LaSorda to advise Penske on Saturn bid

Tom LaSorda, who retired at the end of April as Chrysler president and vice chairman, has a new job: he has joined Penske Automotive Group as an advisor as the auto retailer considers a bid for Saturn’s distribution network.

A spokesman for Penske confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report that LaSorda had been brought on as a consultant and that America’s second-largest automobile dealer group was looking at the GM division. The Detroit News reports two area dealers, Joe Serra, past co-chairman of the North American International Auto Show and CEO of Serra Automotive, and David Fischer, chairman and CEO of Suburban Collection, a dealer group that includes the world’s largest Saturn dealership, are in discussions with Penske about joining forces in a bid for Saturn.

Penske Automotive Group also owns the exclusive distributorship for Smart Cars in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.