On the day two weeks ago when I put this piece together, several pieces of news reminded me of the importance of this question. It was reported that Saturn dealerships were closing in anticipation of the announcement by General Motors that Saturn was one of three brands that it would drop. Saturn, arguably the most innovative undertaking by the company in several decades, is on the auction block. Consumers apparently loved the car more than GM executives, who couldn't figure out how to make much money with it.