This stock 2007 Saturn Vue sport-utility - the last Vue built in Saturn's former manufacturing facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee - will be auctioned in Palm Beach later this week by Barrett-Jackson. This particular Vue is powered by a 2.2 Liter Ecotec engine with automatic transmission, features power windows and locks, and rides on Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires.

General Motors is reportedly gearing up to auction off "about 100 of its prized antique and show cars to raise cash and trim warehousing costs," according to a story in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. A check of the Barrett-Jackson website shows three historic Saturn vehicles going on the block this Thursday.

With the new stimulus package offering consumers the ability to deduct state and local taxes on new-car purchases, and a variety of tax credits available on hybrid and alternative-fuel cars, there have never been more ways for consumers to take advantage of tax benefits on new-car purchases.

From the Windsor Star: The Ion replaced the four-door SL and two-door SC coupe models as the cornerstone of the Saturn small-car lineup. Both the Ion sedan and Quad Coupe, so called because it came with small, clamshell-style rear openings, used plastic body panels to fend off dings and dents.

I should start this writeup by saying that this report is mostly relevant to drivers of the 3.6L V6 Saturn Aura XR with the 6-speed automatic transmission.  I have been having a great couple of weeks, folks. I reset the average miles per gallon (MPG) calculator on my DashHawk at the beginning of July and looked down today to discover an average all city fuel economy of 28.9 MPG.

Two years ago About.com's Jason Fogelson reviewed the Saturn Sky roadster in disbelief. "The coolest new droptop roadster to come out of Detroit in years is... a Saturn?" he asked rhetorically. "Yes, the 2007 Saturn Sky really can be found on the friendly, no-haggle showrooms of your local Saturn dealer."

Aaron Gold from About.com drove the 2007 Saturn Aura XR back in loved the car's V6 "good road manners" and "stellar" powertrain. He yearned for a four-cylinder option, which was added a year later for the 2008 model year. He also didn't care for his test car's dark interior or some of the chrome trim. But that didn't sour his experience with the car.

This has been a roller coaster week of sorts for the Saturn Outlook.  First, the crossover utility was called a "Top Safety Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  But now we have news that the Outlook will be part of a second recall campaign by General Motors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that General Motors will be recalling 88,809 model year '08 Buick Enclave and model year 2007-08 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook vehicles to fix their windshield wipers.

You don't have to think too far back to remember when the subject of this week's "Flashback Friday" was built. While the anniversary of the first Saturn to roll off the assembly line in Spring Hill, Tennessee is next week, I thought that this week it would be fitting to feature the last Saturn ever built at that plant.