REPORT: Penske to close all Canadian Saturn dealers
Roger Penske's purchase of the Saturn nameplate and sales organization from General Motors is intended to make money, and the business case for keeping Canadian dealers is apparently poor. Half of Saturn Canada's 60 dealers had already decided to give up, while the remaining 30 stores were willing to try and keep going. Penske's decision to discontinue sales of the brand in Canada altogether will directly impact 2,000 people.
"Saturn has a passionate customer base and outstanding dealer network," Penske said upon the announcement of his purchase in June. "We want to build onto those strengths," he continued, and the Canadian operation must be more albatross than mint in the scheme of things. Tip of the chapeau to Luc and Pat.
[Source: Radio-Canada (in French)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ToniCipriani 9:17AM (8/31/2009)
I wonder if they will actually force the dealer to close, because most Saturn dealers here are really Saab dealers as well.
But Saab is toast anyways for the most part...
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akboss302 9:27AM (8/31/2009)
That really sucks, I quite liked Saturn vehicles. I wasn't in the market to buy, but the Astra was an appealing compact, and the Vue was arguably the best looking CUV GM had going, in my eyes a lot better than its Equinox sibling. So how do parts/service work for Canadians who own Saturns?
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Venom 9:29AM (8/31/2009)
Whoa.
That sucks.
Saturns are one of the better GM cars, they are actually pretty good.
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TriShield 9:31AM (8/31/2009)
What makes anyone think he's not going to flush most US dealers as well? GM dumped billions into Saturn the past few years afterall and couldn't make it work, what makes Penske any different?
It's not like he has billions to waste on this nameplate, it's a wonder anyone bought it at all. I expect to see a big sweep of the US dealer network by Penske too before all is said and done.
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The Other Bob 11:06AM (8/31/2009)
"What makes anyone think he's not going to flush most US dealers as well? "
Because that is basically all he bought.
Avinash machado 9:42AM (8/31/2009)
More than the cars, Saturn was liked for its dealership experience and customer friendly service.
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oldraven 10:23AM (8/31/2009)
Well, being friendly doesn't help the dealership experience any when they're trying to charge you $84 for a brake hose (just one 8-9" long flex hose) that you can't buy for $16 in the US. It doesn't help when this is the only place you can get the part. I had the same issue when trying to find a turn signal stalk. Saturn dealer only, and they reamed my on the price.
oldraven 12:33PM (8/31/2009)
can't = can
Trev 9:56AM (8/31/2009)
It kind of doesn't make sense as Magna was looking to bring Opels here to Canada (which Saturn's pretty much are already).
That and the fact that all Saturn dealers are also Saab dealers.
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oldraven 10:25AM (8/31/2009)
But the problem there is GM won't be supplying Saturn with any cars beyond a certain date, so Saturn's Opels are soon to be dead. Also, Magna might not get any of Opel, since GM recently decided they didn't want to sell after all.
scott 3 12:21PM (8/31/2009)
The cars were rebadged Chevys and were as good and any Chevy.
The key to Saturn is the dealerships. They provided good sales and service. Other than that Saturn was just another GM division.
Penske has his work cut out with the change over. In the end Saturn will just be a chain of stores selling imported cars no one else is importing from China or elsewhere.
It will be all sales and marketing with no MFG.
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Judy Zik 3:08PM (8/31/2009)
Maybe the recent products. The original Saturns that were in production up until 2002 were all on their very own in house developed Saturn platform (Z). It shared nothing with the other GM cars and had quite a few unique features that were ahead of the curve. These were GM vehilces that actually showed signs in their development of listening to consumers. If GM had invested the money to continue to improve and update the Z platform things would have been different at Saturn. An SL car of that period is light years ahead of the Cavalier. Instead they left them to rot with low grade plastic interiors and engines that burn oil for almost 10 years. They then dumped the whole team at Saturn and turned them into the Opel import badge. Now they have left the Springhill plant (one of the most modern and expensive plants GM ever built) basically rotting on the vine. Saturn is a tragic symbol of the old GM and opportunities wasted.
Mike 10:37PM (9/10/2009)
You are mistaken!
Saturn was a unique product until the end of the S-Series run in 2002. At that point yes, they became rebadged GM cookie-cutter cars that began with the Ion in 2003 being a polymer-paneled GM D-Body (G5, Cobalt) car.
oldraven 10:19AM (8/31/2009)
Wow. That sucks a LOT! The dealer is about the only place I can get a good many parts for my Vue. Looks like I'll be sourcing a lot more parts from the States now.
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Judy Zik 11:53AM (8/31/2009)
Fortunately the Chevy dealer down the street happily services our Saturn since we don't have a Saturn dealer in town. They were already welcoming all the Pontiac/Buick/GMC service customers with open arms since that dealership closed. Now they will likely officially be handed Saturn warranty and service work. Any weak limitations they had on Chevrolet dealers servicing Saturn or getting Saturn parts will likely disappear along with the Saturn stores. Since service work is where they make their money GM dealers who survived the culling are going to be the happiest people in the business.
What this means is the death of Saturn. They must be bleeding pretty badly to pull out of Canada. Once they hack and slash their network in the states there will be little point. One of the problems with Saturn has always been that you had to drive out of town and past 10 GM stores that don't sell it to buy one. One of their strengths though was the overall dealership experience. I feel bad for the dealers. They did a good job of living up to their end of the bargain. Too bad GM never gave them the right products at the right price.
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asyed 11:15AM (9/01/2009)
PENSKE WOULD BE (CENSORED)STUPID TO STOP SATURNS FROM BEIN SOLD HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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419Eater 4:32PM (8/31/2009)
Penske is just pissed off that he didn't get to sell the smart cars in Canada.
Why he got the rights to the entire USA for smart cars is beyond me. MB product mgrs must be idiots.
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maestro mario 6:18PM (8/31/2009)
Saturn died when they dropped the plastic body panels...
So now the brand will be for the 2000's what AMC was for the 80's. In 10 years we will look at Astras like we look at Alliance's and Encore's LOL!
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donny 7:34PM (8/31/2009)
I guess that this doesn't matter as much now that they don't have those fancy plastic body panels - ideal for our salty roads in winter. Those cars are extremely popular here, and are usually all in great shape.
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Donovan 12:19PM (9/01/2009)
I wonder if this is enough to get me out of my lease, it is hard enough to get parts for my Astra, it is going to be even harder when I have to go to a GM dealer...
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