Saturn's future under Penske: electric cars might move to front of the line

Saturn Vue Plug-in - click above for a high-res gallery

Now that Penske has agreed to buy Saturn from GM, the big question is what will happen to the brand's vehicles. The agreement between the two companies stated that GM would keep building the Aura, Vue, and Outlook models for Penske on a contract basis and, as we heard earlier, the plug-in Vue Hybrid powertrain will be moved over to the Equinox. In the higher-mpg era that's coming, though, Saturn needs to focus on green cars. According to Roger Penske, there is at least a small chance that the new Saturn will bring all-electric vehicles to market soon. Penske told Edmunds that EVs "might be the first vehicles produced in the U.S." under Saturn's arrangement with foreign partners.

Penske highlighted Saturn's dedicated customer base as one reason that his company wanted to buy the brand. Penske also distributes Daimler's popular smart fortwo in the U.S. The all-electric smart ed is scheduled to make it to U.S. dealerships towards the end of 2010. Penske said Saturn and smart dealerships will remain separate entities.