Vows to continue selling and servicing SaturnsWINSTON SALEM, NC - The last-minute collapse of a deal for the Saturn brand between General Motors Co. and Roger Penske dooms about 350 dealers, 13,000 employees and a brand created as a counterpunch to Japanese compact carmakers. It also puts current Saturn owners in a bind because they won’t have a local Saturn dealership that can service their vehicle.
Penske terminated a deal Wednesday to buy the castoff brand after his prospective provider of new vehicles pulled out. The sudden collapse stunned dealers, since there had been no whisper of problems that have complicated the sale of GM's other brands such as German carmaker Adam Opel GmbH and Hummer.
"This doesn’t shock me at all," said Tracy Myers, who owns Frank Myers Auto Maxx in Winston-Salem, who never expected the Penske/Saturn deal to be completed. "Those poor Saturn dealers have been hanging in there literally eight to 10 months, waiting for some positive news, and now it's not happening. The people that will really be hurt by this bad news (other then the Saturn employees and dealers) are the consumers that are driving a Saturn. However, I want them to know that our service department (at Frank Myers Auto) will continue to service ALL Saturns.”
The deal's collapse is the latest setback for a brand launched in 1990 as a "different kind of car company" focused on customer service, compact cars and no-haggle pricing. The new brand also came with a revolutionary and more flexible labor agreement with the United Auto Workers.
Saturn won design and engineering awards for new products after the breakthrough of the 1991Saturn SL1. “Saturn made a great product and my North Carolina used car dealerships have many happy customers with a Saturn in their driveway,” said Myers. “My goal is to reassure the Saturn fans in the Triad that Frank Myers Auto will continue to sell and service pre-owned Saturns as long as there is a demand for us to do so.”
Myers invites all Saturn owners to the Frank Myers Auto Service Department for a $17.95 oil change and a FREE car wash. Call (336) 831-0656 Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 5:30. For more info on Frank Myers Auto, visit their website at http://www.frankmyersauto.com
