GM Said to Study Shedding Saturn, Saab, Pontiac to Win U.S. Aid

[FarCenter]

By Jeff Green and Greg Bensinger

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., working to cut costs to win $12 billion in government loans, is studying whether to shed its Saturn, Saab and Pontiac brands in addition to Hummer, people familiar with the matter said.

Selling or dropping brands would save money and reduce overlap as the biggest U.S. automaker struggles to avoid running out of operating cash by year’s end, said the people, who didn’t want to be identified because no decision has been made. GM’s other U.S. brands are Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac.

The review of the 82-year-old Pontiac division, one of GM’s earliest, shows the scope of the survival plan being given to Congress on Dec. 2 to show GM can repay federal aid. GM also seeks to cut debt levels and reduce costs for active and retired union workers, people have said.

More at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aG4DMF2aEKWA&refer=home

[rsmith6621]

1. No Not Pontiac.....How About.....

....The Chevrocrap Division...

[FarCenter]

2. Pontiac is cars only, no trucks

So it is easier to shut that down.

[JeanGrey]

16. No! I want my Vibe!!

[we can do it]

19. Its Made by Toyota

matrix

[JeanGrey]

29. I don't like the Matrix. I know it's the same car basically but

it is a stripped down version.

[blue_onyx]

27. They could keep the Vibe...just give it to Chevy instead

[JeanGrey]

30. I hope so. I love my Vibe.

[DJ13]

3. No more Firebirds in the future?

F that.

[hlthe2b]

4. Saab -USA would go on without their stake, surely....

Isn't Saturn one of the more profitable divisions?

[Warpy]

5. Uh, aren't Saturn and Saab reasonably successful?

Are they trying to get a bailout to continue making gas guzzling dinosaurs?

If that's the case, then any conditions of the bailout have to start with top management stepping down, no golden parachutes, just don't let the door smack 'em, buh-bye.

[lithiumbomb]

6. unfortunately neither are

Saturn has some loyal customers, great dealers, a few good products (though these days nothing that you can't find a comparable model of from Chevrolet), but doesn't make money. Saab sure as heck doesn't make any money.

The gas guzzling dinosaurs of the Aveo, Cobalt, Malibu, Corvette, and Impala get 34, 37, 34, 26, and 29 mpg higway. The upcoming Cruze and Volt, if GM can survive long enough, should get 40+ mpg, and something much higher for the Volt as it can go 40 miles on electric only.

[Warpy]

11. Well, I wish them the best of luck

My old Ford Ranger with its underpowered 4 cylinder engine managed about 30 MPG on a cross country trip when it was 16 years old. That Chevy makes passenger cars that can't struggle up to that mileage is very telling.

I have a Kia now that does over 40 MPG highway with the AC on. That, too, is very telling.

[JeanGrey]

17. I just don't see a huge difference between 35 and 40. Not

enough to justify spending forty grand on a car.

[PatGund]

8. Saturn was better.....

....when it was being ran as a seperate company from GM. Those days ended a couple years ago, and of late most of Saturn's offerings are just another rebadged GM product. A lot of the newer Saturns are rebadged Opels, and the plastic side panels that made Saturns quite special are no more.

And it doesn't help that Saturns are some of the more economical GMs out there. All three of the Saturns I owned have sipped fuel rather than gulped it. Which meant Saturn got short shift when GM was focusing on the huge, dumb and hungry truckoid to pawn off on the US.

Side note - the V6 in my Saturn VUE isn't a GM engine. It's a Honda. Says something right there, doesn't it?

[lithiumbomb]

12. yeah i remember those

I don't recall the details, but it was a more efficient V6 than GM had at the time, lots more power than the 3.0L V6 it replaced. I don't remember if Honda got any technology in the exchange.

It looks like the current Vue uses a GM 3.6L V6 that gets 17/24 mpg. The Honda 3.5L powered Vue got 18/25. HP is about the same. GM certainly lagged behind with their engine technology at times, hopefully they're catching up.

[47of74]

15. Problem with Saturn is...

The nearest dealership is about seventy miles away from me. Where I live in Iowa we've got just about every other vehicle brand under the sun being sold, but not Saturn. I really liked the VUE and if there was a dealer up here I probably would've gone with that instead of a Nissan Rogue.

[blue_onyx]

26. I like Saturn

Yeah, there are fewer dealerships which is a problem. There are 3 within 10-15 miles of us so it's not a problem for me. When I buy a new car, I plan to look at Saturn...I like their design. I agree about the Vue. It's really cute but I don't know if I'm comfortable driving an SUV (I'm more of a car person). I would be disappointed if they discontinued Saturn. To me, GMC should be the first to go, then Pontiac, and then Saab.

[Dulcinea]

31. I hope Saturn survives.

I had a '97 Saturn 2-door & loved it. It ran like a charm, never gave me any trouble, & was great on gas. I only traded it in when I had kids & needed something bigger.

It was a good brand when it was a separate company. I'd consider another one if I needed a new car, but I plan to run my 2001 Chrysler Town & Country minivan until the wheels fall off.

[Skink]

7. What about the Aztec?

No not the Aztec.

[CRF450]

22. The Aztec is no longer in production and been that way for a couple years.

[dysfunctional press]

28. aztecs were/are about the fugliest production vehicles i've ever seen...

i could never figure out what would convince someone to buy one...? :shrug:

[flvegan]

9. How brilliant.

Dump the "exciting" brand, Pontiac, and the publicly considered "reliable" brand, Saturn. I've never understood Saab. Born From Jets? Okay, crappy jets then.

So, Chevy, Buick, Caddy and GMC. Choices are either too boring or too expensive. Also, how many jobs will this cost us? Or are they just going to retool the plants to build other GM cars?

[CRF450]

21. I'd say dump GMC and Saab.

Saturn is a good brand, and they need to keep Pontiac since they have sportier cars, and they cant lose the G8 cause that is such an awsome sedan! It kicks the crap out of the Chargers!

[Joanne98]

10. What about the Hummer?

[lithiumbomb]

14. going to be sold

They've already stated their desire to sell or retire the Hummer brand. No buyers as of yet.

[Alcibiades]

13. And they are keeping Buick?

Has anyone under 65 ever bought one of those? I thought Buick was for folks who thought the Mercury Gran Marquis was just too out there.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Maybe Now

But, the geniuses who ran/run that division decided in 1999 to stop making any 2 door models.

We have a '95 Regal that still looks cool. I drive it as my wintertime car, since it doesn't make any sense to put miles on my ragtop when i've got a perfectly good Buick that's been paid-off for 10.5 years.

But, even then the 4 door regal was "not so much". The two-door was a cool looking car. Same with the Skylark. The two-door; pretty cool. The four-door; clunky.

My wife and i have bought them, and we're still not 65!

But, since the late 90's, i'd agree with you. They've lost all sense of style.
The Professor

[CRF450]

23. Buick is more along the lines of a Luxury car line up.

And more affordable than Cadillacs.

[flvegan]

24. Buick *can* pull a good one off. The Grand National, for example.

[blue_onyx]

25. I think Buick has potential

Their new crossover, the Enclave, has done well. It's average customer age was around 50, much lower than the brand on a whole. Also, I read that they were getting a large number of foriegn trade-ins for the Enclave, which isn't typical for the brand. With new products, I think Buick could have a good future.

[terrya]

20. How about dumping the GMC brand?

Aren't the GMC trucks essentially the same trucks as Chevy trucks?

[stlsaxman]

32. I say NO money to GM unless they revive the EV1... fuck 'em!!!