Let’s face it. Pretty much everything happening within GM is big news these days. But when legendary racecar driver and business mogul Roger Penske says he wants buy Saturn from the bankrupt automaker — that’s a top of the fold, front-page story. But, just in case you haven’t been following this deal from day one, we’ve got you covered.

So here it is, Tuned.com’s guide to everything that’s happened, will happen and might happen between Penske Automotive Group and Saturn.

Ok, so what’s happened so far?

Penske Automotive Group and General Motors have signed a memorandum of understanding — basically a gentleman’s agreement on paper. MOU’s aren’t typically legally binding. In this particular case, the MOU says that if a deal goes through between Penske and GM, Penske will “obtain the rights to the Saturn brand, acquire certain assets including the Saturn parts inventory, and have the right to distribute vehicles and parts through the Saturn Dealership network.” Furthermore, GM will continue to produce the Vue, Aura and Outlook for an interim period that’s looking to be through 2011.

Just who is this Penske character anyway?

Really? You’re reading an automotive website and you don’t know who Roger Penske is? Shame.

Penske started out back in the late 50’s as a racecar driver. Competing and frequently winning in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events, Penske quickly made a name for himself as a talented racer. But, in 1965, much to the dismay of his fans, Penske announced his retirement from racing in order to focus on his car dealership.

From there, Penske expanded into ventures including tire sales and trucking. Ultimately his success grew into the automotive empire he heads today. Penske Automotive Group is the second largest automotive dealer in the world, with more than 240 dealerships worldwide.

But Penske is perhaps better known for his racing teams. Penske Racing currently competes in the Indy Racing League, American Le Mans Series and NASCAR. Racing greats including Mark Donohue and Mario Andretti have raced under Penske’s banner leading his teams to a plethora of victories including 15 wins at the Indianapolis 500.

So when will Penske’s purchase of Saturn be official?

Impossible to say for sure, but both parties are looking to have the deal finalized by the third quarter of this year.

But Penske doesn’t manufacture cars, how are they going to make Saturns?

As mentioned above, GM will continue to produce the Vue, Aura and Outlook for Saturn through 2011. After that — or perhaps during that time, Penske will look for existing automakers that want to expand in the American market.

According to Automotive News, Penske recently met with Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in Paris to work out details of a potential partnership that could result in Renault-Nissan importing Renault Samsung cars from South Korea to be sold under the Saturn brand.

(To clarify — Renault, a French carmaker, is in a partnership with Nissan, a Japanese carmaker. South Korean company, Samsung — you know, like the TV’s and cell phones — was purchased by Renault in 1998 and is now a subsidiary of the French-Japanese company. Globalization at its finest.)

But, Motor Trend blogger Todd Lassa said in a recent post that although Renault-Nissan is the most likely partner, he thinks Penske will look to Nissan’s North American facilities as opposed to importing cars from South Korea.

“Nissan, with its unused capacity able to build various vehicles in the U.S., would be a prime candidate for reskinned compact or midsize cars bearing the Saturn badge around 2012 or ‘13. There’s plenty of room in Nissan’s North American facilities to avoid having to source them from Renault’s Samsung plants in South Korea, as some have reported,” Lassa said.

What about all those Saturn dealerships?

Penske said he will extend offers to any existing Saturn dealers who want to continue to sell new cars. Though whether all 363 dealerships will remain when all is said and done is impossible to say.

A quick note: Unlike so many other companies and divisions, Saturn trended away from over-saturating the market with dealerships. In fact, those 363 dealerships are owned by only about 150 franchisees, so the transition should be relatively painless with respect to dealership closings.

Edward Whitacre, Jr., former chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc., has been named chairman of the General Motors. Whitacre will replace current interim chairman Kent Kresa when GM emerges from restructuring later this year.

Whitacre, four other board members, and a slew of new directors will act as the “nucleus” of the New GM, the automaker said Tuesday in a press release. The six other board members are expected to resign as soon as the company’s assets are turned over to the New General Motors.

After filing for bankruptcy protection, General Motors is pushing a new ad campaign promising it will emerge from its financial troubles leaner and stronger.

Is this a good marketing approach? Will it allay consumer fears about buying from a carmaker with an uncertain future?

Advertising experts say GM — and fellow Chapter 11 filer Chrysler — should move past the negative and focus on their brands as they try to get car sales rolling again. Consumers are staunchly loyal to their car brands, they say.

