Will GM shuts down Saturn by October 2010? (Updated Nov 2011, Yes it has been shut down) GM is expected to shut down Saturn after the withdrawal of a bid by Penske Automobile to acquire Saturn in September 2009. The shut down will bring the end of a great car brand that built a lot of small compact cars and sold in U.S. popularly.

“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,” GM CEO Fritz Henderson said.

Saturn have their first car Saturn S-Series in 1991. Saturn receives two “Silver Anvil” awards for community and internal relations, a Popular Mechanics “Design and Engineering” award for “manufacturing processes that result in exceptionally high quality for an all-new vehicle.”, and also receives “Driver’s Choice awards for best small car” from MotorWeek in 1991.

Over the years, Saturn has built a total number of 9 models including the Saturn S-Series, Saturn L-Series, Saturn Vue, Saturn Ion, Saturn Relay, Satrun Sky (Roadster), Saturn Outlook, Saturn Aura, Saturn Astra. GM had agreed to keep building Saturn models like Aura, Outlook, and Vue through at least 2011 if GM shuts down Saturn. However, Saturn needs to create their own products after 2011.

Saturn has around 350 dealers across United States and it may be closed by 2011. No more new models will be introduced under Saturn after that. GM announced that Saturn owners can still go to any certified GM dealer to service their car once Saturn dealerships are closed. It will be a sad news if we no longer see Saturn in future.