Denver Car Gear Examiner: R.I.P. Saturn & Hummer and in intensive care Saab & Pontiac GM is looking for a buyer for the brand and if it doesn't sell in a month and a half, it's apparently dead! Woo hoo! Also, GM and Chrysler need another bagillion dollars to stay in business.
If we, the taxpayers, are going to be thinking about handing out another bagillion dollars to anyone, I hope we give it to companies like Aptera, Tesla, Phoenix Motorcars, etc.... companies starting with a clean slate, who can learn from the egregious errors of the GM way.
No tears here for Hummer or Saturn. A couple of tears of nostalgia for Pontiac if it goes. Many more tears for Saab if the Swedish government doesn't buy it. Personally, I'd like to see ownership of Saab and/or Volvo returned to the Swedes. I think we could use more of that Swedish sensibility in autos that was demonstrated for decades in the safety advances made by Saab and Volvo.
I agree. I'm in the process of selling a '94 Saab 900s now that I FINALLY found my Prius.:whoo: I can't complain because it was a great car for me over the course of the 8 years and 80,000 miles that I put on it, but I definitely think GM did a huge disservice to the brand. After I watched Who Killed The Electric Car it made me never want to by a GM product again. And after my wife was broadsided by a Chevy Tahoe that demolished her car, it makes my blood boil to see these behemoths on the road. Good riddance to them all. That's the only silver lining of this economy, is that it's the only thing that will get people to change their habits.
Ex-Acer CEO said to a reporter in an interview on Taiwan's attempt to bail out its DRAM companies in trouble ... "Any company that has no technology superiority and competitiveness is not worth saving..."
"Hummer dead" - I thought along those lines too but look what is at the current Auto Show in Toronto ... http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-to...nadian-reveal-toronto-auto-show-feb-14th.html HMMM - not so dead ... GM: "Green by Design"
Maybe we could give the money to GM so they can buy up and remove the remaining light rail in this country. It seemed to work well for them in the past. Tom
Saturn is made in Tennessee and the Hummer is made in Louisiana. The southern Senators opposed the auto bailout so it makes sense to shutdown the southern built vehicles. Now if GM were to announce,"We're looking for a plant to build the hybrid Volt pickup truck" there would be a line of southern Governors outside the door with their senators on a collar and leash. They'd all be there offering bribes (opps, I mean 'incentives') like free land, utilities, roads and tax free income. Southern governors a like flies to honey when anyone says,"Built a car plant." Bob Wilson
That is misleading. All governors are like flies to honey when any company builds any job producing plant. As for 'bribes', I know of no municipality (state or local) that doesn't offer some sort of tax incentives for a large business to move into town. Be it a Wallmart or auto plant. Saturn and Hummer are being sold/shut down not becuase they are built in the south, but because they are not big money makers and GM can no longer afford to keep supporting them.
