Cape Girardeau Saturn dealership to close Dec. 31 amid poor economy

A St. Louis company plans to close its Saturn dealership in Cape Girardeau by the end of December.

Dealer Jackie Dunne cites a slowing economy as a primary reason for the decision.

"It's sad," Dunne said. "Based on the hardships in the economy and the uncertain future of the Saturn brand's connection with General Motors, we had to make this decision."

Seven employees will be affected by the company's decision. During its final days, the dealership will have a going-out-of-business sale to liquidate its remaining inventory. The dealership will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Dunne said the move will allow the company to concentrate all its efforts in St. Louis, where it has four dealerships. Her father, Jim Butler, is the primary owner of the company's Saturn of South County, Saturn of West County, Chevrolet and used car dealership.

She said that those who own a Saturn from the Cape Girardeau dealership still will be able to have work performed on their vehicles at any Saturn location, with the closest in St. Louis and Carbondale, Ill.

The news comes during a time when the big three U.S. automakers -- Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC -- are seeking as much as $34 billion in government assistance, saying bankruptcy could result in the loss of 3 million jobs. Last week the Senate rejected a $14 billion bailout.

However, the White House is contemplating loans from the Federal Reserve or the $700 billion bailout fund.

GM announced Dec. 12 that it will temporarily close factories in the United States, Canada and Mexico and cut 250,000 vehicles form its production schedule for the first quarter of 2009. Normal production would be around 750,000 cars and trucks for the quarter, The Associated Press reported.

While GM hasn't announced its plans for its Saturn division, its restructuring plan given to Congress indicated the automaker would concentrate its resources on four brands -- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC.

As its last day of operation in Cape Girardeau nears, Dunne said she is grateful for the five years the dealership was there.

"We've appreciated all our customers," Dunne said. "This has been a good community and a friendly customer base all these years."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

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