Campbell’s Saturn Territory Grows

The company that owns the rights to sell new Saturn automobiles in north Orange County has become the exclusive dealer for the entire county.

Campbell Automotive Group, which has held Saturn’s only county franchise since the territory from Irvine north was awarded in 1987, won the franchise for the southern half of the county last week.

John Campbell, chairman of the dealership chain, said he is looking at sites in San Juan Capistrano for the first South County outlet, which should open by January, and is considering either Irvine or Rancho Santa Margarita for a second southern facility “in a couple of years.”

The Campbell group now operates Saturn of Santa Ana and is building a full-service Saturn facility in Huntington Beach, scheduled to open in September, and a mini-dealership at Westminster Mall, scheduled for a July opening.

Campbell’s Santa Ana facility, which opened in October, 1990, was the nation’s 10th-biggest Saturn dealership in 1991 sales and, Campbell said, is in the top 15 nationally so far this year.

He said the dealership sold 400 Saturns in April and May, a monthly pace that eluded most Southland car dealers in this recession.