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Don’t be surprised if plans to save Saturn reemerge in the next couple of weeks.

Roger Penske

Penske Corp. announced Tuesday that it was dropping its plan to buy Saturn from General Motors. The company said that its agreement with another automaker to build cars that Penske would sell as Saturns had fallen through. The company did not name the automaker, but The Associated Press reported that Penske had been in talks with French automaker Renault.

But the same positives that attracted Penske in the first place still exist for Saturn. The brand’s famously unique dealerships and excellent core of loyal customers are still attractive to an automaker looking to sell more cars.

Auto companies everywhere are struggling to sell enough cars to keep their factories humming. Here’s the double-edged problem those automakers face when deciding whether to take on production of Saturn vehicles for Penske:

• If Penske partners with an company that is already selling vehicles in this market, the automaker risks cannibalizing its own sales to help Saturn. Say for example, Penske works with VW. VW builds a rebadged Jetta as a Saturn. Buyers considering the purchase of a Jetta might opt for the Saturn model instead.
• Penske could partner with an automaker which does not currently sell vehicles in the United States, such as Renault. The problem with that is that the automaker would have to go through the process to certify those vehicles for sale in the U.S. market, then hope it sells enough to justify the expense.

Although Penske says it has broken off negotiations, its likely that discussions continue behind the scenes. It appears Penske may have been negotiating with just one automaker, but others who did garner initial interest from Penske might contact the company to inquire about stepping in.

It all depends on who sees an opportunity to make some money and who thinks they have what it takes to make this unusual relationship work.