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SATURN IS NO MORE! Penske walks away from GM deal!



 
 
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Old October 4th 09, 02:34 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.saturn
JLA
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Default SATURN IS NO MORE! Penske walks away from GM deal!

Saturn fans will be saddened to hear that the brand is about to be
history. Penske Automotive Group (PAG) and General Motors have been
in the final stages of negotiations to transfer the brand, but late
this afternoon, both parties issued statements that Penske was
walking away from the deal.

The reason cited by Penske for the deal's demise is difficulty in
securing a supply of product beyond the end of 2010. GM had agreed to
continue supplying the Outlook, Aura and Vue until the end of next
year, at which point Penske would get other automakers to produce
vehicles to sell through the Saturn dealer network.

It was originally believed that Penske had a deal with Renault,
possibly supplying vehicles from its South Korean subsidiary,
Renault-Samsung Motors. However, the other automaker's board of
directors rejected the deal, leaving Penske out in the cold. In the
wake of the news, GM announced that it would wind down Saturn and
close all the dealerships. After Saturn dealers close, Saturn owners
will be able to get service from other GM dealers. You can read the
official statements from both Penske and GMchronicling the demise of
Saturn after the jump.

[Sources: Penske Automotive Group, General Motors | Image Source: Bill
Pugliano/Getty]

PRESS RELEASES

Penske Automotive Terminates Discussions with General Motors to
Acquire Saturn

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Penske Automotive Group,
Inc. (NYSE: PAG) an international automotive retailer, today
announced that it has terminated its discussions with General Motors
Company ("GM") to acquire the Saturn brand, citing concerns
directly related to the future supply of vehicles beyond the supply
period it had negotiated with GM.

Since announcing its discussions with GM on June 5, 2009, the company
has been in the due diligence process to determine the feasibility of
developing an independent distribution model for Saturn-branded
products and service parts in the United States, including the
sourcing of vehicles from GM and other potential suppliers. The
company had negotiated a definitive agreement with GM to source
vehicles on a contract-manufactured basis for a period of time. After
this period, the company would have been required to source vehicles
from another third party under a similar contract-manufacturing
agreement.

Penske Automotive Group negotiated the terms and conditions of an
agreement with another manufacturer; however, that agreement was
rejected by that manufacturer's board of directors. 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.


General Motors Media Statement Attributed President & CEO Fritz
Henderson

Today we learned that Penske Automotive Group (PAG) has decided to
terminate discussions with General Motors to acquire Saturn. This is
very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by
hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to
make the new Saturn a reality. PAG's announcement explained that
their decision was not based on interactions with GM or Saturn
retailers; rather it was because of the inability to source new
products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract.

As a result of PAG's decision, we will be winding down the Saturn
brand and dealership network, in accordance with the wind-down
agreements that Saturn dealers recently signed with GM. Pursuant to
the terms of those agreements, the wind down process will be
determined and communicated shortly.

Saturn customers and owners will continue to be able to purchase and
have their vehicles serviced at Saturn retailers during this process.
Once the wind down is complete, Saturn owners will still be able to
have their vehicles serviced at other GM dealerships. We will be
communicating with our customers very soon to explain the next steps
in this process.

Today's disappointing news comes at a time when we'd hoped for a
successful launch of the Saturn brand into a new chapter. We will be
working closely with our dealers to ensure Saturn customers are cared
for as we transition them to other GM dealers in the months ahead. I'd
also like to thank every GM employee and Saturn retailer who worked so
hard to try to make this new beginning happen for Saturn.

View the attachments for this post at:
http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.p...10872#27410872

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