If GM Survives Should Saturn Simply Disappear?

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Everything is in a “state of flux” right now for the U.S. automakers. Even if they manage to secure loans from the U.S. government and possibly the Candian government, there will still be major changes.

There have been many reports and rumors that GM may end up dropping or scaling back the slow selling Saturn, Pontiac and GMC brands. In its plan that it submitted to the U.S. Congress last week, GM stated that it is “exploring alternatives” for the Saturn brand. Although Saturn currently has a strong product lineup, the brand has failed to meet sales expectations.

Many people would assume that GM should just cut its losses with the Saturn brand and move on, but doing so would cost GM at least $1 billion in all the dealer buyouts.

GM’s vice-president of North American vehicle sales, Mark LaNeve stated to the Automotive News that “Saturn has a product program, both current and future, that is currently in our plans, but a lot of what is in our plans is in a state of flux right now given the state of the economy and everything.”

It’s obvious that right now GM needs to focus on its more profitable brands, Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac, but who knows what will become of Saturn at this point.

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