Saturn, No More...Dead and Gone

Poor Saturn. Our sympathies to all Saturn owners.

From Automotove News:

General Motors Co. said it will begin to phase out Saturn -- the car company conceived more than 25 years ago to fend off imports -- after potential buyer Penske Automotive Inc. failed to secure a source of vehicles to keep the brand afloat.

“We will be winding down the Saturn brand and dealership network,” GM said in a statement today. "This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality.”

Penske had been in discussions with unidentified automakers around the world to develop a product portfolio for Saturn after a sale by GM. The retailer had negotiated terms of an agreement to source vehicles from another automaker, but the automaker’s board rejected the deal, Penske said.

“Without that agreement,” Penske said in a statement, “the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit” the vehicle distributor from moving ahead with the deal.

A source familiar with the negotiations told Automotive News that it was France’s Renault SA that had decided not to work with Penske.

In July, Renault said it had been approached by Roger Penske, CEO of Penske Automotive, about supplying vehicles to Saturn. Earlier reports suggested that Penske Automotive might buy vehicles from Renault’s Korean unit, Renault Samsung Motors, for Saturn.

13,000 jobs at stake

GM said it will determine and communicate to dealers how it plans to wind down the Saturn brand and dealership network “shortly.”

Saturn customers and owners will continue to be able to purchase and have their vehicles serviced at Saturn retailers during this process, GM said. Once the wind-down is complete, Saturn owners will be able to have their vehicles serviced at other GM dealerships.

GMAC Financial Services said in a statement that it will continue to provide financing options to Saturn dealers and customers during the wind-down.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy in July, had said it aimed to finalize the agreement with Penske in the third quarter -- a deal it had said could preserve more than 350 franchises and 13,000 jobs.

As part of its bid for federal rescue loans, GM on Dec. 2 told Congress that it may sell Saturn in order to focus on four core brands. At the time, GM also said it would turn Pontiac into a niche brand. It, like Saturn, is scheduled to be shut down.

Months of ‘limbo’ time

Dealer George Nahas has been through the brand-closing trauma before. Nahas, owner of two Saturn stores in Alabama and Florida, owned an Oldsmobile dealership in 2000 when GM killed that brand.

He says this latest news is disappointing, but it at least provides clarity for his future.

“We’ve been in limbo since Dec. 2,” Nahas said. “The brand has been damaged since then. Penske buoyed our spirits and our hopes. Our spirits were high because we thought the Penske deal was going to go through. At least now we know what it is, and we know what our destiny is, right? We can act accordingly.”

Nahas says he has some import brands that want him to carry their products. “I guess I’ll be selling the competition.”

Golden touch

Detroit industrial hero Roger Penske, 72, had proposed stepping into the unprecedented role of taking over a doomed brand without owning a single auto plant.

GM had agreed to continue selling Penske three Saturn models -- the Aura, Vue and Outlook -- for two more years. After that, Penske would have to put together a portfolio of new products from wherever he could source them.

The white-haired Penske is a familiar face in U.S. racing circles. Penske’s firm also rescued Detroit Diesel Corp. two decades ago after GM decided to sell off that business. It also acquired and restored motor speedways around the country.

Penske Automotive is the nation’s second-largest automotive retailer, with new-vehicle retail sales of 171,872 units in 2008, according to the Automotive News Data Center. It also distributes the Smart ForTwo, made by Mercedes-Benz, in the United States.

John Pitre, general manager of Saturn of Bakersfield in California, said, “If Roger didn’t think it would work, then it won’t work.”

Buick to Get Two-Mode Plug-In Hybrid (Originally For Saturn Vue)

Clay Model of Buick Two-Mode Plug-In Hybrid






It appears that the plug-in Saturn Vue will be resurrected as a Buick CUV (crossover utility vehicle). We had waited patiently for years for the Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid, but were met with interminable delays and then the sale of the entire brand to Penske. The Saturn Vue plug-in was not going to be a huge deal as it only offered about 10 miles of EV driving but at least that was a step in the right direction. We now find out that Buick will take over and hopefully bring the two-mode hybrid vehicle to market in 2010.

A tip of the hat to GM-Volt.com for this story:

Since 2006, GM has been developing a front-wheel drive 2-mode plugin hybrid (PHEV) vehicle. The 2-mode plugin Saturn VUE was to be that car but bankruptcy and divestment of the Saturn brand has ended that plan.

