Roger Penske buys Saturn

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http://www.indystar.com/article/20090611...ew+car+universe

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090605-706741.html

I think that is great news!

See, this is what will happen to GM eventually when the "real" bankruptcy happens (lets face it, the current deal is still nothing but government intervention and propping up of GM with no substance) - each brand with potential going concern will be sold to 3rd parties who will continue making cars.

I still don't buy the argument that GM bankruptcy will kill the entire US auto industry and parts suppliers. If anything, a complete revamp of the US auto industry, save for Ford, will make things MUCH better in the future for everyone.
 
GM won't make it. They have no partnerships to speak of going forward. At least Chrysler will have Fiat to lean on.
 
You may be correct, Drew. Business as usually cannot continue.

There are going to be challenges. I can't imagine PAG having the clout to manage economies of scale ..but that's not a mandate. He won't have the same engineering pool, nor the R&D capability that GM had. PAG will be more impacted by regulatory changes without having the lobby clout to combat them.

PAG will be liberated to NOT have to produce cars to pay bills.
 
I just hope they don't cheap out after the 2 year deal with GM and start buying cars from some craap manufacturer like Deawoo!

With Penske, maybe they could transition Saturn into more of a small performance type brand, similar to Mazda. Americans are ready, and will need fuel efficient cars, but they won't give up performance.
 
Originally Posted By: Gilitar
GM won't make it. They have no partnerships to speak of going forward. At least Chrysler will have Fiat to lean on.


They don't need a "partner". GM is a global business. They have mfr facilities, design studios, and business units all over the world. In terms of sales they are still one of the largest companies in the world. A partner would only serve to consume GM's resources, which they don't have to give.

GM partners with other companies when it works for all parties. They partner with Toyota in NUMMI. They partner with BMW and Mercedes on hybrid development. They tried to partner with Fiat and that ended a nightmare. GM doesn't need it unless it's clear it works for them.
 
Originally Posted By: bretfraz
Gilitar said:
They don't need a "partner".


Haaaaaaaaaaaa!
smirk2.gif


The US government isn't one ginormous partner to GM?

They need all the partners they can get - ones with LOTS and LOTS of money. Manufacturing equipment, resources, and facilities doesn't mean squat if there aren't brains and money behind them.
 
You are forgetting the one major resource issue that will help "alleviate" GM and remove some burden from them.

R&D. With Penske shopping around the world to find vehicles etc it will remove some of the leg work off GM. They will be given specifications for the vehicles to build them, they no longer need to research and develop models for Saturn, just manufacture them. R&D removal will save GM millions of dollars if not a few billion. This is good news and GM will be able to breath a little easier. That and the selling of the brand and other brands.

GM sold Saturn, Hummer and Saab. They are jettisoning weight from the sinking ship but also building themselves up.
 
So lets see if I understand,he bought the name and dealerships.
No factories.
He can call anything "Saturn"
Will he rebadge whatever sells slow? for example before Ford renamed the 500 Taurus it was a abysmal seller, so along comes Penske 'hand em over' I'll call em Saturn 500........
 
Originally Posted By: Anies
You are forgetting the one major resource issue that will help "alleviate" GM and remove some burden from them.

R&D. With Penske shopping around the world to find vehicles etc it will remove some of the leg work off GM. They will be given specifications for the vehicles to build them, they no longer need to research and develop models for Saturn, just manufacture them. R&D removal will save GM millions of dollars if not a few billion. This is good news and GM will be able to breath a little easier. That and the selling of the brand and other brands.

GM sold Saturn, Hummer and Saab. They are jettisoning weight from the sinking ship but also building themselves up.


If Penske bought Saturn (for I assume a one-time fee), how does this translate into money saved in R&D for GM?

It is a one-time temporary influx of capital that will soon be depleted due to the rate GM is burning through money.....
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Anies
You are forgetting the one major resource issue that will help "alleviate" GM and remove some burden from them.

R&D. With Penske shopping around the world to find vehicles etc it will remove some of the leg work off GM. They will be given specifications for the vehicles to build them, they no longer need to research and develop models for Saturn, just manufacture them. R&D removal will save GM millions of dollars if not a few billion. This is good news and GM will be able to breath a little easier. That and the selling of the brand and other brands.

