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GM to shut down Saturn as Penske walks away

Posted by Hootan Mahallati | September 30, 2009 | In gm news saturn subaru

GM has announced that it will shut down Saturn and close its dealerships after racing legend and billionaire dealership owner Roger Penske dropped his bid for the troubled GM brand. The deal fell through because GM's board did not agree to Penske's resuscitation plan of sourcing cars for the Saturn brand from another automaker (Renault had been a possibility).

“Without that agreement,” Penske Automotive said, “the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit” the vehicle distributor from moving ahead with the deal.

A statement from GM added, “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. We will be winding down the Saturn brand and dealership network.”

The end of Saturn also spells the loss of 13,000 jobs associated with the company. However, while the dealership netowrk will cease to exist, Saturn owners will be able to service their cars at other GM dealerships.

[Source: Automotive News]

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