RSS
In a statement released late this afternoon, Penske Automotive announced it was abandoning the idea of purchasing Saturn from General Motors.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>According to the release, Penske’s decision was based upon an inability to procure vehicles for the division. GM would have been obligated to provide vehicles for a “short-term” period, but Penske was on its own after that.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>Earlier reports had suggested Penske was eyeing a deal with the Korean Samsung company, which is a subsidiary of Renault S.A. Although Penske doesn’t acknowledge this fact in its release, it does say whichever automaker it was dealing with essentially ended the transaction.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>“Penske Automotive Group negotiated the terms and conditions of an agreement with another manufacturer,” the release reads. “However, that agreement was rejected by that manufacturer’s board of directors.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>“Without that agreement, the company has determined that the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit the company from moving forward with this transaction.”
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>GM hasn’t yet released a statement on the matter, but had planned on winding down Saturn operations by October 2010 if it didn’t find a buyer for the brand.
Penske should have purchased Hummer put in a high performance diesel avg 25 mpg and sold millions!
FOX 9 television in the Twin Cities just reported that GM will officially phase out the brand and shutter the dealers completely. Ouch. One more casualty of the 1980′s…What about Saab? And Hummer? Will these simply go away as well? Did GM have this in their portfolio all along to do when times got bad; to thin out its competition? Only time will tell.