BREAKING: GM will phase out Saturn "This Year"

More news out of GM this morning. In addition to the announcement that the Pontiac brand is dead, GM has announced that the death/spin-off of Saturn will take place by the end of this year. This means that Saturn dealerships had better get a deal ratified with an investor ASAP or GM will be pulling the plug on the division. Initially GM said that they would fund Saturn through the end of 2012, but the "accelerated" plan announced this morning has changed that to 2009.

GM also states that resolutions to Hummer and Saab will come by the end of 2009 as well. Everything is happening quickly at GM today. -Nsap

The following quotes are from The New York Times:

9:30 a.m.| Hummer, Saab and Saturn G.M. expects to have a buyer for Hummer but would not build its vehicles past 2009, Mr. Henderson said. G.M. anticipates it could be building Saabs for whomever ends up buying the Swedish brand. Saturn production will be phased out by 2009 unless there is a successful offer on the table that might justify assembly beyond 2009, but right now “that offer isn’t on the table, at least one we would consider successful.”


ItÂ’s worth noting that SaturnÂ’s expiration date has been vastly accelerated since G.M. first said it was going to phase out the brand. It originally said that Saturn would go away in 2012; now it is going away by the end of this year. That means Saturn wonÂ’t even celebrate its 20th birthday, which would have fallen next year.

UPDATE FROM AUTOMOTIVE NEWS:

GM accelerates Saturn shutdown to this year

Richard Truett
Automotive News
April 27, 2009 - 9:37 am ET

General Motors plans to build the last Saturn vehicles this year, two years earlier than planned, as it speeds up plans to shed dealerships and divisions, CEO Fritz Henderson said today.

The Saturn brand still may survive if GM can sell it to another automaker or investor, but GM no longer will build vehicles for Saturn after the 2009 model year, Henderson said on a conference call.

In its Feb. 17 plan submitted to the U.S. auto task force, GM planned to build Saturn vehicles through 2011. Under a revised plan announced today, GM will shed Pontiac next year, leaving the automaker with just four U.S. brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac GMC and Buick.

Henderson also said that GM no longer will build Hummer vehicles after the current model year.


GM has begun talks to sell Saturn to a private equity group working with Saturn dealers.

"If a sale of Saturn does not occur, we intend to phase out the Saturn brand by the end of 2009," GM said in its government filing today.

"As a result, our current Viability Plan does not comprehend production and sales to dealers of Saturn products beyond 2009."

Earlier this month, an investor group called Telesto Ventures said it wants to acquire Saturn's retail operations and provide dealers with vehicles from GM through 2011 and from mostly overseas manufacturers thereafter. A GM spokesman called the group's proposal legitimate and "very interesting." He said there also were other parties interested in Saturn.

A Telesto spokesman said his group was in discussions with several unidentified foreign manufacturers.

He said Telesto, which was formed specifically for the Saturn venture, encompasses a private equity firm, Black Oak Partners LLC, of Oklahoma City, and several other investors. It's unclear how much money is backing Telesto and what automotive experience it has.

Dealer reaction

John Danielson, sales manager at Saturn of the Lakes north of Orlando, Fla., said he has 100 new Saturns in stock. The store sold only eight new Saturns last month. Monday's announcement confirmed a rumor Danielson said he heard last week.

"Business is very tough right now. Our new and used is down 50 percent over last year," said Danielson. Some deals for new cars that have not yet been delivered are now in danger of falling through because of GM's announcement Monday that no new Saturns will be built after the 2009 model year.

Danielson, who worked at the store when it was an Oldsmobile dealership, said he expects GM to come out with new incentives to persuade customers to buy the final models.

YES! This day just keeps on getting better and better!

better selling lines with the Ion