Din cate stiu eu Saturn era firma ieftina a lui GM. Un fel de Dacia pentru Renault.
Daca e asa, spune mult despre targhetul lui Renault in State.

Ce modele ar putea sa vanda Renault in US?

As the bidding to take over over the Saturn brand from General Motors nears its conclusion, it looks increasingly likely that Roger Penske will walk away with the "prize." Regardless of who takes control, all Penske is slated to receive is a network of dealers and a brand name. GM has already announced it will cease producing new Saturn cars at the end of June 2009, which means the new owner will have to line up another company to provide products for those 380-odd stores. One of the rumors making the rounds is Renault would be a supplier, however, as GM learned trying to import the Astra from Europe, importing cars from the continent is not a viable business plan under current exchange rates. It turns out the supply of vehicles could come from Renault Samsung Motors, the small South Korean maker that's 80% owned by Renault. That's a plan that could be financially viable with vehicles based on shared Renault-Nissan platforms. Hyundai has demonstrated that South Korea can produce quality products and priced aggressively as Saturns.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Jun 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG), www.penskeautomotive.com, an international automotive retailer, announced today that is has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with General Motors regarding the Saturn brand.

Under the terms of the MOU, if the transaction is completed, Penske Automotive Group would obtain the rights to the Saturn brand, acquire certain assets including the Saturn parts inventory, and have the right to distribute vehicles and parts through the Saturn Dealership network. General Motors would continue to provide Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook vehicles, on a contract basis, for an interim period.

"We have agreed upon a framework that we believe will build momentum for the Saturn brand," said Penske Automotive Group Chairman Roger Penske. "Saturn has a passionate customer base and outstanding dealer network. For nearly 20 years Saturn has focused on treating the customer right. We share that philosophy, and we want to build on those strengths."

Saturn began selling cars in 1990 and has sold more than 4 million vehicles. More than 80 percent of those vehicles are still in operation, according to data from R.L. Polk. Saturn has regularly scored among the industry leaders for non-luxury brands in customer satisfaction surveys. Commenting on the proposed deal, Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak said, "This is the combination of two iconic teams: Saturn and Penske. GM had the vision to create Saturn and has the desire to see it succeed in the future."

Further details of the transaction are not being released at this time. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur during the third quarter of 2009 and is subject to customary conditions, including the completion of due diligence, regulatory and other approvals.

Remember the rumor that Roger Penske is looking to bring Renault back to America via his recently-procured network of Saturn dealerships? Consider it a rumor no more, as the deed has been confirmed by none other than Renault's chief operating officer Patrick Pelata, who said in a recent interview:

    "He is looking for cars to sell. He has looked at all car makers, and he has seen that Renault has a nice line-up, sharing power trains with Nissan that are obviously adapted to the U.S. market... He's asking us: 'Do you want to sell us cars?' and we are discussing about how to sell him cars."

Considering that Nissan and Renault have plans to share virtually all new engines and Nissan is already well established in the U.S. market, it may make sense for the French automaker to supply Saturn-badged vehicles to Penske once GM stops producing the current Aura, Outlook and Vue models, which could be as early as 2011.

Previous reports indicated the vehicles in question may actually be sourced from Samsung, Renault's Korean subsidiary. According to Pelata, though, "It's an ongoing discussion," and no deals have yet been finalized.