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Days after GM officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the automaker has announced an deal with Penske Automotive Group, which will officially acquire the Saturn brand.

Under the proposed deal, Penske would officially own the Saturn brand and GM would continue production of the Saturn Vue, Aura and Outlook on a contract basis. The Saturn Astra and Sky are apparently not part of the deal, which means they will be dead. The deal will save 350 dealerships and approximately 13,000 jobs.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Well for sometime now we've all been under the assumption that Penske Automotive Group was going to acquire the Saturn brand from GM. The deal involved Penske buying the brand and GM would continue to provide Saturn vehicles on a contract basis...well it looks like that deal is off.

GM issued a statement tonight that states "Penske Automotive Group (PAG) has decided to terminate discussions with General Motors to acquire Saturn."

It looks like Penske was having problems finding other products to sell after the contract with GM ended. GM originally planned on only supplying the Outlook, Aura and Vue until the end of next year. As a result of this announcement, Saturn will officially join Pontiac and Oldsmobile six feet under.