Penske Confirms Interest in Saturn
May 05, 2009
DETROIT -- The Penske Automotive Group confirmed it is indeed interested in General Motors'
Saturn brand.
In a statement issued Tuesday morning, Penske Automotive Group, headed by Roger Penske, said "we confirm that we have an interest in looking at future opportunities with the Saturn brand."
The company's statement continued: "Penske Automotive buys and sells dealerships as part of our normal operations; we have experience in the distribution business and are constantly looking for opportunities to grow our business and further diversify our overall operations."
The group, which also has the U.S. distribution rights to Daimler's smart franchise, said it has not made a proposal to GM. "The time frame involved is extremely tight," the company said.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:49 AM under Companies , GM , Personalities | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
It's hard to understand what Saturn will look like with whomever buys it. It seems to me that it would be prohibitively expensive to independently import and certify any mass produced vehicle that isn't already sold here.D
Does it make sense, then, to become the Neeman Marcus of car franchises offering say, Maybach, Mc Claren, Koenigsegg, etc?
Fiat is circling over Opel now; hard to envision any more Saturn inventory coming out of there. Tata Nano? Groucho? Harpo? Zeppo?
Posted by: fulcrumb | May 05, 2009 at 8:36 PM
OK, it's starting to gel. I read elsewhere that Nissan/Renault may join Penske Automotive in buying Saturn. PA would operate the stores and sell Nissan and/or Renault-based vehicles as Saturns.
"...Une Genre Different de Voiture d'un Genre Different de Compagne de Voiture..." Oui?
Posted by: fulcrumb | May 06, 2009 at 8:45 PM