ALS
10-01-2009, 09:05 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg There are 13 Saturn dealers in Virginia. (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/transportation/article/B-GMGM01_20090930-215602/296597/)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/508/Resize_of_Aura_Exterior1.jpgStaff and Wire Reports - TIMESDISPATCH (http://www2.timesdispatch.com) - Oct 1 2009
General Motors Co. said yesterday that it would shut down its Saturn division after an agreement to sell it to Penske Automotive Group Inc. fell apart.
"This is a major disappointment. It's discouraging," said Haywood "Huddy" Hyman Jr., owner of Saturn of Richmond on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County.
Hyman was one of about 400 Saturn dealers notified yesterday afternoon that his dealership would close after the Bloomfield, Mich., dealership group headed by auto-racing magnate Roger Penske was unable to find a manufacturer to supply vehicles to it after a contract with GM runs out in 2011.
Hyman said yesterday that it was too early to know what would happen next.
"I just don't know right now," he said.
Hyman was among the first auto dealers in the nation to sell Saturn in 1990 when GM launched the brand built in Spring Hill, Tenn.
Late last year, he closed a Saturn store in Henrico County, consolidating operations.
He also owns a Land Rover dealership and two used-car sales operations in the area.
A tentative GM-Penske deal for Saturn was announced June 5. Penske was to get Saturn's 371 dealers and promised to retain the 13,000 Saturn employees. The proposed price was never disclosed.
There are 13 Saturn dealers in Virginia.
Closing the dealers hits the state hard. In the past two years, Virginia has lost about 50 dealerships, six of them in the Richmond area, according to the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association.... http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/transportation/article/B-GMGM01_20090930-215602/296597/
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/508/Resize_of_Aura_Exterior1.jpgStaff and Wire Reports - TIMESDISPATCH (http://www2.timesdispatch.com) - Oct 1 2009
General Motors Co. said yesterday that it would shut down its Saturn division after an agreement to sell it to Penske Automotive Group Inc. fell apart.
"This is a major disappointment. It's discouraging," said Haywood "Huddy" Hyman Jr., owner of Saturn of Richmond on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County.
Hyman was one of about 400 Saturn dealers notified yesterday afternoon that his dealership would close after the Bloomfield, Mich., dealership group headed by auto-racing magnate Roger Penske was unable to find a manufacturer to supply vehicles to it after a contract with GM runs out in 2011.
Hyman said yesterday that it was too early to know what would happen next.
"I just don't know right now," he said.
Hyman was among the first auto dealers in the nation to sell Saturn in 1990 when GM launched the brand built in Spring Hill, Tenn.
Late last year, he closed a Saturn store in Henrico County, consolidating operations.
He also owns a Land Rover dealership and two used-car sales operations in the area.
A tentative GM-Penske deal for Saturn was announced June 5. Penske was to get Saturn's 371 dealers and promised to retain the 13,000 Saturn employees. The proposed price was never disclosed.
There are 13 Saturn dealers in Virginia.
Closing the dealers hits the state hard. In the past two years, Virginia has lost about 50 dealerships, six of them in the Richmond area, according to the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association.... http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/transportation/article/B-GMGM01_20090930-215602/296597/