GM says its brands are key to emerging from these tough times. But first it has to tell consumers how it will remake itself and what to expect, Jay Spenchian, GM executive director of corporate advertising strategy, said Tuesday.

“There are lots of questions,” he said. “The best thing we can do is quickly get out there and assure them.”

Here’s a look at what GM is saying to consumers right now and how it’s delivering the message — think social media — followed by some thoughts by marketing experts on whether the company’s approach will likely work.

What GM is doing
Detroit-based GM wasted no time acknowledging its problems to consumers. Shortly after it filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, GM launched a Web site with a message built into its address: www.gmreinvention.com. The site is forward-looking, showing videos of satisfied consumers — like a former Jaguar owner who never thought he’d own a GM product — and engineers talking about new technologies.

But it doesn’t ignore the company’s current situation. There are links to financial filings under the header “progress,” and articles with headlines like, “What happens to my warranty if GM files for bankruptcy?”

The company has released a 60-second ad on the site that will air nationally on TV starting Wednesday, pledging a “reinvention.”

“Let’s be completely honest, no company wants to go through this,” the ad begins. “But we’re not witnessing the end of the American car. We’re witnessing the rebirth of the American car.”

Among the images in the ad: city skylines, shots of Detroit, a sun rising, plants growing, people raising a house’s frame, athletes commiserating — and later celebrating.

Also on Wednesday, GM will print a letter to customers from chief executive Fritz Henderson in major newspapers in markets including New York, Cleveland, San Francisco and Miami. He tells customers the company cannot afford to lose their business, “or your trust. You have our word.”

Key to the pledged “reinvention” will be an effort to leverage social media, GM’s Spenchian said. The company has links to social media staples like Twitter and Facebook on its new site, which will also host a Web chat later this week with Henderson.

One major advantage of this approach: It’s a lot cheaper than traditional advertising.

DETROIT – At 789 Chrysler lots across America sit 44,000 potential bargains, cars and trucks that are stuck between shellshocked dealers and a troubled company that no longer wants their services.

The dealers have just a few weeks to sell the Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps or risk losing thousands of dollars on them, giving people who want a car on the cheap a serious chance for a deal.

“You’ve got some very good negotiating power,” said Dave Champion, director of automobile testing for Consumer Reports magazine. “(Dealers are) really looking to shift this inventory. It’s just stacking up all around them.”

On Thursday, Chrysler LLC asked a New York bankruptcy court to end its franchise agreements with the dealers, casting them aside so the automaker can move forward as a new company with a leaner network of about 2,400 showrooms.

General Motors Corp. took a similar step on Friday, giving notices to 1,100 dealers that it no longer wants them. On their lots sit 65,000 Chevrolets, Buicks, GMCs, Pontiacs and Cadillacs, but at GM, the dealers’ situation isn’t as dire.

GM isn’t in bankruptcy — at least not yet — so its dealers have more options to fight the move, which the company doesn’t plan to implement until October of 2010. They also have more time to sell the vehicles, plus GM’s dealer agreements also require the company to buy back cars and trucks that meet certain requirements on age and mileage.

Both automakers say they have too many dealers for too few sales. For years they have wanted to get rid of underperforming showrooms to expand the market area of healthier dealers. The moves would give the stronger dealers higher profits and more money to spend on marketing, facilities and personnel, making them more competitive with Japanese automakers.

But inside the 789 Chrysler showrooms to be cast aside, fear is starting to set in as dealers try to figure out what to do with expensive inventories that weren’t selling well even before the Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker entered bankruptcy protection last month.

“They’ve told us that the inventory is our problem,” said Keith Hollern, one of the owners of a Dodge dealer in Windber, Pa. “Want to buy one? We’re having a fire sale.”

Dealers borrow money to buy their inventories, then repay the loans and make a profit when the vehicles are sold. But Chrysler sales were down 46 percent the first four months of the year, so many dealers have been paying interest for months. Even if the vehicles are sold at cost, dealers still lose thousands in interest payments.

Chrysler doesn’t have the money to buy back the vehicles, said company spokeswoman Kathy Graham, but it also doesn’t want to leave dealers in a bind or see the inventory flood the market at bargain prices.

So it has signed a deal with GMAC Financial Services, Chrysler’s new finance company, to float loans to dealers that Chrysler plans to keep can take on the 789 dealers’ unsold inventory. The deal, though, doesn’t include about 4,000 2008 models still on the lots.

