Saturn to Empasize Fuel Economy, May Build EVs, Under Penske Ownership
By John O'Dell June 5, 2009Electric vehicles may be the first to be built in the U.S. by the new Saturn, says Roger Penske, the race driver-turned-automotive entrepreneur whose Penske Automotive Group has agreed to acquire Saturn from General Motors Corp.
In an exclusive interview with Edmunds.com shortly after announcing the deal in Detroit this afternoon, Penske said that the Obama administration's new emphasis on development of battery-powered vehicles means EVs "will be right at the forefront" and "might be the first produced" by a Penske-owned Saturn.
Vue crossover is one Saturn model that will live on under new deal.
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Penske, who has the U.S. distribution deal for Daimler's Smart Car, including the upcoming Smart Fortwo EV, said that Saturn and Smart would be kept separate and Saturn dealers wouldn't be asked to market Smarts.
He said with 3.5 million Saturn's already sold, he's confident there's enough of a loyal customer base to make the brand successful as a stand-alone and that he intends to emphasize fuel efficiency and low price in future models to build sales volume back to the 200,000-a-year level. Saturn sales have slipped to less than 100,000 a year under GM.
Read Editor Michelle Krebs' entire interview with Penske at our sister blog, Edmunds AutoObserver.
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I think an EV sky would be great.
Except the Sky will be discontinued..it's not one of the brands GM will keep making for Saturn.
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