CarSeekBlog

As General Motors scrambles to keep its federal loan funds and to get even more, the fate of some of its brands, including Saturn, has been thrown into question. Last night, about a million and a half Saturn owners received a letter indicating the brand might be spun off of the GM mother ship to become an independent marketing and distribution company. The letter read, in part:

The Saturn Distribution Corporation already exists as an indirect subsidiary of GM It’s the entity with which our retailers have their franchise agreement.

An independent Saturn would still have its great retailers, and it would continue to source current products from GM through 2011. If successful, SDC at that point would source products from other manufacturers.

At this point the Saturn powers that be are just trying to reassure current owners (and those who might be thinking about a purchase), that the brand is still viable, but more importantly, that GM will back its warranties. Beyond that, dealers are being asked not to make any decisions about their stores for at least 60 days while a special study group more or less figures out where they are and what’s out there in the future.

In the plan GM presented to the U.S. Treasury Department it said Saturn would stay in operation through its products planned lifecycle. If a spinoff or sale doesn’t happen, however, the brand will be phased out. At this point, it would seem that the key to a future for Saturn lies with dealers and whether or not they react like rats leaving a sinking ship. One thing is for sure, the face of the American automotive landscape is changing fast and Saturn is one of the first brands to feel the considerable effects of that change.

Filed under: GM by Shorty