Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak accepts the award for the midsize Aura, named North American Car of the Year at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.

It likes to bill itself “a different kind of car company,” and that’s likely to be even more true in the future, now that Roger Penske has signed an agreement that will likely make him the new owner of General Motors’ Saturn division by the end of the year.

The once-promising brand showed significant momentum in its early years, but GM admittedly starved Saturn of product until it was too late, and while it has recently expanded the line-up, to much praise, the ailing automaker has decided it needs to pare back to just four key brands if it’s to survive its bankruptcy.

What happens now?  TheDetroitBureau.com turns to Jill Lajdziak, the constantly-moving dynamo who has been serving as general manager of the Saturn division since March 1999, and has been with General Motors since 1980.  The brand’s greatest strength is its 192 dealers and 358 “rooftops,” she is quick to assert.  But it will, as she admits, take more than stores to make Saturn work, post-GM.

Q: As recently as January, GM was still looking to find a way to keep Saturn in its line-up. What happened since then?

Lajdziak: When we sat down, in January, we were looking at lots of other opportunities within GM.  (But) GM figured out it could only afford to support four core brands, both from a marketing and manufacturing standpoint.  From my vantage point, that was great and set up every (surviving) brand to be successful long-term.  That’s important for both General Motors and for the country.  But there wasn’t any room for Saturn.

Q: So you think this is a better alternative?

Lajdziak: We figured there was a real upside with the brand. We knew we had a great line-up of retailers and began asking if there was an opportunity to create an independent distribution company. I happen to be of the opinion things need to change up and down the automotive value chain.  This is lean distribution thinking.  The Penske organization has the opportunity to take out a lot of cost and we can leverage an infrastructure that Roger already has in place.

Q: But isn’t GM making huge cost cuts already?

Lajdziak: This will not be a manufacturing company.  It will be a sales and distribution entity.

Q: So, what precisely does that mean Saturn will be?  And if it’s not building cars, where will its products come from?  I understand that GM has committed to only producing the Aura, Outlook and Vue models for another two years.

Lajdziak: You are correct.  Right now, the agreement is for the next couple years and we have three great products in the stable. Is there the opportunity to have an extension (with GM)?  Certainly, that will come up in the due diligence phase as we get close to closing (the sale).  I certainly don’t think we want to walk away from the core of Saturn, which is being very fuel efficient, having hybrid and electric technologies in the portfolio.  This brand has always been known for being environmentally-friendly and I know that’s important to Roger, as well, as he considers the future of the brand.

Q: We’re hearing talk about a variety of partners.  (A Penske spokesman confirmed there’ve already been preliminary discussions.)  We’ve heard Renault mentioned, and possibly a Chinese manufacturer.  Can you discuss these opportunities.

Lajdziak: I cannot. But I can tell you that Roger were on the phone, he would say there are various OEMs he is speaking with.

Q: Might it not be more difficult running a company when your partners might not consider you their first priority?

Lajdziak: First of all, the world has overcapacity.  ut secondly, this business is about great relationships.  And if you have great relationships, you can make good things happen in business transactions.  I’m very confident because of Roger’s involvement because he has great relationships.

Q: Saturn was going to have three different Vue hybrids. It doesn’t sound like this won’t happen, but is hybrid technology going to be a push for you?

Lajdziak: More to come on that, as we think about our future product portfolio. It’s premature to talk about that today. We’ll remain very fuel-efficient as a brand and have all the right products to support that as a brand.

Q: You’ve used the word, “we,” several times, which suggests you’ll be staying with Saturn, once it leaves GM.

Lajdziak: That’s a Roger question. I’d be honored, but that’s his decision.

Q: Roger Penske has run the nation’s second-largest automotive dealer network.  He’s also become the U.S. distributor for Daimler’s micro-car, the Smart fortwo.  What might he have learned from that which will be applied to his new role as Saturn’s owner?

Lajdziak: I think he has learned a lot about two-tier distribution….with Smart.  That’s a real advantage as Saturn becomes a distribution entity that will be successful, long-term.  Roger has a lot of expertise. He’s been highly successful. He’s very team-oriented and likes to listen and then take fast action.

Q: Saturn liked to refer to itself as a “different kind of car company.”  That certainly will apply even more in the future

Lajdziak: This is a historical moment. This hasn’t been done before. It’s bringing two icons together in a new business model.

Q: What challenges will you face?

A: I can tell you we’ve got a very strong dealer network.  This brand has always been about innovating, and the secret weapon we have on our hands is that our retail network has always been willing to innovate. In this business, it’s ultimately all about meeting the needs of the customer in the marketplace, and we’ve had a reputation for great guest treatment and that’s the way Roger works.

Q: What is the timetable, now?  And what’s the impact of the GM bankruptcy

Lajdziak: We signed the memorandum of understanding, today. In the next several months, we’ll be going through due diligence as we work towards the close of the transaction, which we hope will be in the third quarter (2009).  The U.S. government has been very supportive of our efforts in selling Saturn and approved the MOU.  There are a lot of complications, obviously, being in a bankrupt situation, but we have a plan to work through that.