Penske buys Saturn
 

Now this is the way it's supposed to work.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=a2P.Fzk2jR4g

Saturn is far more successful than GM ever gave them credit for...why GM didn't save Saturn and dump so many of their other gas-hog brands is beyond me, but then again...they fought the CAFE since the 1960s.

I gather that GM will continue building the Saturns as Penske has bought the dealerships. He has two years to find another builder and that all seems strange to me. What is wrong with the people building them now?

That has be a bit puzzled too. Why not Keep those people working and let penske buy the plants as well. Who knows maybe he don't want em.

GM plants
 

Well, he did manage to pony up 200 mil., not too sure just how deep his pockets are. As to keeping the people working, I'd try to subcontract the work to the existing plants first.

I suppose time will tell how he plays his hand,
Chas

We don't have TV anymore, but our radio just said Saturn is dead .. and for good ... and Saturn is now to be a thing of the past. Bet the Saturn workers here ain't happy at all. Jobs ain't easy to come by. :(

Well, I guess we now know how he played his hand, just wonder what went wrong.

Chas

Penske offered to look after the dealerships if someone could be found to build the Saturn. No one stepped up to the plate and dealerships without a car to sell does not seem viable.

13000 more jobs down the tubes today


Just think how bad it would have been without the stimulus.:p

Wonder if any Chinese car companies will swoop in over the carcass...

Good question, heck they had just re-tooled everything for some really trick looking cars. Too little too late I guess.

So where are all those entrepreneurial free marketers?

Sounds to me like the private sector failed.

Either taxed to death or owned by Obama.

:rolleyes:

yeah, that's what it is :cool:

Yep, time for Obama & Co to build cars. It realy worked for Yugoslavia & Russia, wonderful cars.

Companies going out of business is the private sector working, not failing.

Pete

you are not very rational politically speaking are you?

Yeah. I want that logic making my health care decisions.

But we pay too much for health care?

Pete

Personally, I think that Penske Group figured out that they were buying nothing but blue sky, while the means of production for their product was controlled by their competitor.

Personally, I wouldn't pay 200 mil to be a sharecropper.

Chas

If the gummint has as much control of GM as we think they do, they would do well to order the release of manufacturing assets (plants, property, and tooling) as part of the sale.

As long as GM holds all the cards, they're just going to keep shooting themselves in the foot.

I just got a flyer from the dealership where I bought my Saturn. They will close their doors tomorrow.:( Hell, I did my part, I bought two of them within a month. (My first one got totalled by an out of control Mustang. My car was vacant.)

Regards,

D-Ray

Penske's bright idea was to have Nissan use it's excess capacity to build the new "saturns". GM was never gonna play a part in it in the long term.

As far as government involvement in the auto industry, the Japanese have been doing it for 50 years, and it has worked just fine for them. Certainly no free market in Japan.

Interesting to have an international perspective here. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

I should know this, but I don't - are any of Japan's industries unionized?

Regards,

D-Ray

Hi, everyone. First post here.

Another report was that Penske had approached Renault (which owns 40 odd percent of Nissan) as his manufacturing partner. Whoever it was, they didn't bite so Roger was left without a source for vehicles once GM shut the lines down next year.

And, speaking of Renault, the French government had a stake that company it until 1996 when they re-privatized it. The government intervened in the early '80s to stave off Renault's imminent collapse. The directors they appointed turned the company around.

Just as with the Swedish banking system, temporary nationalization of key industries can work wonders if done correctly.

John