It looks like the acquisition of Saturn by the Penske Group will be finalized this September. It looks like all the dealers will remain independent, but will have to sign a new dealer agreement with the new owners. So, why is this of any interest to the CarDomain reader? With the closing of the GM Facility that produced the Saturn Sky (along with the Pontiac Solstice), I though it would be prudent to see what the new Saturn product offerings might look like. So come along with me on a voyage of discovery, and see if the magic crystal ball is working.
Continue reading after the jump!
According to inside sources from General Motors, the agreement between old GM (The corporation with all the toxic assets that need to be sold off), and the Penske group, GM will have to keep building select Saturn models until the end of 2011. Since the Sky has been put out of it’s misery, and the Saturn Astra won’t be part of the mix because of Opel’s own financial trouble, that only leaves the Aura, the Outlook, and the Vue, at least for the next 2 years. The Aura will be built in the Kansas City Fairfax plant that currently builds the Chevrolet Malibu. The Outlook will be built right along side the other Lambda stablemates at the Lansing Assembly Plant. The Vue will still be built at the Ramos Arizpe facility in Mexico, where the Chevrolet HHR is built.
However, since each of these vehicles has a shelf life of about two years, Penske is wasting no time to fill the pipeline with product. Current internet buzz revolves around contract talks Penske is having with Renault, and their Korean Samsung division. This would be a quick way for Renault to get back into the US market, using designs that are already in production, and equipped with Nissan powertrains that already meet US standards. Samsung offers 5 different vehicles in the Korean Home Market; The SM3 (Which is a Nissan Sunny/Sentra, and already set to be discontinued), the New SM3, the SM5, the SM7, and the QM5.
The New SM3 is probably the most interesting of the offerings that could be coming to America. This car is based on the European Renault Megane, and will use proven Nissan 4 cylinder engines. The home market offers the 1.6L Nissan engine that powers the base Nissan Versa here in the US. If this were to come over to America, look for at least the 1.8L, 2.0L or 2.4L Nissan power plants to power this stylish sedan.
The SM5 and the SM7 are both based on the current Nissan Altima, and the previous version of the Maxima. The SM5 is powered by the 2.0L Nissan 4 Cylinder engine found in the North American Sentra, but is this becomes the new Aura, look for the 2.4L to be the base engine. The SM7 is just a V6 version of this car, with more luxury items. It offers the Nissan VQ 3.5L V6, which is probably the best V6 engine in the world.
The Vue will probably be replaced with the QM5, which is the home market version of the Nissan Qashqai, which is a very close relative of the North American Nissan Rouge. There is enough styling differences that the two will not be confused between buyers, and the QM5 actually has a family resemblance to the current Saturn Vue. The Korean Home Market version is powered by either a 2.0L Diesel, or the Nissan 2.5L four cylinder. All of these vehicles will be offered with the Nissan CVT transmission, though I can’t find anything about a manual being offered.
So, do you think offering Korean Built Nissans (and one Renault) as Saturns will help the struggling brand, or do you think this particular business model is doomed to failure before it has time to get off the ground. I am eager to hear what everyone has to say.
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