A new new Saturn?

Normally I don’t delve into auto news, but the recent closing of the local Saturn dealership made me think of this.

According to a Wall Street Journal report by John D. Stoll and Norihiko Shirouzu, the newest suitor for Saturn could the French automaker Renault. However, the Journal article questions the wisdom of that takeover when Renault already owns a large share of Nissan, a company which competes with Saturn in the small-car market.

In the local case, though, this could restore 30 jobs lost when the dealership pulled the plug on local operations. I was concerned because I used to deal with the dealership when I owned a Saturn, and I never had an issue with them with the exception of their not having a model which appealed to me when I was looking for the one I eventually bought.

So let’s hope that this merger or takeover works out better than the last time Renault became involved with an American carmaker. Before Chrysler took over the former American Motors, Renault was the automaker who paired up with AMC in its final days, bringing us the not-so-memorable Alliance and Le Car. Given the relative success of Nissan, maybe Renault can be just what Saturn needs – we’ll just have to see.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

3 thoughts on “A new new Saturn?”

  1. Foreign ownership of US car companies is destined to fail. The Chrysler/Benz merger was a flop. The aforementioned Renault/AMC pairing was a flop. The Chrysler/Fiat alliance will be a flop.

    If the idea would work, the Japanese would have been all over it like flies on manure– and the Japanese are far better manufacturing managers than the Europeans ever will be.

    The problem here always has been — and always will be — the UAW. The labor and work conditions imposed by UAW contracts are so invidious, that even rabid Social Democrats like the Germans can’t stomach it.

  2. Renault is arguably one of the poorest engineered cars ever.Couple that with the UAW and Saturn is toast.

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