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Old 06-09-2009, 08:15 AM
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Roger Penske to Buy Saturn (?)(!)

I heard a little tidbit on the Clark Howard show that (if he buys it) Penske would source all systems and components rather than focusing on every stage of the manufacturing process.

DETROIT (Dow Jones)--Roger Penske, owner of the second-largest U.S. auto retailer, has emerged as another potential bidder for General Motors Corp. (GM)'s struggling Saturn brand, people familiar with the situation said.

Penske owns Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Penske Automotive Group Inc. (PAG), which operates 156 franchises in the U.S. and 148 internationally. A Penske spokesman declined to comment on any interest in Saturn.
News of Penske's interest comes as GM on Monday hired veteran auto industry advisor Stephen Girsky to help sell the Saturn brand by the end of the year.

GM is racing to offload the brand and its dealers as the company tries to avoid being forced into bankruptcy protection alongside Chrysler LLC. The auto maker has until June 1 to convince the Obama administration it can survive outside Chapter 11.

GM said Monday it is reviewing "expressions of interest" from "a number" of potential buyers. Under any Saturn deal, GM would eventually stop providing the vehicles and they would be built by another manufacturer and sold through the Saturn retail chain.

Girsky, a former Morgan Stanley analyst and one-time advisor to departed Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, will help GM evaluate the offers.
GM stock closed flat on Monday, at $1.81 per share. Penske shares finished 1.3% higher at $13.56.

Penske, a billionaire with deep Detroit ties, also has experience developing other brands. His company is the exclusive U.S. distributor of the Smart car produced by Daimler AG. (DAI).

He owns auto-racing team Penske Racing and, recently, he chaired the Detroit Super Bowl XL host committee and brought the game to the Motor City after raising $12 million for the event.

Penske joins at least one other suitor.

A group that includes Oklahoma City-based private equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC came forward last month as potential buyers. A GM spokesman said Monday the company is considering the offer.
The Black Oak group proposed a plan in which it would seek to transform Saturn into a fuel-efficient brand, sell GM vehicles through Saturn's network of U.S. and Canadian dealers, and later add vehicles from other auto makers.

John Pappanastos, who is leading Saturn negotiations for Black Oak, said he is certain the brand will have a buyer

"It's a viable opportunity in this market," Pappanastos said of Saturn. "It will be a low-cost entry point for an auto maker who wants to get into the U.S."

Saturn has lost money since GM launched the brand in 1984 - first marketed as "a different kind of car company" - as a way to fight off competition from foreign competitors, such as Toyota Motor Co. (TM).
Saturn generated much enthusiasm and a reputation for top-notch customer services, but never delivered the competitive edge GM hoped for.

But GM's efforts at reviving the lineup by spending big on fresh vehicles proved insufficient, and the company said it would sell or dismantle Saturn as part of restructuring plans.

The company had hoped to garner interest at least in Saturn's retail network. Saturn dealerships often are newer and more modern than the average GM-brand dealership, and they tend to be stationed in more desirable locales.
-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com.

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Old 06-09-2009, 09:01 AM
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Give that guy ten years, and Saturn could be one of the big three. Possibly competing in motorsports as well.
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Old 06-09-2009, 09:06 AM
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Agreed - that man has the midas touch.
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Old 06-09-2009, 09:22 AM
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Agreed again, he can diversify the brand into almost all segments from Smart to Supercar.
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Old 06-09-2009, 09:31 AM
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I don't know. I think he might be more interested in the dealers than the brand. I read a few days ago that he plans to open the brand to several foreign manufacturers. So different models would be made by different companies. Sounds like a real nightmare in terms of consistency, reliability, and maintainance. What kind of mechanic is going to know how to fix Saturn's car made by Renault, Saturn's car made by Seat, and Saturn's car made by Tata?
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Old 06-09-2009, 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by tankdriver View Post
I don't know. I think he might be more interested in the dealers than the brand. I read a few days ago that he plans to open the brand to several foreign manufacturers. So different models would be made by different companies. Sounds like a real nightmare in terms of consistency, reliability, and maintainance. What kind of mechanic is going to know how to fix Saturn's car made by Renault, Saturn's car made by Seat, and Saturn's car made by Tata?
Probably by the VIN like they do now
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Old 06-09-2009, 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by tankdriver View Post
I don't know. I think he might be more interested in the dealers than the brand. I read a few days ago that he plans to open the brand to several foreign manufacturers. So different models would be made by different companies. Sounds like a real nightmare in terms of consistency, reliability, and maintainance. What kind of mechanic is going to know how to fix Saturn's car made by Renault, Saturn's car made by Seat, and Saturn's car made by Tata?
Don't the Biggish 3 do that already to a degree with cars made by the foreign manufacturers? Mazdas, Isuzus, Toyotas with different fenders and badges?

