Executives

GM will wind down Saturn after savior Penske bows out

Roger Penske, right, has dropped his plan to take over the Saturn brand from General Motors. GM says the brand will be wound down.
LC
By:
Lindsay Chappell
September 30, 2009 05:00 AM
History of Saturn

1983 GM Chairman Roger Smith unveils the Saturn small-car project.

1985 GM and the UAW agree on a separate Saturn labor pact; GM selects Spring Hill, Tenn., as the site for Saturn production, engineering and management.

1987 Auto dealers and Saturn managers design a retail plan that awards exclusive large markets.

1988 Saturn begins recruiting 3,000 workers from GM plants around the country.

1990 Saturn goes on sale with compact S-series sedans and coupes.

1991 Saturn leads industry in new-car sales per outlet.

1994 Saturn says it posted an operating profit for the previous year. Thousands of owners flock to the Saturn Homecoming in Spring Hill and tour the factory. Annual sales peak at 286,000 cars.

1997 Exports to Japan begin.

1999 Saturn introduces a mid-sized sedan, the L series, built in Delaware.

2002 Spring Hill begins production of the Vue crossover, using a Honda V-6 engine.

2006 Saturn introduces the full-sized Outlook crossover, on a platform shared with Chevrolet and Buick. Saturn introduces Sky roadster, twin of the Pontiac Solstice.

2007 Production of the Vue moves to Mexico.

2008 Opel Astra hatchbacks are imported from Belgium as the Saturn Astra. Sales slide to 188,004. A cash-drained GM tells Congress it intends to abandon the Saturn brand.

2009 The number of Saturn franchises drops to 350 from 435 a year earlier. Roger Penske agrees to buy Saturn by 4th quarter.

Sept. 30, 2009 Penske drops his bid for Saturn.

DETROIT -- General Motors Co. said it will begin to phase out Saturn -- the car company conceived more than 25 years ago to fend off imports -- after bidder Penske Automotive Inc. failed to secure a source of vehicles to keep the brand afloat.

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