Mike Rowand, facility manager at Saturn of Jackson, said if anyone can save the Saturn automobile brand, it’s Roger Penske.
On June 5, Penske entered into a memorandum of understanding with General Motors to purchase the Saturn name, its dealerships and certain assets from the bankrupt automaker. If finalized, the agreement will put the Saturn automobile line under one of the world’s most successful car dealers and parts suppliers in automotive history. Penske owns Detroit Diesel, and the largest car distributorship in the United Kingdom. He is also the same Penske that owns NASCAR and Indy car racing teams.
Still, Penske faces an uphill battle to save Saturn.
Saturn originally was developed as its own entity when it debuted in 1990…Â Details
Roger Penske, known for his successful racing teams, in addition to being the nation’s second-largest auto dealer, has struck a tentative deal to buy the Saturn brand from General Motors. USA TODAY spoke with Penske on Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.
Q: What’s the next step in your acquisition of Saturn?
A: The next step is to close the transaction, which we hope to do at the end of the third quarter. We’ll be dealing with GM on future product. Then we have the opportunity to source product from around the world as we go into future years. First, we’re putting an organization together and closing the transaction. The great news is that we have 350 dealerships that will be alive and well and will not have to be shut down. I think that’s a real by-product of this. For me personally…Â Details
Roger Penske never made it big as a race car driver. As a businessman, however, he regularly leaves the competition in the dust.
Referred to in racing circles as “The Captain,” Penske is the most successful team owner in Indy car racing history and his automotive empire includes hundreds of car dealership franchises, a truck leasing business and a successful NASCAR team.
Now the 72-year-old Penske is taking on perhaps the biggest challenge of his career: turning around the Saturn passenger car brand after reaching a tentative agreement to buy it from General Motors. Given Penske’s competitive streak and record of success, people who have worked with him and raced against him expect he’ll pull it off…Â Details
Are you like me? Did you grow up dreaming of power, the open road and individual automotive freedom? Of course you did. But the dream is over. President Obama has smashed it into a million little Tata Nano-shaped pieces.
The new fuel economy and emissions regulations proposed by the Obamanation on Tuesday won’t save much fuel and won’t save the planet, but they will crush the life out of the car business. From here on out, cars are going to shrink in size, shrivel in power and grow more expensive.
With a goal of a corporate fleet average of 39 mpg for cars by 2016 model year it’s not just V8s that are dead, but V6s and decent-size fours. Of course all the SUVs and the Camaro, Mustang and Corvette as we know them are doomed, that’s obvious, but so are reasonably size minivans, midsize sedans like the Accord and Camry, and anything fun. Think …Â Details