General Motors is throwing together its viability report for the feds before the automaker's homework is due on February 17th, and a large part of the plan is to eliminate its most unprofitable brands. GM execs have said on more than one occasion that the automaker's core brands – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC – are the vehicles (pun intended) to bring the General back from the brink, but where does that leave HUMMER, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn?
According to a report from Automotive News, Saturn dealers are well aware that their brand hasn't made the cut and that after a two-day meeting last week between GM and the Saturn Franchise Operation Team, a handful of options are on the table. GM's marketing chief, Mark LaNeve, said that the options include, "everything from a new dualing pattern to a spinoff to a partnership to an outright sale." LaNeve goes on to say, "Everything is fluid. You can't commit to any option... I'll say this: You don't need four options to kill a brand."
Saturn's uncertain future is apparently apparent on the showroom floor, with customers reportedly voicing their concerns about the brand's future and the availability of parts and service.
Hopefully, once GM files its viability plan on the 17th, all of the details about the automaker's brands will be disclosed. Dealers don't seem too optimistic, including Todd Ingersoll, a member of the franchise team and the owner of Saturn of Danbury and Watertown in Connecticut. He thinks after the report is filed, GM's decision on Saturn will be disclosed "within hours."
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
According to a report from Automotive News, Saturn dealers are well aware that their brand hasn't made the cut and that after a two-day meeting last week between GM and the Saturn Franchise Operation Team, a handful of options are on the table. GM's marketing chief, Mark LaNeve, said that the options include, "everything from a new dualing pattern to a spinoff to a partnership to an outright sale." LaNeve goes on to say, "Everything is fluid. You can't commit to any option... I'll say this: You don't need four options to kill a brand."
Saturn's uncertain future is apparently apparent on the showroom floor, with customers reportedly voicing their concerns about the brand's future and the availability of parts and service.
Hopefully, once GM files its viability plan on the 17th, all of the details about the automaker's brands will be disclosed. Dealers don't seem too optimistic, including Todd Ingersoll, a member of the franchise team and the owner of Saturn of Danbury and Watertown in Connecticut. He thinks after the report is filed, GM's decision on Saturn will be disclosed "within hours."
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
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