GM Shuts Saturn Brand As Penske Bails On Deal

CNN Money and other outlets are reporting that after Penske Motor's deal to take over the brand fell through, GM has announced it will "wind down" the brand and its 350 dealerships nationwide.

Under the terms of the sale, GM would have continued to produce the popular Outlook, Vue, and Aura models until 2011, after which Penske would have found a new manufacturer. But Penske's negotiations with an unidentified third-party supplier reportedly fell through, leading him to cancel the deal with GM that would have saved 13,000 Saturn jobs.

Jalopnik has the GM and Penske press releases. Penske:

Penske Automotive Group negotiated the terms and conditions of an agreement with another manufacturer; however, that agreement was rejected by that manufacturer's board of directors. Without that agreement, the company has determined that the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit the company from moving forward with this transaction.

GM:

This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality. PAG's announcement explained that their decision was not based on interactions with GM or Saturn retailers; rather it was because of the inability to source new products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract.

GM promises that after Saturn is shuttered, owners will be able to get their vehicles serviced at other GM dealerships