• The Detroit News, Tuesday, May 5, 2009 11:15 AM

Auto tycoon Roger Penske and an investment group based in Ohio are both showing interest in acquiring General Motors' Saturn brand, sources say. Billionaire Penske is the head of Penske Automotive Group, which operates more than 300 franchises globally.

A spokesman for Penske says, "It's very premature to assume anything will be done." Details about the Ohio group are murky but it will reportedly meet with Saturn officials today, Robert Snell reports.

"(Penske's) a shrewd businessman and has proven himself time and again," says analyst Aaron Bragman of IHS Global Insight. But Bragman is skeptical about his -- or anyone's -- ability to turn around the nameplate. "I really don't understand how any group thinks they can make Saturn a success when GM, with all its skills and vehicles and brand power and marketing muscle, could not," he says.

The Ohio group is interested in buying North American factories that might close during the automaker's restructuring and make new vehicles that would be sold under the Saturn name, Snell reports. The only other known suitor to date is Telesto Ventures, which wants to partner with a foreign manufacturer and import vehicles under the Saturn name.

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