According to CNN: “Car dealership operator Penske Automotive Group announced on Wednesday that it has canceled plans to acquire General Motors’ Saturn unit. As a result, GM said it will wind down the brand and dealer network, potentially putting 13,000 Saturn dealership jobs at risk. The announcement comes nearly four months after Penske agreed to buy the rights to the 19-year old brand from GM when the automaker was in bankruptcy.

As part of the deal, GM would have continued making Saturn’s three best-selling models — the Aura sedan, as well as the Vue and Outlook cross-over SUVs — for the rest of this year and next. Penske, which would have been the distributor but not the manufacturer of the vehicles, would have sold the cars on behalf of GM. Penske said it would find another third-party manufacturer to make new Saturns in 2011.

But negotiations with another, unnamed manufacturer fell through after an agreement was rejected by that manufacturer’s board, according to Penske. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the manufacturer in question is Renault.” It seems Saturn will go the way of Pontiac by the end of 2010 or sometime in 2011. And much like Pontiac, Sat. had plenty of potential, but in a world where car makers merge/close at the drop of a dime (literally) anything is possible.

There’s still a chance for Opel; rumors have bounced around since 2006 & 2007 that Cadillac and Chevy will take on Opel designs as their own. But for now Buick and Saturn are out, but let’s pray Opel isn’t.

Now Penske Automotive Group (who statistically sell the second most amount of new cars in America, along with truck leasing, shipping/logistics and racing) and at the head of this “Let’s Buy Saturn” pact. Penske has a pretty good history with car brands – they handled the introduction of Smart in North America and the turnaround of Detroit Diesel from a money-losing operation into profit-generation. Roger Penske, chairman of the company, has some stiff competition when it comes to picking up Saturn, but he’s got a pretty nice track record to back him up.

According to World Car Fans & Buickpedia: News just in is that General Motors is considering placing Opel badges on some Buick vehicles and then selling them to customers in America. One of the first cars nominated as a candidate for this is the Opel Insignia, say people close to GM’s product plans. It would enter the US as a Buick Regal sedan if this happened.

Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-Pontiac-GMC, told Automotive News that Opel is one of GM’s brands that could provide her brands with some good product leveraging.

Classic Saturn – Introduced to the World on TV

Saturn was established on January 7, 1985, in response to the success of Japanese & German small-car imports in the United States, with the slogan “A different kind of car company.”

Saturn S Series – 1992

Saturn’s S-Series was one of the longest selling and most popular cars for the company. The S-Series was available in both four door sedan, 5 door wagon and two door coupe. Other version included a two door coupe with suicide doors. S-Series kept on trucking with a good sales percentages until production ended in 2002, and was replaced by the Ion.

Saturn SC2 Turbo Concept – 2001

The SC2 Turbo was a concept which many Saturn owners have transformed their S-Coupes into, with a little help from something called Horse Power. The SC2 Turbo was never an official release by the company, but fans have dropped in turbocharged engine, exhaust systems and speakers the size of your entire body.

Rebirth with the Saturn Ion – 2003

European auto maker Opel became a major inspiration to Saturn’s look. Much like a reformed S-Series, the Ion comes in sedan and two-door coupe form, complete with the now well known Saturn suicide door.

Saturn Flextreme Concept – 2008

Flextreme carries on the power-train concept of the original Chevy Volt as a range extended electric vehicle. Drive to the wheels is provided by a 53kW electric motor which gets electrons from a 16kWh lithium ion battery. Where the Flextreme differs from the Volt is the range extender. The Volt uses a 1.0L three cylinder, gasoline/E85 flex-fuel engine to drive the generator. The Flextreme uses a 1.3L four cylinder diesel engine.

GM is also asking for $16 Billion in government aide. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like any of that money will go towards the Saturn name.

From CNN:

General Motors Corp. (GM) said Tuesday it is counting on $6 billion in aid from foreign governments and could potentially need billions more from the U.S. government in coming years to cover pension obligations, even if it gets the additional aid it requested Tuesday.

GM, in a revamped restructuring plan submitted to the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday, said it needs up to $16.6 billion in federal assistance on top of the $ 13.4 billion in loans it’s received since December. A dramatic sales slide and worsening global economy forced the auto maker to accelerate and expand restructuring plans laid out when it asked for federal loans in December.

“We have to restructure the business so we can be viable at a sales level that is dramatically lower than what we ever anticipated,” GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said at a news conference Tuesday. “We are still going at this with a great sense of urgency.”

The largest U.S. auto maker, which reiterated that bankruptcy isn’t a good option, is in talks with bondholders and the United Auto Workers to reduce $47 billion in debt obligations. Wagoner said the union agreed to concessions that take a “big bite” out of labor costs, but the two sides are still negotiating a deal that would change an agreement under which the union agreed to take over $ 20 billion in retiree obligations.

The auto maker’s latest plan involves deeper cuts than those outlined in December. Steps include shuttering 14 factories by 2012 rather than nine, eliminating 47,000 hourly and salaried jobs this year globally, and closing its Hummer truck brand this year and Saturn in 2011 if no alternatives arise. The company also said its Saab AB (SAAB-B.SK) unit could file for reorganization this month if the Swedish government doesn’t provide financial support.

