GM to Shutdown Tennessee-born Saturn

GM announced Wednesday it plans to shutdown the Saturn brand after a deal fell through to sell the line to Penske Automotive Group.

Penske started formal discussions about purchasing Saturn June 5th and since then has been working out the details. The deal was expected to close in the coming days. Penske planned to have GM make the vehicles for a period of time, then move to another manufacturer.

In a statement, Penske said it negotiated with a third party manufacturer, but that company’s board of directors rejected the deal. So Penske pulled out because of the uncertainty of where it would get future products.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson said in statement that Saturn and its dealership network will be phased out. Dealers said they were shocked by the news.

Saturn got its start in Spring Hill, Tennessee. It launched its first fuel-efficient four-door in 1990 as an answer to the Japanese imports that were gaining market share.