General Motors, and Penske Automotive, will be saying goodbye to Saturn as the attempt to sell the Saturn brand fell through. Production on Saturn vehicles has already been stopped, and now dealers will have just a few months to sell all remaining inventory.

Penske Automotive Group was in talks with GM for months in hopes of buying the embattled brand. The biggest challenge standing in the way of the Penske was finding another source for vehicles says Buick Birmingham since GM had no intention of continuing to supply the brand with vehicles. Penske had reportedly been in talks with French automaker Renault, but when discussions fell through, Cincinnati Used Cars suggests that Penske had no choice but to walk away from GM.

Once Penske walked away from talks, it took GM less than 24 hours to build the last Saturn vehicle. Currently, there are about 12,000 Saturn vehicles in inventory. Last month about 3,000 vehicles were sold according to sources at Chevy Parts New Mexico. It’s expected that inventory will be divided by GM to ensure as many dealers as possible have their needs met.

GM remains confident that it will be able to sell the remaining Saturn inventory. Unfortunately, Saturn dealers are so optimistic about the demise of the beloved brand.

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After its reign as the largest automaker in the world, General Motors has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Treasury and the federal government have claimed that theses new developments will make the new GM a leaner and healthier company. The bankruptcy is the third largest in American history and involved nearly $173 billion in dept.

In approximately 60 to 90 days, this new GM will be launched. The difference from the existing GM is that the new version will only include the strongest brands, dealers, and facilities. Oklahoma GMC points out that that while GM has previously been home to numerous nameplates, it will now only consist of only Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac brands. Fewer brands means fewer sales admits one dealer specializing in Philadelphia car loans, but these brands remain the automaker’s strongest and will certainly help make the automaker as a far leaner company.

Ultimately, the changes at GM are intended to provide the automaker with an improved balance sheet as recent years has seen debt grow dramatically. In order to help achieve its lofty goals, the U.S. Treasury is also committing $30 billion in bridge financing to further aid the process. Missouri Used Cars says the U.S. Treasury will not own GM debt alone, but will also share some of the dept with Canadian and Ontario governments as well.

While bankruptcy is under way, General Motors will continue to sell its cars and honor vehicle warranties. GM dealers realize that sacrifices will need to be made, but remain optimistic as the automaker will become stronger once it exits bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, operations until them will continue to operate as normal in most markets outside of North America.

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Current General Motors news can be read at Car Biz Weekly.

After losing its long-held title, GM realizes that the future will be long and arduous, and sales within its core market, North America, have declined dramatically, and show no sign of improving any time soon. For GM dealers like Detroit Chevrolet dealers, they too realize the road ahead will  hold plenty of challenges. In addition, GM’s sales marked the first point since 1982 that annual sales have fallen below 10 million vehicles, making this a historic decline for the automaker.

Auto sales in the U.S. have plummeted as demand for new cars have weakened along with the economy. Aside from consumer sales, Hartford Chevrolet dealers have also noted that fleet sales and the rental car business have also suffered in recent months. Based on these numbers, it’s also expected that GM, Chrysler, and Ford may also be reducing production further.

The federal stimulus packages from the government are increasingly seen as vital lifelines to keep the automakers, including GM, afloat. Even Los Angeles Ford dealers see federal aid as a vital component to keeping the domestic auto industry alive. However, despite poor sales in the vital North American and European markets, GM did see sales gains in developing regions in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Despite sales declines in Toyota sales as well, it was no surprise that Toyota was able to rise above GM this year.

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