According to the Wall Street Journal, General Motors is considering the idea of selling its Saturn unit to Renault. The French automaker would use the Saturn dealer network as a launching pad for a new lineup of small, fuel efficient vehicles.
Renault already controls Nissan and Samsung Motors, so Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn may consider the acquisition of Saturn a cheap way to get its European products into the U.S. market.
WSJ: GM Considers Turning Over Saturn to Renault
bankerdanny says:
11:20 AM, 05/ 6/09
This is a very interesting rumor and actually makes some sense.
Renault has some very interesting cars that would slot nicely into the Saturn lineup.
stephen987 says:
01:15 PM, 05/ 6/09
Yes, but as someone posted on another thread, why not just use the Nissan network? Or are we talking about cars too idiosyncratic to fit within the mainstream Nissan image? Maybe the Twingo or the Kangoo?
estreka says:
02:00 PM, 05/ 6/09
Interesting idea. But if you think Fiat makes some bizarre cars...
stovt001 says:
04:24 PM, 05/ 6/09
Why wouldn't they just use Nissan dealerships? This doesn't make sense to me.
oscarmv says:
05:04 PM, 05/ 6/09
The best car I've had was a Renault Scenic but then I moved to the US. Maybe I'll finally be able to get another one here.
corvairguy says:
07:11 PM, 05/ 6/09
Renault purchasing Saturn. Interesting concept but it seems Renault tried this several decades ago. Anyone remember American Motors? That marriage gave us such memorable cars as the Alliance and Medallion. Renault ditched that venture to Chrysler in very short order. Of course Chrysler's suitor, Fiat, has been out of the U.S. even longer than Renault.
Rather than doing the leg work like most previous imports, it looks as though both Renault and Fiat are looking for a bargain basement way to get back into the U.S. market. While I'm sure both companies products are better now than they were in the '70s and '80s, there are two problems. First, everyone else's products are have improved as well, some exponentially so.
Second, much of the buying public have long memories and some will remember the road toads Renault and Fiat sold in the past. You can have the best products in the world but a poor reputation is almost impossible to overcome. If it were, cars like the Aura, Malibu, and Fusion would have put a major dent in Camry and Accord sales, not a mere door ding.
billt9 says:
01:07 PM, 05/ 7/09
The Megane and Clio are pretty nice.
The Laguna interior is awesome but the exterior is wtf.