A $250 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), could easily resolve the late breaking issues that prompted the unexpected, last minute collapse of the proposed Penske Automotive Group (PAG) purchase of Saturn, according to Todd Ingersoll, Saturn's Retailer Council member.

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David Thomas from Cars.com: Current owners' warranties are still fully backed by GM and will be serviced by other GM brand dealerships — Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick. As of September 1, Saturn's total inventory was 14,700 units, according to Automotive News data. Saturn representatives say there is an inventory of 12,000 vehicles on dealer lots and in transit.

John McElroy from Autoline Detroit via AutoBlog: In the early 1980s General Motors launched a top-secret program to figure out how it could build a small car to successfully compete against the Japanese automakers. It was called the S-car program and the results of this study shocked top management at GM. It conclusively proved General Motors could not profitably build a small car in the United States that was priced against the Japanese — at least not under the current GM system. And that launched another study to figure out what it would take become competitive. GM concluded that it needed a clean-sheet approach to designing, engineering, manufacturing and retailing small cars in the American market. In other words, it needed a whole new car company.

Pam Platt from the Courier Journal: It wasn't just the new-car smell that made me want to swoon when I went to the Saturn dealership. It was exactly as my friend said: Nice people, no games, really nice cars, good prices. The Saturn salesman went a mile better than smacking the car seat and ordering me to sit. He let me drive the wagon for a couple of days so I could see how I liked it.

David Welch from Business Week: The long, sad saga of Saturn is finally over. The once-hot General Motors division that began with a bang 19 years ago is now headed into oblivion after a deal to sell it to retailer Penske Automotive Group fell apart on September 30.

Robert Snell from the Detroit News: Dealers have until the end of October 2010 to close, but many will be gone by January because inventory is low, dealers said. The automaker will begin winding down Saturn dealers, who are being offered between $100,000 and $1 million to stay open and gradually sell inventory.

Lindsay Chappell from Automotive News: In the eleventh hour of Roger Penske's venture to acquire Saturn from General Motors to keep the brand alive, Renault's executive committee in France concluded, "Ca fait deux." Rough translation: "It's not going to come together." Despite Penske's statements that his organization had been in discussions with automakers around the world, ultimately his hopes had been pinned on only one: Renault.