Saturn Dealers Lose Hope, Close Stores

Saturn Dealers Lose Hope, Close Stores

Saturn dealerships are closing at a steady rate despite pleas from General Motors executives to hold on, trade journal Automotive News reports.

On January 1, Saturn had 420 stores in the United States. That dropped to 405 on February 15 and 384 on April 6. Last week, three dealerships in the Kansas City area and one in Springfield, Missouri, closed.

Saturn and its dealers are looking for an alternative ownership situation, one that may allow for the distribution of non-Saturn and non-GM products, including those from emerging markets like China and India.

GM announced its plan to phase out Saturn in its February 17 viability plan submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department. In March, Saturn sales fell 60 percent from year-ago levels. GM has committed to supplying vehicles to Saturn dealers through 2011 when most models are at the end of their life cycle.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.