Report : Penske walks away from Saturn deal, and GM forced to kill Saturn brand !

No matter how ready you are expected to hear bad news, it'll always be a shock. Back last summer, when General Motors was crying for some extra cash, it was reported that their Saturn barnd will be sold to Penske Automotive Group. While that was certainly good news, Penske and GM went through a lot of discussion sessions about the supply, maintinance, and labor.

Well after months of discussion, Penske announced that it's mostly worried on future supply of vehicles, and therefore their negotiations with GM about the purchase of Saturn have been canceled. “Since announcing its discussions with GM on June 5, 2009, the company has been in the due diligence process to determine the feasibility of developing an independent distribution model for Saturn-branded products and service parts in the United States, including the sourcing of vehicles from GM and other potential suppliers,” Penske said in a statement. “The company had negotiated a definitive agreement with GM to source vehicles on a contract-manufactured basis for a period of time.”

On GM's side, CEO Fritz Henderson announced that the Saturn brand will be "winding down" the brand, until Saturn finds a new owner. “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,” GM CEO Fritz Henderson said in a statement. However, Henderson also stated that customers can still buy Saturn vehicles in dealers, and owners can still have their vehicles serviced. GM is determinded that no jobs will be lost, even after the death of Saturn.

Source : [Penske Automotive Group, General Motors]