Roger Penske: 'We're going to build a Saturn team'

— -- Roger Penske, known for his successful racing teams, in addition to being the nation's second-largest auto dealer, has struck a tentative deal to buy the Saturn brand from General Motors. USA TODAY spoke with Penske on Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.

Q: What's the next step in your acquisition of Saturn?

A: The next step is to close the transaction, which we hope to do at the end of the third quarter. We'll be dealing with GM on future product. Then we have the opportunity to source product from around the world as we go into future years. First, we're putting an organization together and closing the transaction. The great news is that we have 350 dealerships that will be alive and well and will not have to be shut down. I think that's a real by-product of this. For me personally, I know many of these dealers myself and they're some of the very best. So, I think we've got a great opportunity. I thank General Motors (for) supporting us, and obviously the government that wanted to see this happen.

Q: This seems to be a massive undertaking. Why do it?

A: My heart, my soul is in the automobile business. I started as a Chevrolet dealer in West Philadelphia in February 1965. So, I've seen lots of things happen in the industry. This opportunity, for me, is once in a lifetime. I think the fact that our organization completed a very good transaction with General Motors in 1988 when we bought Detroit Diesel… it was a success that gave us an entree to be able to do this with GM. So we're really a partnership.

Q: Where are you now with Dodge, your current NASCAR factory sponsor?

A: We're in great shape with Dodge. We have three more years to go on our contract. They have been upfront with us. We expect to continue in NASCAR with Dodge. As I saw Chevrolet's Ed Peper (general manager of GM's Chevrolet division) the other day say, (racing is part of their ) DNA (with respect to) their marketing area. I think that Dodge feels the same way and certainly does Ford. So I think the Big 3 will be stronger at the end of this process, and motorsports is part of the company culture in the U.S. The Big 3, NASCAR, IndyCar racing — these things are awfully important to the consumer. The technology that's generated out of these types of races will be good today and good in the future. I'm very positive. I live in Detroit so I'm passionate about seeing things in Detroit turning around.