General Motors was blindsided by businessman Roger Penske's decision to scuttle his acquisition of the Saturn brand, Tim Higgins reports, and the news sent shockwaves throughout the organization. "I
would say it's fair to characterize this as a stunning and surprising turn of events," said one person within GM who worked on the deal.
GM had expected to announce the details of final
deal today but Penske first needed to agree on a deal with the Renault-Nissan alliance to build vehicles for the Saturn dealers after GM stopped manufacturing the autos. According to Penske, a deal
was agreed upon but the manufacturer's board of directors rejected it.
"Without that agreement, the company has determined that the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of
future products prohibit the company from moving forward with this transaction," Penske said.
Although some Saturn dealers remained optimistic that the announcement was part of a
negotiating tactic, a GM spokesman held out little hope that the brand could survive and the automaker expects all the dealerships to be closed by the end of next year. Owners will be able to have
their vehicles serviced at remaining GM dealerships, and the company plans to continue to provide parts.
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at Detroit Free Press »