GM to Decide Saturn Future by the End of the Week

With only a few days left until the February 17 deadline, when both General Motors and Chrysler must submit their viability plans to the United States government, GM is still unsure whether to continue the Saturn brand or kill it and concentrate on its major operations. However, Saturn dealers are expected to receive a reduced list of options by the end of the week, Autonews wrote, with these options to include "everything from a new dualing pattern to a spinoff to a partnership to an outright sale,” as GM marketing chief Mark LaNeve explained.

Even though General Motors plans to make a decision this week, dealerships must be allowed to consider the given options and to take the best decision regarding their business, Todd Ingersoll, a member of the franchise team and owner of Saturn of Danbury and Watertown in Connecticut, told Autonews.

"And then individual retailers will be able to start talking about which options make sense to them. Everything is fluid. You can't commit to any option. I'll say this: You don't need four options to kill a brand,” he said.

GM's LaNeve said on February 3 that the American automaker hopes to take a decision regarding its Saturn brand very shortly, without giving a deadline for an official announcement. However, the company must sent the viability plan to the US government within a week but it's unclear whether the plan must include restructuring moves for Saturn and other struggling brands such as Hummer and Saab.

Meanwhile, dealerships continue to pressure General Motors as uncertainty does nothing more than to slash already-collapsing sales. People are no longer interested in buying a car whose brand may bite the dust as soon as next week, dealerships said.

"Everything's been said; just not everyone has said it," says Stuart Lasser, owner of Saturn of Denville, according to the aforementioned source. "It's affecting our sales nationwide. I'm really surprised we're still selling the cars we're selling,” Fernando Somoza, owner of Saturn of Houston and Saturn of Houston Northwest 290, added.