GM’s contract negotiations with Penske could in theory enable that car to still be built and sourced, however that is highly unlikely.

Yet GM has said it still plans to put the plug-in 2-mode powertrain into a production vehicle but hasn’t said which one. Development work is ongoing.

Writers have speculated the new Chevrolet Equinox which gets 32 mpg highway using a direct injection 4 cylinder engine would be the likely host for the powertrain. Other speculation includes the new GMC Terrain or Cadillac SRX.

All wrong.

GM-Volt.com has learned the new vehicle will be a Buick.

GM has designed a new small crossover (CUV) Buick which has yet to be named or unveiled. Footage of a clay model of the vehicle was leaked when CBS news filmed an interview with GM VP of Design Ed Welburn, and is shown above.

This new car shares the same platform the Saturn VUE uses and therefore is properly configured for the 2-mode hybrid and plug-in 2 mode hybrid drivetrain. The body design will be unique.

It is expected the car will make its appearance in 2011.

GM Looking At Offers for Saturn While Fiat Contemplates GM Europe Acquisition in Addition to Chrysler

General Motors issued a short statement announcing that it is proceeding to the next step with respect to the sale of Saturn.

A number of potential buyers have surfaced and expressed interest in the Saturn brand and retailer network. GM said it will be reviewing expressions of interest from the potential buyers and will look to secure an agreement with a specific buyer later this year.

Separately, Fiat said on Sunday that it was exploring the possibility of merging its auto business and interest in Chrysler with GM Europe to create a large automotive group with more than $100 billion.

The Detroit News reported that sources familiar with the negotiations say GM would have a stake in the new company grouping Fiat, Chrysler and GME operations if a deal were concluded. With annual sales of roughly 6 million cars and trucks, the group would be one of the top three or four in the world.

GM declined to comment on the prospects for a Fiat-GM Europe tie up.

Source: Green Car Congress

GM Will Lose 25% of its Hybrid Vehicles When Saturn Closes

When General Motors closes down Saturn later this year, it will lose just over a quarter of its sales of fuel-saving hybrids -- the type of vehicles that the Obama administration wants automakers to build more of.

This is not what GM needs right now if they are going to change their image. Not only will they lose the Saturn hybrids, they will also lose some of their most fuel efficient lineup.

And it's not yet clear how the end of Saturn affects GM's ability to meet toughening corporate average fuel economy standards. Because Saturn does not offer a V-8 engine or have trucks or body-on-frame SUVs, it is GM's most fuel-efficient North American division.

Saturn currently sells mild hybrid versions of the Saturn Vue crossover and Aura sedan and last year was second in total hybrid sales among GM's divisions. Chevrolet, with sales of 5,838 hybrids was No. 1.

Saturn had planned to add a more advanced hybrid version of the Vue this summer. But that vehicle, which uses a front-wheel-drive version of GM's acclaimed Two Mode transmission, is now canceled. So is the plug-in version of the Vue, which had been due in 2010.

GM said today that all Saturn production will end with the 2009 model year.

GM does not break out sales of its hybrids. But the National Renewable Energy Laboratory does track sales of individual models. In 2008, GM sold 11,454 hybrids, of which 3,205 were Saturns. The rest were hybrid versions of the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe.

No technology transfer plans

A source with knowledge of GM hybrid plans said hybrid powertrains won't migrate immediately to any of GM's four surviving brands: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.

"There will be no technology transfer from Saturn," the source said. "There is a lot of doubt internally as to what comes to production. Everything is in the air. Everything goes through the government."

But Mark LaNeve, GM's North American sales chief, said today that Saturn's hybrid technology could end up in any of the company's four surviving brands.

"Any of the four core brands could get our technology," LaNeve told Automotive News. "There's not a hybrid in Saturn that is exclusive to Saturn. Nothing changes there, unless someone who buys Saturn says we want us to continue building hybrids for this brand and we agree to do it."

After Saturn is discontinued, GM will offer the Chevrolet Malibu mild hybrid and Two Mode versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups as well as the three full-sized Two Mode SUVs.

The fwd version of the Two Mode now likely will not be produced until 2011, said the GM source, who is familiar with the company's hybrid plans. GM officials are deciding which division, Buick or GMC, will get the fwd Two Mode transmission.

The mild hybrid system provides a slight boost upon acceleration and offers a stop-start feature. GM's mild hybrids offer about a 20 percent fuel economy gain. The Two Mode version can drive the vehicle on electric power alone and would have delivered a fuel economy gain of at least 30 percent.

