Cat Andersen/Eyewitness News
Fishers - GM's Saturn assembly line is shutting down. Early hope that Roger Penske might save it has been dashed. The Saturn brand will join other former GM divisions Pontiac and Oldsmobile. It's the end of the line.
What was fueling hope in Saturn dealers all summer has now burned out. Roger Penske could not reach an agreement with Renault, a France-based automaker, to supply him with vehicles to distribute as Saturns.
Lynn Kimmel, who owns all three Saturn dealerships in the Indianapolis area, says after GM decided to stop making Saturns, Penske was their last chance of survival. There is no plan B.
"It is very very difficult to have a love for a brand like I do with Saturn and to know that it's not going to have a long term future. That's just very difficult to cope with," said Kimmel.
The deal falling through is putting all 350 Saturn dealerships across the nation in danger of closing, potentially adding 13,000 jobs lost in the auto sector.
"I'm heartsick not only for what it means for our employees and customers, I'm heartsick because it could have been a phenomenal advancement for the automobile industry," said Kimmel.
Customers like Paul Achenbach, a retired GM employee, say Saturn was the American alternative to Honda and Toyota.
"They're dependable and economical. There's never been a problem with getting it fixed. You call and they get you in as quickly as they can," said Achenbach.
"Saturn was all the right thing for the customer. Just the way we do business and the relationship we have with our customers. It's just very sad to see all of that go away," said Kimmel.
Saturn car owners say GM may consider the brand a weak link, but it may have been one of the strongest contenders among its foreign competitors.
General Motors' decision to close down the Saturn brand will effectively shut down all eight Saturn dealerships in Indiana, three of them in Indianapolis.
Across the country, 350 Saturn dealerships face closure now that GM is shutting down Saturn assembly lines. That will affect 13,000 jobs nationwide, all of them tied to the Saturn brand name.
More from The Associated Press:
Despite a cult-like following that drew thousands to annual reunions in Spring Hill, the brand never made money, although the company has never disclosed how much it invested or lost. The Tennessee factory stopped making Saturns in 2007. Although it was retooled to make Chevrolet crossovers, it's now scheduled to close. A parts plant in Spring Hill will stay open in the short term, but its future was unclear.
As GM focused more on high-profit pickup trucks and SUVs, Saturn began to languish in the late 1990s. Then in 2006, car buyers began to find Saturn's new models more appealing. But after a good year in 2007, sales dropped last year as the U.S. car market withered. Through August, Saturn sales were down 60 percent from the first eight months of last year.
GM has been trying to sell Saturn since earlier this year as part of its turnaround plan.
