Today was supposed to be the first day of SaturnFans.com's week-long SaturnFest celebration. Just like in the past, it was going to be a happy time, with this year's virtual gathering of owners from around the world (I've received e-mails from as far away as Taiwan) cheering Roger Penske's acquistion of Saturn. But, alas, with GM's decision to suddenly begin the process of shutdowning the brand at the end of September, preparation for the online festival screeched to a halt as news of the impending closure dominated this site's front page.

Breaking Saturn news has slowed to a trickle in the past week, but the sting from GM's announcement still hurts. Frankly, putting on a Saturn "celebration" this week feels a bit unsettling and doesn't quite seem appropriate.

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few weeks about what Saturn's closure means for Saturn owners, enthusiasts, and this website. Among the changes planned for SaturnFans.com is a retooled SaturnFest. Several visitors have written to me hoping that SaturnFest would go on. I agree. But instead of an over-the-top festival looking forward to the future, the reworked SaturnFest 2009 will be a flashback at the many things that made Saturn special to its millions of owners. It won't just be a week-long event either, SaturnFest 2009 will now last 31 days beginning on Tuesday, December 1st.

While General Motors has taken our "Saturn" away, they can't take away our enthusiasm and passion for our cars. I hope you'll join me every day this December remembering what made Saturn so great, so much fun, and so very different.