| Author | Message | ||
     Bill0351 |
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_land ing_pages/1001/gm-to-sell-saturn-brand-to-penske-d ealership-chain/;_ylc=X3oDMTE3cmhncjFqBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLXRv ZGF5BHNsawNzYXR1cm4tc29sZA-- | ||
| Teddagreek |
6 months after meeting my wife she T-boned a old Van he was hammered... she was doing 40ish... She walked away with just minor air bag burns. She flipped the van Her car didn't even look that messed up... Poor satun gave up its life to save hers... penske did a good thing | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
hhmm interesting thing though is that Saturns only sports car is being discontinued and yet a racer is buying the company I don't understand that move. (Message edited by firebolt020283 on June 05, 2009) | ||
| Swampy |
I remember before they were released I was working for Rochester Products at the proving grounds and they had a couple come in. Very unique with the lost foam casting and intregal cylinder head engine. Just some cool ideas. I remember my little sister buying one not too long after they came out and said the sales experience was remarkable. The brand gets some great gas mileage for the size car they are, along the same mileage figures as a Chevy Aveo but twice the size. Well I hope they are successful. Pontiac, I remember when their slogan was "We Build Excitement" which was laughable at the time especially after dropping the Fiero....oh yeah, there was the Sunbird.... | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I am sad that gm is getting rid of pontiac but then again they have kinda pissed that brand away when they took away all there names and started calling them all g and a number cars. They should not have gotten rid of the grand prix, gto, or firebird/trans-am but oh well I guess they wanted to be like the jap crap cars. also if hummer is going to be a Chinese company what does that do for the military? saabs are ugly cars anyway. | ||
| Bill0351 |
I am wondering how long they will be called Saturn dealers before the name changes to Penske. All I know is that when America starts building better cars than the Japanese, Americans will buy them. I was just looking through Consumer Reports for recommended cars, and along with the usual suspects, there are starting to be several Fords. That hasn't been the case for years. I know the Penske deal is kind of a long-shot for success, but I wish them the best of luck. | ||
| Teddagreek |
hummer is gm AMC makes the humvee | ||
| Davefla |
"also if hummer is going to be a Chinese company what does that do for the military?" Nothing: IIRC, AM General still makes the HMMWV in Indiana and had licensed the right to use the name & appearance to GM. } | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
oh ok I thought they were sold out to gm seeing as how a lot of the parts under the hood say gm. | ||
| Xl1200r |
All I know is that when America starts building better cars than the Japanese, Americans will buy them. Buick has better quality ratings than Lexus. America DOES build better, or at least as good as, cars than the Japanese. The mainstream just refuses to believe it. Consumer reports never made much sense to me. I worked a long time in a garage, and some of the most reliable cars that came through there were never on their "list", even though every Honda with a bad distributor was. Just a couple years ago, they took Toyota off of thier "automoatically recommeneded based solely on brand" list, or whatever it was. I'll keep driving my problem-free Chevy arcoss the country with a smile on my face. You can keep the Toyotas. | ||
| Reepicheep |
My 1995 Saturn SC2 was a better car then the twho honda's that preceeded it. All three were great vehicles. Of course, after the SC and SL series, the Saturns weren't really saturns anymore, they were GM's. Still not awful cars, but they lost the magic. Those lost foam engine blocks were way cool... they looked just like styrofoam, but aluminum colored  | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
never mind I read up on am general and found out that GM just makes the engines for the military versions. | ||
| Teddagreek |
From I understand the deal is a way to legally acuire our manufacturing knowledge and secrets. You think the korean invasion of cars was bad... Brace your selves china will do it even cheaper... | ||
| Hughlysses |
I bought my daughter a used 2001 Saturn L100 w/70k miles on it to take off to college. ~5 years later, it's now at 200k+, looks great, and still runs well. Only weird problem it ever had was a cracked exhaust manifold. Other than that, it's gotten regular oil and tire changes, one tune up, and one serpentine belt. | ||
| Teddagreek |
