GM Kills Saturn's Engine

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GM Kills Saturn's Engine

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sourced by Mritunjay

General Motors (GM) has finally decided to stop production of its 24year old car brand Saturn. Announcing this on company's website GM CEO Fritz Henderson sounded disappointed. He said that the company was hopeful that they would be able to sell off the brand to Penske Automotive Group Inc. which would have saved 13, 000 jobs and 350 dealerships.

With Penske backing off the deal GM is now forced to close the production. GM planned to sell of Saturn, Hummer and Saab marques while close Pontiac. It was a measure to adjust its post bankruptcy plan to cut down its brand-line to half in the United States.

Penske whch operates 310 dealerships was concerned about the supply of cars and SUVs post 2011 when GM was due to stop supplying them. Further Renault Samsung Motor's Company's decision not to produce vehicles for Saturn worsened the situation. Penske is owned by former race car driver Roger Penske, who owns NASCAR and IndyCar racing teams and distributes Daimler AG's Smart cars in the United States.

GM's decision to shut down the production of Saturn can potentially lead to a public relations fiasco for GM with the current customers of the brands being worried about issues like after sales service and warranties.