf1 9:42AM (6/05/2009)
How can they be "better than Nissan"? The Samsung cars in Korea are rebadged Nissans. SM3=Sentra, SM5=Altima, and so on. Does this mean there are going to be rebadged nissans getting rebadged as saturns in the US? This hurts my head.
philipwprice 11:31AM (6/05/2009)
Think about it, all he is doing is providing dealerships for the cars. So, it would not take a lot for him to make a profit.
Motor_Yakuza 9:47AM (6/05/2009)
Dude, I doubt that Samsung and even Renault makes cars better then Honda, and oh yeah, that's what the US economy needs, franco korean cars sold under an american brand, that's not buying american, that's Wall Mart in auto version.
hypermiler 9:53AM (6/05/2009)
> How can they be "better than Nissan"?
Well, Renault Korea's models have better reliability than Nissans and Infinities on the same market according to quality survey statistics. You can thank Samsung's Quality Management technique and parts procurement strategy for this.
> The Samsung cars in Korea are rebadged Nissans.
And have better quality than Nissans because they don't share many parts.
> SM3=Sentra
The new one due out this year is a Megane built with Korean parts, not a Nissan.
> SM5=Altima
The new one due out next year is a Laguna built with Korean parts, not a Nissan.
> Does this mean there are going to be rebadged nissans getting rebadged as saturns in the US?
Renault Korea decided to switch to Renault platforms, but wearing Asian styling and built with Korean parts. The only thing they share are basic design plans, not parts.
> This hurts my head.
It is parts supply chain that determines vehicle's quality, not the engineering. Renault Korea does not use Renault or Nissan's parts supply chain, but the one crafted by Samsung 15 years ago to challenge Toyota in quality. This is their secret source behind their quality.
hypermiler 9:58AM (6/05/2009)
@ Motor_Yakuza
> Dude, I doubt that Samsung
Samsung doesn't make cars. Renault licenses Samsung brand name at a cost of $500 per car to put on Renault Korea's models.
> and even Renault makes cars better then Honda
Not Renault, but Renault Korea(ex-Samsung Motors).
> that's Wall Mart in auto version.
Black Oak's plan was also auto Wal-mart, but distributing Mitsubishi in this case.
tankd0g 10:13AM (6/05/2009)
The only reason those cars are made with "Korean parts" is the weakness of the yon against the yen. There is functionally no difference.
Al 12:53PM (6/05/2009)
So will the V6 in the "new" Samsumg cars still be the VQ35 (fwd based)?
Kiiks 9:38AM (6/05/2009)
Will he return to ALMS competition in a Saturn-badged prototype?
Will he run Saturns in NASCRAP?
Does he have to keep the brand name?
Reply
adam1drift 11:28AM (6/05/2009)
X2
thats what i wanna know... are we going to get a Saturn Sky that will compete with the 911?
tuxchown 12:34PM (6/05/2009)
I just heard on the news that Penske is buying the sales, marketing and distribution network as well as the rights to the business. GM will continue to produce the cars under contract in existing facilities for Penske.
Motor_Yakuza 9:39AM (6/05/2009)
Huh, looks like Renault Samsung will have to buy Pontiac instead, isn't that sad. And I doubt that Carlos Ghosn will want to give us something like a GTO, Trans Am, a Fiero or the G8.
Reply
hypermiler 9:40AM (6/05/2009)
> looks like Renault Samsung will have to buy Pontiac instead,
Read the article. Penske's trying to import Renault Korea's models.
Motor_Yakuza 9:54AM (6/05/2009)
Yeah, I did, pretty lame isn't it. Hope that they will develop at least one model on their own.
tuxchown 11:39AM (6/05/2009)
GM already said that Pontiac is not for sale.
Motor_Yakuza 12:07PM (6/05/2009)
General Motors sad taht Pontiac it's not for sale, now we have Government Motors, and if "the one" says sale, they will sale.
Yikes 12:11PM (6/05/2009)
Unless Dictator Obama said Pontiac isn't for sale, don't "bank" on it.
jv2k 2:03PM (6/05/2009)
Honestly why would they buy pontiac? The cars are produced in general GM plants and the dealers are packaged with buick and GMC.
Pontiac would have enough models to sustain the brand while it gets onto it's feet but it would have nowhere to be sold and nowhere to build the cars.