Remaining dealers likely will need to take the cars and trucks because all of Chrysler’s manufacturing plants have been shut down since it entered bankruptcy on April 30, Graham said. Sales in May have been stronger than anticipated, so dealers will need to replenish inventories, she said.

“They’re not building anything right now, so they’re kind of creating a little bit of a product shortage,” Hollern said. “So, surprisingly, a lot of the dealers who have gotten new contracts to go on with the new Chrysler will be looking for new inventory.”

Graham said dealers to be cut from the company will get Chrysler warranty reimbursement and sales incentives such as rebates and low-interest financing until June 9. But after that, they won’t be reimbursed for either.

DETROIT – Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday and will form an alliance with the Italian carmaker Fiat Group SpA in an effort to revive the nation’s ailing third-largest automaker.

The Obama administration said it had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for the nation’s third largest automaker, but it became clear that a holdout group of creditors wouldn’t budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt. Clearing those debts was a needed step for Chrysler to restructure by a government-imposed Thursday deadline.

“No one should be confused about what a bankruptcy process means,” President Barack Obama said in a midday announcement. “This is not a sign of weakness but rather one more step on a clearly chartered path to Chrysler’s revival.”

Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday with the hopes of emerging in as little as 60 days under the new partnership with Fiat. The government, which has already poured $4 billion in loans into Chrysler, would provide up to $8 billion more to carry the company through bankruptcy, said senior administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity. The government will also help appoint a new board of directors.

The deals give Chrysler “a new lease on life,” Obama said.

“This is not a sign of weakness,” he said. “I have every confidence that Chrysler will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.”

Under bankruptcy, Chrysler would still sell cars and the government would back its auto warranties. But Chrysler said Thursday that it will idle its plants during the legal proceedings. The company’s chief executive, Robert Nardelli, said he will leave when the bankruptcy is complete.

When that occurs, the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker would end up owned by the United Auto Workers union, the U.S. government and Fiat. The Canadian and Ontario governments, which are also contributing financing, would have small stakes.

But Fiat, which the Obama administration hopes can jump start Chrysler with its fuel-efficient and lower-emission technology, could end up the majority stakeholder. Fiat would initially get 20 percent, a share that could rise to 35 percent if certain benchmarks are met. Fiat said Thursday it could get an additional 16 percent by 2016 if Chrysler’s U.S. government loans are fully repaid.

Obama said Chrysler Financial, the arm of the company that makes loans to buyers and to dealers to finance their inventories, will be merged into GMAC Financial Services, once General Motors Corp.’s finance arm. The new GMAC will get government support. Chrysler’s base of dealers would also be pared down.

The Treasury Department’s auto task force has been racing in the past week to clear the major hurdles that prevented Chrysler from coming up with a viable plan to survive the economic crisis ravaging nation’s automakers.

Along with the Fiat deal, the UAW ratified a cost-cutting pact Wednesday night.

Treasury reached a deal earlier this week with four banks that hold the majority of Chrysler’s debt in return for $2 billion in cash.

But the administration said about 40 hedge funds that hold roughly 30 percent of that debt also needed to sign on for the deal to go through. Those creditors said the proposal was unfair and they were holding out for a better deal.

“I don’t stand with them,” Obama said.

A person briefed on Wednesday night’s events said the Treasury Department and the four banks tried to persuade the hedge funds to take a sweetened deal of $2.25 billion in cash. But in the end, this person said most thought they could recover more if Chrysler went into bankruptcy and some of its assets were sold to satisfy creditors. This person asked not to be identified because details of the negotiations have not been made public.

On Thursday, a group of funds identifying themselves as 20 of Chrysler’s “non-TARP lenders” released a statement saying they had been sidelined during negotiations between lenders and the government. The group, which said it holds $1 billion in Chrysler debt, complained that the four banks were “obviously conflicted” because they had accepted money from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program while they had not gotten TARP money.

The group said its offer to the Treasury Department to reduce its claim to 40 percent was “flatly rejected or ignored.”

Fiat is getting its stake in Chrysler for giving the company access to its fuel-efficient technology, a move toward cleaner cars that the Obama administration thinks is critical to Chrysler’s future survival. The company has committed to building Fiat cars in Chrysler factories, to be sold as Chryslers.