Going back to 1990, Saturn was billed as not being like other car companies. That may have been true, at least in some respects, but under General Motors it was quite often just like other auto manufacturers.
Now that a deal has been reached for Roger Penske to acquire Saturn, it seems that the company is really on the verge of becoming different. For one, Penske is the second largest auto dealer in the U.S. behind AutoNation. Traditionally, car companies have had the strong hand in relationships with dealers. They produced the car, established promotions and dealers bought in or eventually stopped being a dealer.
Now, the dealer will be leading the process and it will be up to the manufacturing end of the business to respond. In the case of Penske/Saturn, USA Today reports that it may mean that the company farms out production specs and manufacturing to factories in places such as China and India where the product can be produced cheaply and turned around more quickly.
Jack Nerad, market analyst at kbb.com, told USA Today, said Penske's purchase of Saturn, should it go through, promises to create "a new business model in this industry... The distribution side of the business controls the brand, and manufacturing is conducted by one or more subcontractors."
Discussion Questions: Will Saturn become a different kind of car company under the ownership of Roger Penske? What will it mean for the auto industry in the U.S. and beyond?