wasn't Penske supposed to buy Saturn?

NO....deal fell thru.....

Very sorry to see them go. I've had a Saturn since 2001 and it's been one of the most trouble-free cars I've ever owned.

@redskull: Must be hit or miss. I have several friends who have owned Saturns and have had nothing but trouble with them, from $350 tail light circuit boards failing to random times where the car just would not start. I would never feel safe in one so I wouldn't purchase it. It would probably be a good car for a college student granted they are close to home, don't do a lot of driving in heavy traffic, and have a cellphone with them.

@citking: I'm on my third Saturn. The first one was a bit of a lemon but survived for 8 years. The second one I drove for six years and it was just fine - only body damage - when I traded it in for a used 2004 VUE. That one is still doing just fine now, too. The customer service has always been superb and that's been a big part of the appeal for me. I'll miss that experience.

Maybe we can afford that Outlook! :D

@gStein: Finally, Penske remove they offer, probably realizing that they would made money out of the deal.

the first saturn cars were a little small for me.

but i think i like them now. sad to see them go.

In Soviet Russia, Saturn buys you!

Seriously, if you're bargain-shopping, buying from a going-out-of-business brand is nothing new. Unlike when Daewoo went down, at least you have the GM dealer network behind your Saturn purchase.

I wouldn't consider it a good time to buy a Saturn even if I were being forced do so at gunpoint.

$1000? I negotiated about $2000 off the sticker price of my Honda Civic. Nut up and wear the salesman down.

@redskull: Well, that's the problem. How can a car company make money if cars don't break down?

@TheMugs: There was an issue with where the cars would come from after GM killed the line. Penske was going to act more like a distributor rather than a manufacturer.

Here's a link: GM to Kill Saturn - Jalopnik

Hmm, Mom wants to get a Sky or a Pontiac Solstice. Considering they're killing both brands, it might not be a bad time to go shopping.

@DH405:

I was going to say...I talked the salesman down 1k on my Elantra, and that was on TOP of $1500 cash back they were doing at the time.

Saturn isn't going away despite what GM says. Granted, they may no longer own them and they're going to be scaled down, but they aren't going anywhere.

where would they be going?

@nstonep:

As a happy Saturn Vue owner, I really hope you are right. I love my Vue.

I'm sorry the deal between Penske and GM fell through. GM's management shot themselves in the foot (feet?) when they muddied up the details regarding spare parts manufacturing.

@nstonep:

Well, what evidence is there that anyone on earth is interested in buying them?

I'd love a Vue Hybrid - since Honda seems too damn blind to adding a hybrid Element option - which you'd think would be fairly simply considering it's already on a Civic platform.

Morons.

Saab has made a profit before, so I can understand someone buying Saab to "re-Saabify" the brand (please no future Trailblazer or Subaru models). Saturn NEVER made a profit. Not that they are crap cars, i'm just saying that if they couldn't make a profit in a good economy then.....

ahhh just like circuit city, jack the price up then offer a small discount and make a ton of money.

@Saboth: I looked at the Elantra when they were doing that, but the salesmen for the Hyundai dealerships around Oklahoma were all super-sleazy, so I spung for the Honda. How's the Elantra working out for you?

@thereij: It really is a shame. I liked both of those models.

it's not a liquidator selling Saturns off, it's GM...hmm. I see your point...

@michigan2cv: Has Saab ever made a profit while being owned by GM?

I would not do it due to parts issues. Even my 98 Ram has gotten to the point where the dealer no longer carries many parts.

Of all the GM brands, Saturn is the only one I ever considered buying. Why not get rid of the ugly stuff like Buick and Cadillac?

@Buckus:
Just as a small poin...Daewoo really just got rolled into GM. The Chevy Aveo is actually a Daewoo product with Chevorlet badges.

I was thinking pre-GM...poor Saab must have felt like a bad child being dropped off at GM's house. "what did I do wrong?"

@Ihaveasmartpuppy: Because Saturns dealer network allowed them to kill it without nearly the hassle Buick would take, and Cadillac would never even be considered since they are GMs only Lux brand.

For what it is worth, anything good Saturn had is being moved to Buick, the new Lacrosse is what was supposed to replace the Saturn Aura, Buick got their own version of the Vue last year, and there are talks a modified 2011 Astra (the one they had planned as a world car) would show up as a compact Buick model.