Pension Fund Concerns

GM and Chrysler faced a Tuesday deadline to present their updated viability plans to U.S. authorities. Chrysler, which is surviving on a $4 billion federal loan, asked for an additional $2 billion on top of its original $7 billion loan request.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said late Tuesday that it’s clear more will be required of creditors, suppliers, dealers, unions and auto executives to ensure the viability of the companies.

Shares of GM were up one cent at $2.19 in after-hours trading. The stock was the biggest decliner among Dow Jones Industrial Average components in Tuesday’s regular session, falling 13%. Chrysler, owned by investment group Cerberus Capital Management, doesn’t have publicly traded shares.

Industry experts said the updated plans contained significant cost cuts, but warned that the economic environment will continue to cast a cloud over the prospects for the companies.

“Even if these plans are approved, and agreements with the union and lenders secured, bankruptcy risk will remain high because of very uncertain consumer demand and other serious risks such as potential supplier failures,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Gregg Lemos Stein said.

GM’s loan request includes $4.6 billion it hopes to draw in March and April. Additionally, the auto maker is asking for a $7.5 billion line of credit that could be drawn under a downside scenario and to defer repayment of a $4.5 credit line due in 2011.

The cost reduction and additional U.S. aid, however, won’t likely be enough to sustain the auto maker alone.

Under the survival plan, GM is counting on $6 billion from Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Thailand by 2010.

GM also said it would begin repaying federal loans in 2012, though it might need more money in 2013 and 2014 if it needs to contribute to U.S. pension plans. The auto maker’s pension fund had a surplus, but diminishing returns along with draws on the fund to cover restructuring have diminished the reserves.

Additionally, the plan depends on $7.7 billion in funding from the Department of Energy under a program to incentivize auto makers and suppliers to develop fuel-efficient vehicles. The DOE, however, is waiting for the Treasury’s opinion of GM’s viability plan.

Companies Say Bankruptcy Not Good Option

Despite auto makers’ deepening needs, both companies on Tuesday vigorously argued against Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations, as some on Wall Street have advocated.

GM said a bankruptcy restructuring would cost as much as $100 billion; Chrysler put the cost at $20 billion to $25 billion.

“We looked at ‘What are the risk and opportunities of a bankruptcy?’” said GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson.

GM, which has been in restructuring mode for four years, said its need for government support is driven by the global financial market crisis, the dramatically weaker economy and the precipitous decline in vehicle demand.

The name suicide door “reflects the increased danger of the door falling open if it becomes unlatched while the car is moving. The potential risk is obvious: when driving at high speed, the fast moving air around the car creates an area of low pressure, which acts as an outward force on the door, trying to open it.” – (thanks Wikipedia)

Saturn first introduced a driver-side third door for easy entry on their 1999 SC coupe. Its latch is on the inside panel, making it impossible to open (on purpose or accidentally) without opening the front door first. Many S-Series vehicles remained in the top 5 most stolen cars during their model run.

In 2003 the S-Series was replaced by an all new Ion, based off an Opel design. Ion’s coupe featured suicide doors on both sides of the vehicle. Saturn Ion had a decent sales rate at first, and was up for a redesign in 2008. However, in 2007 owners GM decided to discontinue their Ion and move onto the Astra. The time for suicide/3-door coupes has come and gone again. Perhaps one day some car company will take up the fight for unique door design again.

What is this ‘2 Mode’ concept? It’s a Saturn (well, GM) plan to combine the performance of a hybrid vehicle with the utility of a SUV. If you’re the type of person who wants fantastic fuel economy from a larger automobile, but thinks something similar to your average crossover is a bit small for your clan, GM thinks you’ll fall in love with the economical friendliness and size of the new Vue Green Line 2 Hybrid. Green Line 2 Mode Vue’s features include lightweight alloy wheels with low-resistance tires, chrome door handles, chrome dual exhaust tips, chrome skid plates on the front and…well…more than enough chrome for your family, and other drivers, to enjoy.

Production is set for late 2008 so Saturn can add their other upcoming hybrid vehicles to showroom line up at almost the same time.

General Motors Europe recently unveiled the GTC concept, which GM’s European head of design Bryan Nesbitt claims “speaks a new design language for Opel in the future.” Part of that future looks like a continuing partnership with Saturn. The American auto maker is beginning to swap both interior and exterior designs with Opel, and vice versa. Saturn’s Aura, one of their new high selling models, is already taking the lead – as it is based off of an Opel Vectra. The Vue is also based off of another Opel vehicle, the Antara crossover. Opel’s upcoming GT looks very familiar, because it is basically a rebranded Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice.

So you may already be use to seeing Opel in the United States – get comfortable with it because Saturn wants to keep this winning partnership growing for years to come.

Early versions ofthe vehicle used a Nickel-metal hydride battery. Nitz says “But now we’re using lithium-ion batteries. We’ve done extensive battery thermal management work in the lab and on the road, and plug-in charge integration is fully operational and undergoing refinement.” There is still more research and development that needs to take place before the plug-in Vue is at a showroom near you. Based on Nitz’s announcement it would appear that the Saturn team are on the right path to getting the vehicle into your garage within the next few years.