GM to sell Saturn brand to Penske dealership chain

// added June 05, 2009 // 1 comment //
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090605/ap_on_re_us/us_gm_saturn_penske

NEW YORK – General Motors Corp. has a tentative deal to sell its Saturn brand to former race car driver and dealership group owner Roger Penske, both companies said Friday.
Penske has signed a memorandum of understanding that would give his dealership chain, Penske Automotive Group, Saturn's 350 dealerships, the companies said. Penske told reporters that he expects to offer all the dealers new franchise agreements and will retain all 13,000 Saturn employees for the immediate term.
Neither Penske nor GM would say how much Penske is paying for the brand. Penske said he expects the deal to close in the third quarter.
Penske Automotive Group also distributes Daimler AG's Smart subcompacts in the U.S., but Smart has its own dealership network and Saturn dealers will continue to exclusively distribute Saturn vehicles, Penske said.
Initially, GM will continue to make cars for Saturn for two years, Penske said. But he also said he is in talks with manufacturers around the world about building Saturn cars in the future.
"We will be we'll be selling as many GM cars — a many GM-produced cars — under the Saturn brand as possible," Penske said.
Penske Automotive owns the second-largest U.S. automobile retail chain by sales. It also owns heavy-duty engine manufacturer Detroit Diesel and has race teams in the IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand-Am series.
Carl F. Galeana, who owns two Saturn dealerships north of Detroit, said Friday he was thrilled that Penske would be the Saturn buyer.
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1 comment // GM to sell Saturn brand to Penske dealership chain

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