Anyways back on topic I wish saturn the best | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I do not for one minute belive the hype of jap cars. Show me a jap car that has held up better than my 96 tahoe with almost 200,000 miles and is still running strong. only problem I have had wit it is I had to have the tranny rebuilt at a 150,000 miles and I had a pin hole in the radiator all that said I think that is pretty good for a 12 year old vehicle that I drive the piss out of and abuse all the time. I have owned 3 jap cars one that was brand new with the plastic still on the seats and had nothing but trouble with all 3. every american car I have owned has been good to me. | ||
| Bill0351 |
The danger isn't just that the Chinese will do it cheaper. The Koreans tried that with their first attempt and it haunted them for years. Nobody wants cheap crappy cars. The Koreans have finally figured it out and compete on both price and quality. Our country can do the same thing. We just have to figure out how. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
that Skyy will be missed. completely impractical, but thats what a sportscar is meant to be. | ||
| Swordsman |
Penske also owns the Smart brand (Merc is simply handling distribution). Wonder if that will come into play somehow with Saturn? ~SM | ||
| Gregtonn |
According to the article it looks like Penske only bought the Saturn dealership and parts distribution networks. Imagine what a savvy businessman like Penske could do to improve the Buell dealership/parts networks (currently being run by HD). Buell would then have more than a few dealerships that actually wanted to sell and service them. Maybe Roger and Erik need to have a confab with HD Distribution. G | ||
| Xl1200r |
Keep in mind that Saturn doesn't actually build cars - they're more of a auto brokerage, with GM being their only supplier. With that in mind, they can go out and find any car they want to sell, slap a Saturn badge on it and plop it on the showroom floor. A Smart Saturn, if they are in fact owned by the same people, doesn't seem all that far reaching. | ||
| Guell |
Saturn screwed themselves for selling the same low end economy car for 10 years. Yall can bash on japanese cars all you want, but i know the lexus's ive ridden and driven, have far exceeded the quality of any american car ive been in. No rattles, squeeks. Its quiet and is smooth as buttah. I do wish saturn the best, i know gm had high hopes for that brand when it started out. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Saturn screwed themselves for selling the same low end economy car for 10 years. Yall can bash on japanese cars all you want, but i know the lexus's ive ridden and driven, have far exceeded the quality of any american car ive been in. No rattles, squeeks. Its quiet and is smooth as buttah. I do wish saturn the best, i know gm had high hopes for that brand when it started out. They haven't sold the same car for 10 years. I don't think Saturn's progress has been any more or less than what should be expected for any car make. I find that a Lexus is no better or worse than basically any other comperably proced domestic vehicle. Squeaks, rattles, performance, MPG, whatever. And how can you quantify that statement? I don't know what American cars you've been in lately. Have you ridden in a late model Caddy or Lincoln? I think you'd be surprised. My girlfriend's 1998 Honda Civic hatchback is nicer than any Rolls Royce I've driven. | ||
| Guell |
Saturns first car was very much unchanged for 10 years. You cant tell me that helped the company. Yea lincolns are just as nice, i dont think as highly of caddy or any gm car, but thats just my opinion. Just goes to prove that a lot of americans still dont think american auto makers make as good a car. Btw, i do drive a ford for my daily and a buell. Im all for american products. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
Who's gonna drive the Penske Saturn NASCAR?? | ||
| Wheelybueller |
Bummed I am,I really wanted a SKY,I hope GM will still build it under the Buick,Chevy banner. I wish Saturn the best,I'm a loyal GM guy My 01 Silverado has 150K and my daughters 99 Sunfire has 225k neither vehicle has been down for anything other than normal maintanance,normal wear items.  just my .02 | ||
| Froggy |
Its dead, the plant is closing. | ||
| Wheelybueller |
Like the Buell MX bike I can still dream | ||
| Froggy |
Except the Buell MX prototype will be in a barn 20 years from now  | ||
| Weatherman |
the wife's saturn ion commutes 80-100 miles every workday has over 100k on the clock and still feels new with good room and reasonably good economy for the size of the car. i think saturn sold the same basic car for so long was to break the new every 2 mindset and have something of recognizable lasting value that a cult like following( think vw bug) could understand- simple to work on , reliable, relatively inexpensive, unparalleled buying experience. |
