4. October 2009 by admin.

Penske Backs Out; General Motors to Stop Saturn’s Orbit

In a shocking last-minute decision made just a day before contracts were to be finalized, the Penske Automotive Group has announced that it has ended its discussions with General Motors to acquire the Saturn automobile brand. This very disappointing news comes after months of efforts by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make a new Penske-run Saturn a reality.

Sadly, as a result of Penske’s decision, General Motors will be winding down the Saturn brand and dealership network, in accordance with the wind-down agreements that Saturn dealers recently signed with GM.

Penske’s announcement explained that their decision was not based on interactions with General Motors or Saturn retailers; rather it was because of the inability to source new products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract.

According to Penske, “Since announcing its discussions with GM on June 5, 2009, the company has been in the due diligence process to determine the feasibility of developing an independent distribution model for Saturn-branded products and service parts in the United States, including the sourcing of vehicles from GM and other potential suppliers. The company had negotiated a definitive agreement with GM to source vehicles on a contract-manufactured basis for a period of time. After this period, the company would have been required to source vehicles from another third party under a similar contract-manufacturing agreement.”

That manufacturer was Renault-Nissan, the Detroit Free Press reported, quoting a statement from a Renault spokeswoman who said  “Renault has been in contact with Penske to supply cars, parts, and technology to Saturn through an OEM agreement. The conditions for an agreement have not been found.”

The announcement is a tragic blow to the industry. According to a report at autoMedia.com, “Penske the man and organization is held in high regard, and this deal was considered the best chance for the future of the brand. The plan had been for General Motors to continue to supply vehicles through 2011, after which time Penske would source products from another automaker. This arrangement promised to shake up the century-old business model and provide unique opportunities. For instance, a Penske-run Saturn could have potentially drawn vehicles from multiple automakers, thereby giving Saturn great market flexibility, while limiting the potential liabilities associated with manufacturing that nearly toppled GM and Chrysler.”

In a press release issued by General Motors yesterday, company President & CEO Fritz Henderson said this “disappointing news comes at a time when we’d hoped for a successful launch of the Saturn brand into a new chapter. We will be working closely with our dealers to ensure Saturn customers are cared for as we transition them to other GM dealers in the months ahead. I’d also like to thank every GM employee and Saturn retailer who worked so hard to try to make this new beginning happen for Saturn.”

Terms of the wind-down process will be determined and communicated shortly. Saturn customers and owners will continue to be able to purchase and have their vehicles serviced at Saturn retailers during this process, and once the wind-down is complete, Saturn owners will still be able to have their vehicles serviced at other General Motors dealerships. According to the Detroit Free Press, the end of the Saturn brand could cost as many as 13,000 jobs at dealerships nationwide and General Motors.
Saturn was founded nearly 30 years ago by General Motors, and was promoted as a “different kind of car company,” known at first for its bouncy dentless plastic door panels and then better appreciated for its hassle-free ‘no haggle’ pricing. Owners of the vehicles have proven to be quite loyal to their brand, as evidenced by their vocal community at IMSaturn.com

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

4. October 2009 by admin.

Tips on Recycling Your Used Motor Oil

Do you change your car’s motor oil? If so, you’re considered a do-it-yourself (DIY) oil changer! According to the American Petroleum Institute, more than 50 percent of all motorists fall into this category. DIY oil changers generate approximately a quarter of all used motor oil that has the potential to be reused or recycled: that’s about 150 million gallons of used motor oil each year!When you change your own oil, you take responsibility for properly disposing of your used oil, too. Mobil Oil wants to help you with that: Just enter your postal zip code in their locator  to find the location of the oil recycling or disposal facility nearest you.

With business activities in some 200 countries and territories across six continents, ExxonMobil realizes the potential environmental impact of its operations and desires to maintain the highest standards for environmental stewardship. Because Exxon/Mobil believes protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility, the company has joined with Earth 911,  a nonprofit network that provides access to local environmental programs in the United States and parts of Canada, to make it easier for consumers to properly dispose of their used motor oil.Oil is a valuable resource!
According to Earth911.com oil originates from fossil fuels and is valuable in both its original form and as a recyclable substance. Many consumers don’t realize that oil can be reused and recycled through reconditioning, reprocessing, and re-refining. These recycling efforts help to:

    * Conserve natural resources
    * Protect the environment
    * Reuse an existing resource
    * Save energy
    * Save money

You might not know it, but used motor oil is already valuable energy resource! A large portion of the used motor oil collected is reprocessed into fuel that is burned in furnaces, turbines, power plants, and manufacturing facilities to provide heat and electricity. This can support the conservation of natural resources and help protect our environment. To put this into perspective, two gallons of used motor oil can generate enough electricity to:

    * Power the average home for one day
    * Cook 48 meals in a microwave oven
    * Blow-dry a person’s hair at least 216 times
    * Vacuum a house for 15 months
    * Watch television for 7 1/2 days straight! (180 hours)

But even more important than that, it is extremely important to keep oil out of our waterways and drinking water supplies! Each year in the United States alone, millions of gallons of used motor oil are improperly discarded, which can result in the contamination of lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater supplies. In addition, used oil is insoluble, slow to degrade, and very sticky which poses a health threat to humans, plants, animals, and the environment.Should oil get into the environment, it can quickly pollute large amounts of water. For instance, one gallon of motor oil can:

    * Create an oil slick on surface water up to eight acres in size
    * Contaminate one million gallons of freshwater. That is a year’s supply of water for 50 people!
    * Render a four-acre area of soil unusable for planting for decades.
Recycling the motor oil from just one oil change can help protect one million gallons of drinking water!

For more information about Earth 911, go to www.earth911.org or call 1-800 CLEANUP for quick access to information about recycling used motor oil and other environmental programs in your local area. Click here to locate the nearest oil recycling or disposal facility.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »