David Booth from the National Post: So, Saturn is no more. One more bastion of the U.S. auto empire sinks into the quicksand that has been The Great Recession. Its would-be saviour, Roger Penske, has pulled out of the deal quite dramatically one day prior to taking over the "Saturn Homecoming" brand.

General Motors has recently announced that the purchase of the Saturn brand by the Penske Auto Group will not include the Saturn Retailers in Canada. What does this mean to you, our valued Leggat Saturn Saab customers? We want you to know we have made the decision to remain open at our current location at 814 Guelph Line after the announced Saturn end date in Canada of December 31, 2009, so that we can fully look after your servicing requirements.

With this week's confirmation that General Motors and Penske Automotive Group plan to close down Saturn in Canada, SaturnFans.com has created a new support forum to give Canadian owners a place to ask questions, get help, and share experiences. My hope is that our friends "north of the 48" will get the same level of service and support for their cars from their local GM dealership as they had come to expect from Saturn. But just in case, feel free to use this dedicated forum as a place to post messages if you have any issues getting your Saturn vehicles serviced.

Kelly Pedro from Canada's London Free Press: Saturn's future in Canada may be uncertain, but it's business as usual at the Saturn Saab Isuzu of London dealership. Penske Automotive Group bought the Saturn brand from General Motors and has decided not to sell the vehicles in Canada. GM is building the Vue, Aura and Outlook for Penske until 2011 - all mid-sized or sport-utility vehicles.

Michael Bettencourt from Globe and Mail: The Saturn brand's lack of a profitable small car and its pairing with another ailing brand in Saab in Canada helped prompt the decision to close all Canadian Saturn and Saab outlets in the next few months, according to the company that will keep the brand alive in the U.S.

Murray McNeill from the Winnipeg Free Press: Manitoba's only Saturn dealership will disappear by the end of the year as the restructuring of the North American auto sector continues. Birchwood Automotive Group president Steve Chipman said Wednesday that General Motors notified Birchwood's Saturn Saab of Pointe West dealership earlier this week that all 46 Canadian Saturn dealerships will cease operations on or before December 31.

Earlier today Stew Low, a spokesman for General Motors, officially announced what had been expected for some time: Saturn will cease its operations in Canada on or before December 31, 2009. According to Low, the decision to shutdown operations was jointly made by General Motors and Penske officials after thoroughly analyzing the brand's Canadian business model.

Tim Petruk from Kamloops this Week via BCLocalNews.com: It's the end of one era for a long-time Kamloops auto dealership. Terry Lowe, president and dealer principal of Saturn of Kamloops announced Thursday the Valleyview dealership that has been selling Saturns for almost two decades would be changing brands after Roger Penske, the new owner of the Saturn brand, decided not to carry the cars north of the 49.

On Tuesday, letters were sent to Saturn retailers asking them to join the Penske Automotive Group; however, those invitations were only sent to the 350 retailers located in the United States. The 51 Canadian-based retailers were not included. Penske mentioned to a reporter from the Toronto Star that his first priority as the new owner of Saturn is to review the viability of the Canadian retail network. This uncertainty has already caused one dealership, located in Windsor, Ontario, to close shop.