CAFE average won't take big hit

John O'Dell, an analyst at Edmunds.com who tracks green cars, said the loss of Saturn's hybrids might hurt GM's CAFE average initially. But the hit would not be too harsh because GM is also phasing out its Hummer and Pontiac brands, which have several models that get poor fuel economy.

"They've made it clear from their recovery plan that the Chevrolet Volt is GM's fuel economy future," O'Dell said. "We know GM has many more vehicles than the Volt in its arsenal that has a Volt-style extended-range powertrain."

O'Dell said he expects GM to deploy some of Saturn's hybrid powertrains in other vehicles.

Dan Becker, director of the nonprofit Safe Climate Campaign in Washington, told Automotive News that GM could not rely only on its plug-in hybrid Volt car, due to launch at the end of next year, because its impact on the market will be "minuscule."

GM will have to come up with new fuel-efficient models to try to keep pace with Toyota, Honda and Ford, among others, Becker said.

Source: Automotive News

GM Posts a Staggering Loss of $9.6 Billion in the 4th Quarter of 2008.

GM World Headquarters





General Motors burned through $6.2 billion in cash during the fourth quarter in posting this massive loss and is even now in talks with the Obama administration requesting more money.

The nation's biggest domestic automaker lost $30.9 billion for all of 2008 as it struggled against a U.S. sales slump and a global recession.

For the fourth quarter, GM says it lost $15.71 per share, compared with a loss of $722 million, or $1.28 per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding special items, The Detroit company's loss was $9.65 per share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a loss of $7.40 per share.

Since December, GM has received $13.4 billion in US Government loans and is now asking for an additional $30 billion. One has to wonder if they even have a chance of recovering sufficiently to ever repay the loans. Auto sales are still down for 2009 with no relief in sight and GM has no real plan for a comeback, in my opinion. Will anyone step up and buy the Hummer brand or will Saturn be able to spin itself off from the parent? What is GM going to do short-term to staunch the flow of cash? Another quarter like this past one would have them on life support.

GM Announces Layoffs and Deeper Production Cuts

More bad news today for our ailing US economy. General Motors stated that it will lay off 2,000 workers at two of its plants and will further cut production in response to continuing sluggish sales. All of the jobs will be cut from two facilities, one in Lordstown, Ohio and one in Delta Township, Michigan.

General Motors has received about $13 billion in federal loans over the past month or so but it appears uncertain how they intend to prove to Washington that they can reverse the current sales trend. Could it be that the US populace has lost its infatuation with the automobile? Certainly in hard economic times, the last thing people really need is a new vehicle. At any rate, these announcements will affect production for the first two quarters of 2009.

From Automotive News:

"General Motors will cut about 2,000 jobs at two plants and plans periodic shutdowns at about half of its 19 U.S. factories as consumers continue to shun new vehicles.

The automaker will eliminate one shift at the end of the quarter at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant and its Lansing Delta factory in Delta Township, Mich.

The cuts mean a loss of about 800 jobs in Lordstown, where workers make the compact Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5. The Delta Township plant will lose about 1,200 workers, who make the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers.

In addition, GM will stop production intermittently at nine other U.S. plants and one Canadian factory for "some number" of weeks in the first and second quarters, GM spokesman Chris Lee said today.

The production cuts stem from depressed sales, Lee said. This month GM lowered its 2009 industry sales forecast to 10.5 million vehicles from a projection as high as 12 million in December.

"We're just aligning production with market demand," Lee said. "Nobody was able to buy any cars," he said, referring to the credit crunch that has deepened the U.S. recession.

The Lordstown plant ramped up from two shifts to three last summer as soaring gasoline prices increased sales of compact cars. But in November GM said it would return the plant to two shifts Feb. 2.

The changes announced today mean Lordstown will drop to one shift April 6, with the first and second shifts working alternate weeks starting Feb. 9.

The Delta Township plant's two shifts will alternate starting Feb. 2, with the reduction to a single shift going into effect March 30.

GM began 2009 with a 102-day supply of new vehicles, down from a 139-day stock Dec. 1. GM's figure is higher than the Jan. 1 industry average of 94 vehicles, which in turn is 50 percent higher than the level considered normal.

GM sold 3 million vehicles in the United States last year, down from 3.8 million in 2007. The industrywide total last year was 13.2 million, following fourth-quarter sales rates that dropped to 26-year lows."