General Motors: Penske to take over Saturn

At the insolvent General Motors group, the necessary sell-out has begun and Penske will be taking over Saturn. The transaction should be concluded during Q3, 2009. Under the management of founder Roger Penske, the Penske Group was previously particularly successful in the IndyCar Series. At the moment, the group is again enjoying success with Helio Castroneves, who won the legendary Indy 500 a few weeks ago.

The "Automotive Group" of the corporation came into being in 2007 and did a remarkably good job in selling Smart cars in the USA. The agreement with General Motors aims for Penske taking over the Saturn brand rights, while the vehicles concerned will still be manufactured by General Motors on a contract basis. The model range is, however, being drastically cut back. The Saturn Astra that originates from Opel will be going, as will the Saturn Sky (known in Europe as the Opel GT). What will remain are the Aura based upon the last Vectra and two SUVs: The Vue, which is the Opel Antara and also the Outlook.