With all this talk since June, of Penske buying Saturn from GM it looked like the brand would be saved and Saturn would avoid being dissolved like so many other car brands.

It seems though that 19-year-old brand is not so fortunate. The deal between Saturn’s Buyer Penske, and GM did not did not come through.

 The Deal

GM had agreed to keep building Saturn’s top three vehicles the Aura, Vue and Outlook until 2011. Then, another manufacturer would be needed.

An agreement had been reach with an unnamed company, but it was vetoed by the company’s board. Without a manufacturer lined up to make Saturns taking over the Brand would be too risky for Penske and the deal between Penske and GM fell through.

With the Penske deal not coming through GM has decided to drop the brand and quit making Saturns altogether.

What Will Happen to Saturn Dealers?

The deal was likely to be completed this month and the 13,000 jobs and 350 dealers nation wide would have been saved. The 350 dealers only sell Saturns, which makes them completely reliant on the brand being manufactured.

These dealers can continue until next October before they will be forced out of selling Saturns. Many are likely to shut down Saturn operations earlier than October in order to find another brand to sell.

What about Saturn owners?

Fortunately, Saturn owners will still be able to go to Saturn dealers for service and GM dealers once Saturn dealers a closed. Warranties will continue to be honored and parts will still be manufactured.

There’s the story of what brought down the 19 year old Saturn name.