End of the line for G.M. Saturn

Truly a sad story:

General Motors Co. will shut down Saturn now that a deal with former race car driver and auto dealer magnate Roger Penske has collapsed, marking the end of a brand that was supposed to revolutionize the way small cars were built and sold in America.

The deal with Penske was supposed to be finalized Wednesday. But the unexpected end came when his company, Penske Automotive Group Inc., was unable to find a manufacturer to supply vehicles for the brand’s dealerships. GM had agreed to keep building Saturn models like the Aura, Outlook and Vue through at least 2011, but after that, Saturn would have to come up with its own products.

Penske’s tentative deal buy Saturn was announced in early June.

“This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality,” GM CEO Fritz Henderson said. He said Saturn and its dealership network will be phased out.

via GM to Shut Down Saturn as Penske Walks  WXYZ-TV / Detroit

I remember when G.M. introduced this line of vehicles back in 1990. My parents almost bought one of those ugly cars; I personally could not stand them. I thought they were just plain ugly. I see that they have improved the look of them; quite a bit. But, more importantly, I remember thinking if G.M. ever hit hard times that these cars would be the first to go. Tragically, it turns out that I was correct.  My father also had the chance to go to Spring Hill, TN to the plant down there. Luckily instead, my Dad chose to go to the Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant instead. I feel for all of those people who went down there; to make a better life for themselves and now they find themselves out of work. Some Conservatives may want to mock this; I am not one of them. I do not believe in mocking anyone’s misfortune.

Some Conservative bloggers would use this opportunity to bash the unions and the Democrats and Obama for their politics and policies; I am just not going to do it. There is a time and a place for that; and quite frankly, this just is not one of them. As a Son of an autoworker; I know the feeling of Dad being laid off, not knowing if he was going to be working again or not. I have been there. So, I am just not going to politicize this at all. I will leave that the other heartless bloggers, who get their kicks on trashing those who actually work for a living; unlike some of the bloggers who trash them. I could name names, but I think you know who I mean.

My Prayers are with the people of Spring Hill, Tennessee and the people working for Saturn. May God be with them, during this extremely difficult time.