Oct. 1, 2009
GM announces it is shutting down the Saturn brand after an unsuccessful effort to sell the Saturn distribution network to Detroit industrialists and sportsman Roger Penske. GM also closes the Pontiac brand and winds down the Hummer brand after a buyer fails to materialize. Only Saab is salvaged from GM's scrap heap with a last minute bid from Spyker, a maker of exotic sports cars based in the Netherlands, and financial help from the European Union.