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.

NEW YORK – Toyota Motor Corp. is reacting to the slump in U.S. auto sales by further cutting North American production, slashing executives’ compensation up to 30 percent and offering buyouts to about 18,000 workers.

“We’ve taken responsible, step-by-step actions to address this issue in recent months, and we hope the new measures will help us adjust while protecting jobs,” said Jim Wiseman, vice president of external affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America in a statement.

The company said Thursday it will cut production days at some U.S. factories in April — from two to eight days according to the amount of inventory at the particular plant.

Toyota is also instituting a shorter work week at some plants. Affected hourly employees would work eight hours less per two-week period, taking a pay cut with the new 72-hour workweek.

Unionized plants in the U.S. and Mexico will not be affected.

The world’s No. 1 automaker said the move will begin in April at its auto assembly plants in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, as well as auto-parts factories in Alabama, Missouri and West Virginia.

American Toyota Assembly Plant

“We have decided to introduce the scheme as the auto market in North America continues to deteriorate, and we also have to protect jobs for our workers,” said Toyota spokesman Yuta Kaga.

The 30 percent pay drop for executives includes a 5 percent salary cut and the eliminated bonus. Bonuses will be eliminated for all salaried and executive employees — a group comprising 10 percent of Toyota’s 30,000 manufacturing jobs in North America — while production team bonuses will be reduced.

The company will also offer buyouts to 18,000 workers, but company spokesman Mike Goss said Toyota does not expect many workers to take them.

The buyouts also will not be offered to workers at a Canadian plant, nor unionized plants in the U.S. or Mexico.

The buyout offer consists of 10 weeks of pay, plus two weeks of pay for every year of service, plus $20,000. It will be the company’s first North America-wide buyout offer.

The company will also eliminate salary increases for the “foreseeable future.”

Toyota, which expects its first annual net loss this year since 1950, had previously frozen North American hiring, eliminated overtime, suspended capital spending and scheduled periodic cuts in production.

The company, which prides itself on avoiding layoffs, is in the process of eliminating 5,300 contract jobs in Japan. Contract workers lack most of the benefits given to regular salaried workers, as well as the tacit guarantee of lifetime employment.

The Detroit automakers, meanwhile, have laid off thousands of salaried and hourly workers as they struggle to survive a massive auto sales slowdown.

Other Japanese automakers are also slashing payrolls. On Monday, Nissan Motor Co., said it would cut 20,000 jobs worldwide, or 8.5 percent of its 235,000-strong global work force, by March 2010.

Toyota is grappling with plunging demand worldwide, especially in the U.S., and a strong yen, which cuts overseas profits of Japanese exporters like Toyota.

Saleen’s future has been in upheaval the last few years. First, company founder Steve Saleen left, then the company’s assets were sold off to private investors. Its new owners plan to continue making superchargers and bolt-on parts, but Saleen’s turnkey Racecraft and S lines could face the axe, while the company’s former keepers retain ownership of its supercar manufacturing business while they figure out what they can do with it.

Meanwhile, Chrysler has been looking to sell of its Viper operation, but while Saleen could have been a contender in years past, in its current condition few expect it to make such a large acquisition. That may be a false assumption, however, as silence is speaking louder than words. Understandably, Chrysler’s management is not disclosing the identities of the three potential buyers with which it is discussing the future of the Viper enterprise, but Saleen’s new owners are likewise refusing to comment. That kind of silence can be as deafening as a Saleen exhaust note, leaving us to wonder if the company’s new owners could turn the broken shards of a once-great American company into a new powerhouse with the Viper packing the punch.

WASHINGTON D.C. – After long awaited developments, news has finally broken that the federal government could come to terms with the “Big Three” as early as tomorrow (Wednesday). Talks have been ongoing for the past week and have moved forward steadily without any substantial break throughs until now. Anonymous democrats mentioned that conditions for the bailout include a stringent reform on future business plans along with the need for “reinvention”. Democrats and Republicans seem to be divided on the details of the pending agreements, but the main topic of interest apears to share a common goal, save all three automakers.

Detroit could also be asking a further $7 billion dollars from our friends to the north (Canada for the geographically challenged) in order to approach the required $25 billion to reform Ford, GM and Chrysler all together.

As further developments unfold, the Tuned staff will provide you with up to date information.

CHICAGO – In an effort to get the american automotive crisis settled, many key players are pointing fingers and blame the executives for this epic slump. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd (Connecticut) mentioned that General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner “has to move on [...] and face the nation”. The comments come after talks for the economic bailout have moved forward but nothing of the $15 billion number has been settled. Senator Dodd also made it a point to state that “GM is in the worst shape”  while adding that one of the essential steps towards rebuilding is Wagoner’s resignation.

Many analysts suggest that Chrysler LLC. and General Motors Corp. are at risk of running out of money within the next two months if nothing is done and that Ford may not be too far behind the rest.

Tuned will keep you posted on any further developments.