The gist I got was that it wouldn't necessarily be the entire vehicle built by another company but that they would source the drivetrain from one company, the sheetmetal from another, the electrical system from another, interior components from another, etc. The example that was used was the laptop/PC manufacturers that use components manufactured by someone else. It would allow them to focus on quality control, design and engineering rather than building the cars from the ground up. Parts would be built to meet their spec's so the mechanics would be working from those spec's. I thought it was an intriguing departure from the standard vehicle manufacturing process.
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Old 06-09-2009, 10:58 AM
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I wouldn't mind a Seat or Renault.. even if its a different badge.
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Old 06-09-2009, 11:21 AM
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Originally Posted by tankdriver View Post
I don't know. I think he might be more interested in the dealers than the brand. I read a few days ago that he plans to open the brand to several foreign manufacturers. So different models would be made by different companies. Sounds like a real nightmare in terms of consistency, reliability, and maintainance. What kind of mechanic is going to know how to fix Saturn's car made by Renault, Saturn's car made by Seat, and Saturn's car made by Tata?
You mean like when GM's GEO was made by Suzuki, Toyota, and Isuzu? Worked pretty well for them.
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Old 06-09-2009, 11:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampYankee View Post
Don't the Biggish 3 do that already to a degree with cars made by the foreign manufacturers? Mazdas, Isuzus, Toyotas with different fenders and badges?
For Ford it's a little different - Mazda and Volvo [and formerly Jag & Land Rover] were just divisions of the same company.

Not quite the same as selling Toyotas as Chevys or Izuzus as Hondas
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Old 06-09-2009, 11:29 AM
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Originally Posted by dlevitt View Post
For Ford it's a little different - Mazda and Volvo [and formerly Jag & Land Rover] were just divisions of the same company.

Not quite the same as selling Toyotas as Chevys or Izuzus as Hondas
Gotcha, thanks!
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Old 06-09-2009, 11:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampYankee View Post
Don't the Biggish 3 do that already to a degree with cars made by the foreign manufacturers? Mazdas, Isuzus, Toyotas with different fenders and badges?

The example that was used was the laptop/PC manufacturers that use components manufactured by someone else. It would allow them to focus on quality control, design and engineering rather than building the cars from the ground up. Parts would be built to meet their spec's so the mechanics would be working from those spec's. I thought it was an intriguing departure from the standard vehicle manufacturing process.
The only company that actually builds everything is Peugeot Citroen. They make money, believe it or not, by licensing their suspension systems, which are used in Rolls, Bentley, the super expensive W112(?) VW, Audi and yes, D-B. In the early DB M100s, whenm they were the Adenauer replacement, the bags used didn't work well. All the hydraulic ideas they got from Citroen.

You may not like their styling, and their reliability has increased, but they are the most advanced, diversified and reliable when it comes to suspension.
BTW they are the inventors of the mineral-based hydraulic fluid used in all Euro cars these days. They did it in 1965.
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Old 06-09-2009, 04:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampYankee View Post
Don't the Biggish 3 do that already to a degree with cars made by the foreign manufacturers? Mazdas, Isuzus, Toyotas with different fenders and badges?

The gist I got was that it wouldn't necessarily be the entire vehicle built by another company but that they would source the drivetrain from one company, the sheetmetal from another, the electrical system from another, interior components from another, etc. The example that was used was the laptop/PC manufacturers that use components manufactured by someone else. It would allow them to focus on quality control, design and engineering rather than building the cars from the ground up. Parts would be built to meet their spec's so the mechanics would be working from those spec's. I thought it was an intriguing departure from the standard vehicle manufacturing process.
Perhaps I misread it. Sourcing parts is far different than sourcing built cars. If they source parts though, that means they'll still have to manufacture the cars. That was not mentioned in the article.
Parts are sourced now. My Honda's got a Toyo radiator, Brembo rotors, and NGK spark plugs. Doesn't seem like a departure if all it is is parts.
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Old 06-09-2009, 09:05 PM
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That sounds like a good idea. Saturn is one of the few brands GM had that I thought could go somewhere. It doesn't have a bad rep.

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