Saturn and Hummer won’t disappear with just a whimper. The two General Motors Co. brands that will soon only be a part of history have been given boosts in the assembly line. Last month, GM rolled out 1,037 Saturn Outlooks after failing to make any Saturns since October.

GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter explained that the company is building the last of the Saturns “to utilize existing material.” GM will produce Outlooks for a few more weeks. With regards to Hummers, an order had come in from a fleet company asking for 849 Hummer H3s and H3Ts. That is why on April 12, the Hummer line in Shreveport, La., will restart. It’s expected that these Hummers will be done by May 13. It can be recalled that Hummer production stopped in January.

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Tags:car news, Hummer, Saturn
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If you were a Saturn owner, would General Motors Co.’s offer of up to $2,000 in incentives to buy from its other brands interest you? This deal, which began on Feb. 2 and runs until March 31, includes certain 2009-10 Buick, GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac models.

And take note that this $2,000 in incentives is on top of existing ones. For Saturn owners to qualify, they must have purchased or leased their vehicle at least six months ago. An e-mail sent to customers states that the vehicle doesn’t have to be traded in. GM lost some of its customers when it decided to shut down the brand in September after Penske Automotive Group failed to pursue a sales deal. A report by R.L. Polk & Co. last December states that Saturn lags behind Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac from 2001 through 2008, in terms of building corporate loyalty. Polk said that the rate of leaving customers accelerated last year as Saturn’s outcome was cast in limbo.

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Tags:car news, GM, gm saturn owners incentives, Saturn
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To push out the remaining Saturn inventory, General Motors Co. is launching a new marketing campaign and a set of incentives. GM hopes to be able to wind down the brand within three months, according to Susan Docherty, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales, during a sales conference call.

As of the end of October, there are 9,400 Saturn units in stock. Docherty said that she does not anticipate any hurdles to selling the remaining inventory quickly. Reportedly, Saturn sales came to a halt last month after a deal to sell the brand to Penske Automotive Group failed to prosper. In fact, at the Motor City Auto Center in Bakersfield , Calif. , 21 new Saturns were sold in September. In October, only seven units were sold. General Manager John Pitre has 51 Saturns in stock that under the current rate will be sold out in at least five months. However, he is in no rush to move the inventory. Pitre said that it will possibly take six more months before he is able to secure another franchise for the facility. That’s why the dealers are in a holding pattern. By next week, the print campaign will begin. The incentive program however, has begun and will run through the end of the month. Consumers can choose either $4,000 off of any 2008 or 2009 Saturn or 0 percent financing for 72 months.

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Tags:car news, Saturn, saturn marketing campaign, saturn news
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After negotiations for Penske Automotive to take over Saturn fell through, dealers have varying ways of dealing with it. Some say that they will look for other franchises while others say they’ll wait and see whether Penske revives the deal.

One of those interviewed, George Nahas, who owns Saturn stores in Alabama and Florida, said that he supposes he will now be selling the competition. He said that he has been approached by import brands to carry their products. Unlike most dealers, Nahas has had similar experience when GM shut down his Oldmobile dealership in 2000. He’s disappointed with GM’s plan to abandon Saturn but he says that at least now, it’s clear and he can act accordingly. GM had previously said that it would wind the Saturn brand and its 350-franchise dealer network and will announce its plan soon. Penske reportedly failed to secure a source of vehicles to keep the brand afloat.

Tags:car news, Saturn, saturn dealers, saturn news
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Saturn dealers throughout the US were saddened after Penske Automotive Group pulled out of negotiations to acquire Saturn, a segment of General Motors. Saturn’s fate is gloomy as GM said that the brand will be discontinued.

The termination of the talks has taken the dealers by surprise since it was expected that a deal would be entered this week and that Saturn will be revived under Penske’s management. After months of hard work by Saturn’s employees and retailers, Penske actually decided to stop negotiations “because of the inability to source new products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract.” To clarify what happened, General Motors released a statement. GM said that PAG’s decision was not based on interactions with GM or Saturn retailers. Continued after the jump!

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Tags:penske saturn deal, Saturn, saturn news, saturn phase out
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All Saturn dealers are holding their breath for the possible takeover of Roger Penske, an auto magnate who saved Detroit Diesel and is now seeking to take control of the cast-off General Motors brand. It is believed that a decision could be made as early as this week.

However, Penske and his team at Penske Automotive Group in suburban Detroit have declined to discuss the takeover until it is completed, says Autonews. It is believed that if Penske gets Saturn, he will shave dealer profits, have less generous operating rules and opt for a smaller factory organization to support it. However, the dealers know that if Saturn could be saved then only Penske can do it. Continued after the jump!

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Tags:car news, Saturn, saturn automotive news, saturn penske takeover
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All of the 46 Saturn dealerships in Canada will be closed by December 31. General Motors Co. spokesman Stew Low said that after a “careful and thorough analysis,” they determined that the business case did not support distribution of Saturn vehicles in Canada.

Tony Pordon, a spokesman for Penske Automotive Group Inc., said that the decision was made jointly by General Motors and Penske. General Motors will transfer Saturn’s customer service, parts and warranty operations to other GM dealerships. The dealerships are reportedly starting to inform customers about the upcoming closure.

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Tags:car news, Saturn, saturn canada dealerships, saturn dealership closed
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