@nstonep: Neat. That's so not what my Saturn dealership is telling me though.

@sybann: They wanted to make those; did they ever? I've never seen one at my local dealership.

I've had two Saturns (between me and my husband, we've had four). I will miss them! We can't afford a new one no matter what the deal is right now though.

@Falcon5768: The Buick Vue is dead. As it should be. Equinox and Terrain are enough small-utes for GM.

@Falcon5768: Also, moving the Astra to Buick makes no sense. Not only was it price-uncompetitive due to the weak dollar, Chevrolet already has a new small car coming. If this is the new GM, they won't be watering down their brands with flavors that don't belong. Of course, only time will tell.

@thereij: yeah, GM killed that deal, not penske. penske was going to have virtually no say over production - i don't see why anybody would want to enter into that deal.

makes me a little sad b/c this would be the first real new competition in the american auto marketplace since what - the 40's?

@gStein: Apparently, they weren't Penske material.

@ThinkerTDM: /sarcasm?

@JohnQPublic:
Ok.... So don't buy one. You've managed to add nothing to the actual discussion, though.

@SarcasticDwarf:
Wrong. Saturn parts are interchangeable with most GM models. There are plenty of parts to be had.

@Buckus:
Love my Equinox.

@thereij: realistically, she should be fine. opel is still in production & the sky, solstice & the opel GT are all sister cars.

the sky is almost identical to the GT, so i would probably lean in that direction - mouldings for the solstice may be difficult to get in the future, which will probably make any body repairs incredibly expensive, but under the hood, they're all essentially using the same parts.

@Buckus: Excuse me it was the Outlook Buick got not the Vue, but the Astra you dont really understand what happened that made it fail.

1) The Astra as Saturn had it was a stop gate for the 2010 Astra, which was to be built in the US and would have been much more competitively priced. Coupled with GMs attempt to dump the last of its 4 speed autos, terrible engine choice from Europe, bringing over the Hatch and not the Sedan or Coup that Europe had, as well as insane requirement for onstar to be installed (thus eliminating the aux jack) caused it to loose much of what made it the second best selling car in the EU.

2) The Chevy small car Cruz is based on the SAME platform as the Ion/Astra/Cobalt/G5 etc. Just because it has the same platform doesn't mean its the same car, as you could easily see driving a Cobalt and a Astra, or even a cobalt and the Ion which was the eldest sibling on the platform.

3) Last I looked Brand rebadging works perfectly fine for VW/Honda/Ford and Toyota. The problem was GM had TOO MANY brands, not that they rebadged cars. Buicks are not Chevys and are certainly not Caddies. Buicks are on the same level as Lexus and Infiniti, semi-lux brands, they just have a old fogies image thanks to terrible GM marketing.

@tbax929 is just plain tbax929: In replying to JohnQPublic you have managed to also add nothing to the discussion. Wait, now I've done it too!

Considering 95 percent of the Saturn parts are the same as the Chevy and Buick versions, why not save some money on a long term vehicle? Most comparable vehicles work out even in the end money-wise (adding initial cost with average repair costs for that model/brand). This might actually save you a bit more since the repair costs will remain static but the initial cost is dropping like a rock to move them out the door.

@redskull: I'm glad you had a good experience. I've owned 3, the last one killed the deal for me. It was an '02 Vue with the 2.2L ecotec engine. Timing chain went on it, like the L-series (Which finally had a recall) It had the same exact timing chain nozzle problem but Saturn refused to help me with the repair. I even said I'd pay for the new engine to be installed if they would put the updated nozzle on it for free to avoid the new engine having the same issue in the future.

The pretty much told me to suck it. I was talking to a representative at the NHTSA for a while during the investigation to recall my car as well. WTF Saturn.

Actually , the Saturn warranty might be the strongest-backed of any nameplate that ever went out of business. It has received explicit backing from the U.S. Government.They really own GM now. So don't worry about warranty or parts. But DO go on the 'net and find out if there are any gotchas on any weird or quirky parts that are tough to find. Stock up if they are available.(Yes ,this will make the situation worse). BTW Saturn didn't die . It was killed. By dumbass management.

@skylndrftr: I'd read a while back the GM made it almost impossible to obtain replacement parts for Daewoo cars, perhaps less of an issue since most Saturns are rebadged Opels, but makes me kind of wary...