Is Saturn of Florence Down for the Count?

Saturn of Florence .... Dead Man Walking ?

More signs that the fortunes of GM involve a lot of downsizing ..... As you know, I've been involved in the car business in Florence for the past 12 years. We are like a small fraternity - we all know each other, and when something happens at one dealership, all the others hear about it pretty quickly. Though it is not official, word from various insiders in the biz are telling me that Saturn of Florence is on life support.....

From what we heard, it's a miracle that they are still open as we speak. You see, the local Saturn dealer is owned by the Saturn dealership in Columbia. The difference is, Columbia makes a profit. Florence , uhhh - doesn't. Worse, it never has. NEVER. In spite of it's being open for over a decade now, it has lost money every single month of it's existence... Last week, word is that Columbia was all set to put a padlock on the place, but the General Manager of Florence begged him to keep it open, even promising to personally pay for any loss the dealership incurs. That is certainly putting your money where you mouth is, not to mention sparing the jobs of all your workers.

Saturn was the un-GM brand, but they made some serious mistakes along the way. They depended on the younger market, but they were stodgy, lacked excitement, and worst of all, they never made new models for when those kids grew up to develop brand loyalty. By the time they got the ship in the right direction, it was too late. GM is trying to sell off the Saturn line, there just aren't enough of them, and it's basically a Chevrolet...

The dealership has 30 days from what we are told. Either start making Columbia money, or the doors close. If you have a Saturn, you might want to get it in there. They may not be there much longer, and you'll have to drive to Columbia or Charleston to get your car fixed... The odds are not in their favor... Uncle Sam is pulling Cash for Clunkers two months earlier than promised, so they aren't going to be able to give $3500 credits like they probably hoped. And their is a long history of a lack of success. It certainly does not look good .....

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