Sources tell SaturnFans.com that General Motors plans to stop production of its Saturn L-Series sedan and wagon later this year. Insiders say the last L300 will roll off the Wilmington assembly line on July 2nd. The Detroit News ran an article about the rumored plans yesterday. "We're looking at the plans for the L300 and we are reviewing them," Saturn spokeswoman Sherrie Childers-Arb told the Detroit News. Today, GM all but confirmed those plans when the company announced that a new unnamed rear-wheel-drive Saturn coupe - based on the Saturn Curve concept's mechanicals - would be built alongside the Pontiac Solstice at the Wilmington assembly plant in 2006.

Saturn had originally planned to phase out the L-Series next year, just before the launch of its all-new Epsilon-based 'Signal' midsize car in 2006. But GM reassessed its plans earlier this year as L-Series sales continued to fall and retailer inventory rose. Generous sales incentives and numerous temporary plant shutdowns failed to improve the situation.

L-Series sales plummeted 78% in January from year-ago levels. Automotive New Data Center reports that Saturn retailers had a 152-day supply of L300 sedans and wagons on their lots on February 1st, up from a 120-day supply just one month earlier. A 60-day supply is considered normal.

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Source: Detroit News, Automotive News