Though it’s brought me grief from certain of my friends, when it comes to cars, I’m a Ford guy. I’ll drive anything (like the Honda I have now), but if I get a choice, there’s going to be a blue oval on the hood. The one exception I’ve always made has been for Saturn, because I respect what they try to do. They’ve been through some tough times, but the headlines bring good news for them, and a bright future.

Saturn was a different kind of car brand from the start. Designed to be GM’s answer to the successes Toyota had found building cars in America, Saturn built its cars at a modern factory in Spring Hill, TN, where employee ownership was important – and unions weren’t. Unlike other GM brands, they were sold from dedicated Saturn-only dealerships that followed a no-haggle policy on pricing. They were the little car company that could, and for a while, they did.

Unfortunately, Saturn was still a GM marque, and subject to the same managerial whims as their other brands. The unique models gave way to clones of those sold by their other divisions, the Spring Hill plant started turning out SUVs for the rest of GM, and Saturn slipped into oblivion. They has small successes importing American versions of European GM models, but it was too late for Saturn – and, it turned out, for GM, which recently filed for bankruptcy. The plan was for GM to divest several brands, including Hummer, Saab, Pontiac and Saturn, so they could concentrate on their “core” brands. It seemed that without some white knight’s intervention, Saturn was doomed.

That white knight, it turns out, is a white-haired man with a very fast reputation. Roger Penske’s name is synonymous with automotive success, both on and off the track. Penske, a one-time racer himself, owns Penske Motorsports, which fields successful teams in IndyCar, NASCAR and the American LeMans series. Away from the speedway, Penske is just as successful, owning both Detroit Diesel and the Penske Automotive Group – the largest dealer group in America. The latter entity is buying the Saturn brand from GM, along with the distribution rights for both parts and cars. GM will continue to produce three of the current Saturn models – the Aura, Vue, and Outlook – and Penske will look to other car manufacturers to provide future models for the brand. It’s a creative solution that keeps people employed at both the GM factories and Saturn dealerships as well as putting someone with car smarts at the helm of the brand.

“There has been a groundswell of support for Saturn, with our retailers and owners urging us to save the brand,” said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn’s general manager. “We heard their call loud and clear, and it inspired us as we worked to secure Saturn’s future.”

I’ve always had a soft spot for Saturn, having owned a 1996 SC2 identical to the one in the picture. Sure, you’d never confuse it with a Porsche, but it was a little bat out of hell, and I wish I still had it as a weekend ride. And, since Roger Penske is a fraternity brother of mine, this seems like the perfect marriage. Now if I could just get him to roll out an updated SC2 …