G. Chambers Williams III from the Tennessean: Tom Smith opened the Video Shoppe in north Columbia a year after GM announced it would build a new Saturn plant in nearby Spring Hill. To his delight, the automaker put a giant training facility right next door, and rentals of his movies boomed. "I had a good run because of it," he said. But today, more than 20 years later, the South Central Tennessee Career Center has moved in next door, where unemployed people go to look for work. "Their business is great, but mine is not," Tom Smith said.

Paul A. Eisenstein from MSNBC: It's been nearly a quarter-century since General Motors Chairman Roger Smith stunned the automotive world by announcing that GM would create an all-new car division, called Saturn. But 25 years later, Saturn's once high-tech factory, and Saturn itself, are closing down, testimonies to the failures of Smith, and the CEOs who followed him, to fix GM's problems.

From the Ventura County Star: Started in 1985 to compete with small, fuel-efficient Japanese imports, Saturn was meant to operate independently of the parent company — and for a while it did, building an enthusiastic customer base — almost cultlike — that it hosted for an annual reunion and picnic at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant. Unfortunately, the brand never made money and the plant quit making Saturns in 2007. But, to hear Saturn buffs tell it, the massive GM bureaucracy intruded more and more in the running of the company, and it was slow to introduce new models in a fast-changing market.

ABC News looked back on its evening news telecast from July 26, 1985 when GM announced construction of the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

You may recall a couple of months ago GM had an auction, liquidating lots of classic cars. They even pulled the last built Saturn Ion out of the museum it was in to put it up for bidding. Well, this is that car. It was also featured in at least two articles on this website (here and here). This Saturn Ion is in fantastic shape, as it was stored in a museum. It now has 2,500 miles on it.

According to UAW Local 1853 Chairman Mike Herron, Saturn's former Spring Hill Powertrain plant built its two millionth GM L-850 Ecotec 4-cylinder engine at around noon this past Wednesday (September 16th). The Tennessee-built engine is used in General Motors vehicles sold worldwide.

Saturn's former manufacturing facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee was as revolutionary as the brand's innovative cars and industry-leading retail sales and service experience. This state-of-the-art plant was located approximately 30 miles south of Nashville on Highway 31.

Lindsay Chappell from Automotive News: Suppliers and workers at General Motors' assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, thought they had the inside track this summer when GM had to decide quickly where to build a new family of subcompact cars. The plant boasts a recent renovation, a history of good labor relations and the sort of innovative supplier-automaker partnership that automakers profess to seek. It wasn't enough.

Mike O'Rourke, president of UAW Local 1853, via the Tennessean: What we factually know is that the Spring Hill Manufacturing facility has been placed in GM's good-asset inventory and that, as of today, the Chevrolet Traverse, which currently is built in Spring Hill, is scheduled to move to Michigan in November.

Employees at the Spring Hill plant, former home to Saturn, face a tough decision in the coming month. By July 24th, they must decide whether or not to accept a buyout package that is being offered by GM. The Spring Hill plant currently manufactures the Chevrolet Traverse; however, production of the vehicles will stop in November. On the day GM filed for bankruptcy, they also announced that production of the Traverse would be moving to Lansing, Michigan.