The announcement of Roger Penske abandoning his acquisition of Saturn is devastating news. Sources claim or hope that this is just a negotiation ploy and not the end of the road for Saturn. It just boggles my mind that GM has chosen to cut it's most client oriented dealer body. What are they thinking? Talk about value of the brand! Do you recall the THOUSANDS of happy Saturn owners driving to Spring Hill to celebrate their cars? We're not talking high performance sports car "nuts", but moms and dads and their kids all making a pilgrimage to Spring Hill just to visit the home of their little SL2's and SC1's! GM couldn't have been happier. It was a marriage of client, dealer and manufacturer the likes of which we will never see again.
Saturn quickly became the envy of all GM dealers. Chevy, Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile dealers were jealous. Chevy, especially wanted to be the small car division of GM. Product development and model mix suddenly caused infighting among the divisions. It reminded me of a Brady Bunch episode: Marsha, Marsha MARSHA! The result was product starvation for Saturn dealers. When management finally became concerned, warmed over Opel products were re badged as Saturn and the results were disastrous. The Aura, Sky, Vue, and Outlook completed a total revamp of Saturn giving them tremendous products that can compete head to head with all comers. Just when things were looking up.....GM says bye, bye, see ya! I can only say this is just another example of the "new" GM. I don't know if there is a true gas-in-their-veins car person left in the whole organization. Roger, don't give up just yet!! You've got an opportunity to dominate the small car segment in the USA!
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