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Roger Penske is a hero!!!

In case you haven’t heard the news yet, well – I’ll let the press release speak for itself…

Saturn and Penske: Two Iconic Teams Poised to Make History Again

Transaction would save more than 13,000 jobs; preserves renowned brand and retail network

DETROIT (June 5, 2009) — General Motors Corp. and Penske Automotive Group today confirmed details of a proposed transaction under which Penske would acquire the Saturn brand. If completed, the deal would save more than 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs at Saturn and its retailers in the United States, and would preserve the customer-focused Saturn brand.

The proposed transaction is part of GM’s rebuilding efforts outlined in the viability plan that was submitted to the U.S. government earlier this year. Under the terms in the memorandum of understanding, Penske would obtain the rights to the brand as well as certain other Saturn assets. GM would continue production, on a contract basis, of the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook.

“This is the combination of two iconic teams: Saturn and Penske,” said Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak. “GM had the vision to create Saturn and has the desire to see it succeed in the future.”

“Saturn has a passionate customer base and outstanding dealer network,” said Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Automotive Group. “For nearly 20 years Saturn has focused on treating the customer right. We share that philosophy, and we want to build on those strengths.”

Saturn began selling cars in 1990 and has sold more than 4 million vehicles. More than 80 percent of those vehicles are still in operation, according to data from R.L. Polk. Saturn has regularly scored among the industry leaders for non-luxury brands in customer satisfaction surveys.

“There has been a groundswell of support for Saturn, with our retailers and owners urging us to save the brand,” said Lajdziak. “We heard their call loud and clear, and it inspired us as we worked to secure Saturn’s future.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the agreement will not be disclosed at this time.

According to MSNBC, General Motors will still be involved in the production of Saturn cars – at least for now. Penske is in talks with global car manufacturers about producing Saturn’s in the future. I’m hoping that the production of the vehicles stays here in the United States with backing from a foreign company. It would be a shame to have the entire production of Saturn’s move off of American soil. I, and a lot of loyal Saturn owners, hope that isn’t the case.

Reaction has been somewhat mixed:

 

Hooray!!!

I love my Saturn and will continue to be faithful to the brand.

That was very smart of Penske. I like knowing that my money will stay in this country.

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I do think this is good news. Penske is an American Company I hope the are successful. I hope the government does not intend to keep a government official on their board. Next the Government needs to sell GM. Our Government does not need to be in the business of selling and producing cars.

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 hope this goes through. Saturn has the big 3 beat in customer service. They deserve to stay alive. I would not trade my Saturn. I have had her for 15 years and she has over 230,000 miles and never any major work just the normal stuff oil changes, tune ups and brake jobs and tires. My dealer comes and gets her and brings her back to my work place and never charges a trip charge you can’t beat that and he even gives her a bath. So I hope this deal goes though I would be lost if my dealer went away. As always just my opinion.

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Have two Saturns, an Ion and a Vue, in my garage. Other than the mpg on the Vue they are great cars. Probably will be trading in the Vue for another within the month. The dealership service in Bakersfield California puts the Ford dealership service to shame. The company I owned had a fleet of Ford Vans. The service from Ford was so poor, I hired a menchanic and we started our own maintenance program. Saved a lot of time and money.

Another great thing about Saturn, almost all their brands are flat-towable meaning they can be towed behind a motor home with no modifications to protect the transmission. Saturn has long been the leader in the flat-towable market although other vehicles are finally catching up.

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I have owned three Saturns with an aggregate of 400,000 miles driven; very good basic cars and require very little maintenance! My hopes are that Penske will make incremental improvements in the product line so that Saturn becomes the pride of American Automotive engineering, production, and quality!

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We bought our Saturn in 2002 & it is a great car. We bought it right after 9/11 & I wanted to buy American; that was and continues to be very important to me. But the other thing that GM never capitalized on was the pricing model. I hate the BS car dealers put you through & I loved that you walked into the Saturn dealer & bought a car just like you buy a quart of milk at the Dairy Barn. I hope Saturn continues this model & advertises it, even if that undermines the pricing model for all the other car dealers.

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This was a bad move on this hoarding swindlers part. Buying a junk brand that is belly up is not an asset- only a liability. Be prepared for more taxpayer money to be handed out to this billionaire in the future.

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Basically Penske is buying a name which he will attach to cars he will buy from wherever he can get a good deal. This is the ultimate comoditization of cars. There will be no heritage or anything else to this line – it is a pure effort to sell cars. Essentially, that means it is everything that is wrong with the American car industry without any heritage or any of the wealth producing value that the industry brings to America when cars are made here. An utterly awful result IMHO.

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are you for real? This will succeed, because this is the largest car company in the nation that will be run by someone with any interest in cars what so ever. Roger Penske is an accomplished racer, team owner, and businessman. This combination gives him pretty good odds on this endeavour, and I for one wish him the best of luck!

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Isn’t this the kind of deal the Republicans are always sounding off on? An entreprenuer sees an opportunity and creates a marketspace for himself by buying another company that’s down on it’s luck. Profits will turn around because the new owners will cut salaries to the bone. Employees have a choice: Work for less or don’t work. That’s raw capitalism for ya.

Oh? Only wealthy people can up and buy other people’s companies? The rich get richer, the working class gets less?

I’m surprised the GOP isn’t on all the shows blaring trumpets about this deal.

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If you grew up in the 1970′s you will remember Zenith & RCA televisions and Bell & Howell flimstrip projectors. Those brands still exist – but all the exist is the name. It is a name used by foreign companies for their low end products. B&H is a particularly sad case as their name is applied to cheap “As seen on TV” junk.

I think that the name Saturn is headed the same way.

Okay so not everybody is happy about this deal, so let me bottom line this for all of you out there who are missing the frosty, cool pitchers of lemonade sitting on the counter and are instead focusing on all the trash bin full of discarded lemons: 13,000 jobs have just been saved.

Scoreboard!

Saturn is going to be around for a long time to come. Roger Penske is a successful businessman and he knows what he is doing, so everyone just needs to sit back, relax and take a deep breath. 13,000 people are going to be able to keep their jobs and in this economy that is important. Now what we need is for not only the company to survive but to actually grow stronger so that they can put more of us unemployed, underemployed and underutilized workers back to work so that we don’t have to ‘rely on the kindness of strangers’ anymore.

I know that Saturn of Boise is going to be moving to Nampa pretty soon, but I think I’ll take a look and see if they are hiring. Hey, if there is one place I would like to be a car salesman – it’s Saturn.

Today is going to be a very good day.