Penske pulls Saturn’s plug

After his deal with General Motors didn’t pass muster with the unnamed company that would have taken over manufacturing operations, Roger Penske has cancelled his planned purchase of Saturn. Without the assurance of someone to take over production, “the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit the company from moving forward.”

For its part, GM isn’t even going to try again to save Saturn. Its operations will be completely wound down by next fall, shutting off the lights at dealerships in Rivergate and Cool Springs.

SEE ALSO: Very randomly placed at the end of a Bloomberg story, this quote from an analyst on what coulda been for Saturn.

“Saturn is the brand you wanted to like,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight. “It is the little brand that could have and should have” been great.

A lot of people around these parts would agree with that.

GM’s Hummer sale moves toward close

The sale by General Motors of Hummer — and the possible establishment of the latter’s HQ in Nashville — could be signed as early as this week, sources are telling Bloomberg.

Opel deal proves tough for GM

General Motors will find it hard to overcome Germany’s resistance to a financial investor if it wants to sell Opel to RHJ in the hope that it could later buy the European carmaker back, Reuters reports.

RHJ, a Belgian investment group, may have good connections in Berlin thanks to chief executive Leonhard Fischer’s days running Dresdner Bank, but private equity has suffered a poor reputation in Germany since long before the collapse of U.S.-style turbo-capitalism.

Convincing the German government ahead of general elections in September that Opel is better off in the hands of private equity will be a feat, especially as there is a rival strategic investor Magna that is heavily supported by unions and the four German states with a stake in the process.

What we were up against

In Tennessee’s losing bid for a new General Motors operation in Spring Hill, a Wisconsin news outlet is reporting that that state was offering up to $200 million in incentives. And even it eventually lost out to a facility in Orion Township north of Detroit.

Janesville’s release says the $200 million offer included $38 million worth of incentives from Beloit, Janesville and Rock County.

Boutwell says Rock County promised $20 million in incentives. Janesville says it offered $15 million plus savings of up to $1 million a year by offering to operate the plant’s wastewater facility. Beloit offered $2 million.

GM last month selected a facility in Orion Township north of Detroit to assemble small and compact cars over Janesville and another finalist in Spring Hill, Tenn., near Nashville.

Looking beyond Spring Hill’s shock

One longtime GM Spring Hill employee keeps his chin up after reports today that the auto maker has chosen a Michigan plant to build its next-generation small car.

“I am a person who believes you have got a great work force. You have a great plant. General Motors is separating the bad GM from the good and reinventing themselves and looking for a new path to take. I would think they understand they have a valuable asset there.”

Report: Spring Hill loses out

A source is telling the AP that Orion Township has been chosen to make General Motors’ next-generation small car.

GM decision day nears

A Michigan congressman says the auto maker may decide as early as this week where to build its next-gen small car. A GM spokeswoman says June 30 is the deadline for the choice between Spring Hill, Orion Township or Janesville.

Orion Township has $44M for GM

The Michigan town competing with Spring Hill and a Wisconsin plant has lined up a number of incentives to sway General Motors, which will soon decide where to build its next-gen small car. Gov. Bredesen last week said he’s not interested in paying hundreds of millions to help GM make its choice.

Spring Hill launches site to save its plant

City officials have built a Web site to make the case for its General Motors factory over facilities in Michigan and Wisconsin. One of the three will be chosen for GM’s next-generation small car.

HT: Cindy Carter at Fox 17

Analyst: Spring Hill in ‘pretty favorable position’

General Motors’ Maury County plant – called a ’secret weapon’ by Lamar Alexander – stands a good chance of being picked to build the company’s next-generation small car, says David Cole of the Center of Automotive Research.

“It is a relatively new plant and it also is a plant that has had a history of good performance,” he said. Cole said he is “hard pressed to think of a reason why they wouldn’t” be picked.

For the flip side, read this piece from The Oakland Press on GM’s Orion Township plant.

GM to offload Saturn to Penske

From the Detroit Free Press:

General Motors Corp. this morning announced a tentative deal for renowned Detroit businessman Roger Penske to acquire GM’s struggling Saturn brand and distribution network.

SEE ALSO: Penske says he plans to branch out and sell other brands, including Renault and Samsung. No wonder on whether sibling Nissan will be in the mix, too.

16 bidders for Saturn and May sales numbers

General Motors says more than a dozen companies have expressed interest in the car brand that was born and raised in Spring Hill. Among them are Penske Automotive — which has been said to partner with Renault-Nissan — and a group led by private-equity player Black Oak Partners.

On the sales front, the world’s auto makers reported their May sales this morning. And while the numbers for several of them were better than expectations, they still made for tough reading.

Ford executives cautioned against reading too much into their better-than-expected results.

“It’s like less awful,” Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of sales and marketing, said in a conference call today. “This is still a very fragile industry. This isn’t any time to rejoice. It’s just a slight uptick.”

Lamar: Give GM stock to the people

Tennessee’s senior senator says the government should get out of the auto business by distributing shares of the new General Motors to taxpayers.

Spring Hill idled, on standby

The 2,500 General Motors workers in Spring Hill were told this morning they won’t be working for a while.

Spring Hill workers vote for GM deal

The men and women of United Auto Workers Local 1853 have overwhelmingly approved the union’s proposed new deal with General Motors, which will give the UAW a stake in the company.