Quote:
Originally Posted by jyl
I think Opel makes it. Deep pockets (Russian bank/govt), auto industry expertise (Magna), political protection (Russian govt). And, the European operations of GM make a company with decent scale.
|
Opel builds just about everything Saturn sells, so it wouldn't surprise me if some of the money being used by Penske to buy Saturn comes from the Russian government and Magna. Most Americans wouldn't buy a Russian car under any circumstances but they'd buy a re-badged Hindustan Ambassador from Roger Penske. He's sold thousands of Smart Cars even though they don't make a whit of sense on American roads. Penske/Saturn makes a nice "beard" for a Russian-owned, Austro-Canadian operated, Opel to market cars in the U.S.