Font Resize
For those who expected General Motors' once-funky Saturn brand to live on with a new owner, there has been a sad twist: Saturn, once billed as a different kind of car company, appears as dead as Pontiac and Oldsmobile.
At the brand's 350 remaining dealers around the country, which includes three locations in Utah, there were high hopes the previously announced deal by GM to sell the brand to former race car driver and auto industry magnate Roger Penske would be completed.
Instead, Penske Automotive Group Inc. said this week it is walking away from the deal. As a result, GM said it would stop producing Saturns as soon as possible.
Jeff Wetzel, owner of Saturn of Salt Lake and Saturn of Riverdale, said in a statement issued Thursday that he fully expected the Penske sale to be completed and that he and his employees were shocked and devastated that the deal fell through.
"Despite the wind down of the brand, [we] will not close immediately," he said.
Wetzel noted his dealerships are the only facilities in northern Utah where Saturn owners can have warranty work completed. In addition, both stores will continue to sell new and used inventory and offer service and parts.
There is one other dealership in Utah, Saturn of St. George.
"We in a little better position than most other Saturn dealers in that we have some other options available to us," said Tyler Conder, the chief financial officer of the Henderson,
He said the Findlay group already was looking for locations in the southwest Utah city for new Volkswagen and Kia dealerships.
"We'll keep the Saturn dealership open for the next couple of months," he said. "And we're expecting to see some decent business from those people who may want to buy some of the last new Saturns that will ever be available."
After that, the Findlay group will convert its St. George Saturn location into either a Volkswagen or Kia store, which will give the approximately 25 employees who now are there a new place to go to work.
Saturn was set up in 1990 to fight growing Japanese imports. Instead of celebrating a rebirth, this week's failed-deal announcement sent dealers scrambling for ways to stay open and preserve about 13,000 jobs.
Saturn, officially launched in 1990, featured the iconic tag line "a different kind of car company" and people were attracted by its low-key showrooms and no-haggle pricing.
GM's hope was that Saturn, with its dent-free plastic panels, would attract younger buyers with smaller, hipper cars. It built a new plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., devoted to Saturn vehicles.
Despite a cult-like following that drew thousands to annual reunions in Spring Hill, the brand never made money, although the company has never disclosed how much it invested or lost.
Tribune reporter Steve Oberbeck contributed to this story.