GM sold Saturn, Hummer and Saab. They are jettisoning weight from the sinking ship but also building themselves up.


If Penske bought Saturn (for I assume a one-time fee), how does this translate into money saved in R&D for GM?

It is a one-time temporary influx of capital that will soon be depleted due to the rate GM is burning through money.....


Because GM WILL NOT BE doing the R&D. They don't need to spend money on another divisions R&D. Body styles etc. Penkse will shop the world. Think of videogames, developers and publishers. Some companies will "license" games that are already developed and "translate" them to a specific region, ala the Final Fantasy games(this is an analogy).

They don't have to pay designers, craftsmen etc to build, shape and market the vehicles. Also they do not need to do marketing analysis and trends. This all is on top of the "lump sum" Penske gives them. They make money on selling the brand, and save money in the interum.

This cuts costs. Another consideration to take into account this is also the same for Hummer and Saab. They do not have to fund the development of these models so their bottom line isn't affected anymore by them.
 
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I think the Penske Saturn deal will work, IF he can get some really GOOD product.

I see GM selling him various Opel products like the Astra and Corsa.

There are quite a number of nice products from Renault to choose from but I don't see the Korean SSyoung versions as desirable really. Maybe the Koreans will be building versions of the French market products for the USA. Hmmm.
 
They should really look into using some of the Opel products.

The Opel Astra and Insignia are up there. Their Opel counterparts produce better interiors than the domestic versions.
 
Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
When universal healthcare comes to the U.S, the GM retirees and workers can queue up to get attention like the rest of us. The union, however, will have a windfall from the healthcare trust fund.


Well, then. That's enough reason right there to make sure that national health insurance never comes around. It's worth 10-20X as much in medical costs to assure that those stinking pinko socialist commie central committee freeloaders don't get a dime of that $30B trust fund.

It's "cut off your nose to spite your face," meaning to "Disadvantage yourself in order to do harm to an adversary. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations lists this proverb as "mid 16th century - mid 14th century in French". I wouldn't doubt them but the earliest citation I can find in print is much later. Grose's 1796 edition of the 'Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue' explains it thus:

"He cut off his nose to be revenged of his face. Said of one who, to be revenged on his neighbour, has materially injured himself."

aka: Be very careful what you wish for in the fit of passion.
 
Originally Posted By: Anies
They should really look into using some of the Opel products.

The Opel Astra and Insignia are up there. Their Opel counterparts produce better interiors than the domestic versions.


Even the current Opel Corsa puts the potential Chevy Viva model to shame in the exterior and interior styling and quality contest. The Daewoo designed Viva looks cheap and silly to me.

I wouldn't doubt that the Opel Insignia might be seen in the Saturn showrooms. Buick will have a version of this car called the LaCrosse. It is OK but the styling is too chromed and tacky for me as in the interior which while better than recent Buicks still looks cheap compared to the Insignia model from Opel. I think Penske and GM would greatly benefit from their models continuing to be sold in Saturn showrooms.
 
Roger has succeeded in EVERY business venture that he has taken on. My father retired from his org and the things that I learned from him discussing the Penske way I'm still using in my business as universal truths...the man knows what he is doing PERIOD! Saturn will no longer be the [censored] stepchild to add expenses to from weak development efforts in LATAM, China and India. They (Saturn) were more vertically integrated than any other GM owned brand and will also have the fortune of being the brand that has the most differentiation from the GM line...come on we all knew that oldsmobile, chevrolet, pontiac and buick (no I'm NOT going to give them the luxury of capitalization) were old school clones of other GM brands. Saturn did not have the same legacy and located many of their operations outside of the UAW strongholds. All and all I wish Roger luck because that guy has done more for keeping jobs here than any other American entrepreneur that I can think of...please let me know of someone else I should give props too!!
 
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Saturn made it's rep with the s-series. IDK total production but at peak 350k per year... call it 3 million cars, +/- over the 12 year run.

Penske bought that reputation at $30-60 per car. Cheap, IMO!

I could see something working if he bought ecotec drivetrains from GM, complete to the catalytic convertors and fuel pump /charcoal system, EPA certified, and a body from somewhere else.
 
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