The Saturn Vue and Astra are from GM's German Opel division.

CNN: The fate of four GM brands

Also, earlier this month, GM awarded contracts for undisclosed sums to Johnson Controls and Cobasys to develop Li-ion batteries for its upcoming Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid.

FORBES: Nano-Batteries That Keep On Going

Pontiac Astre and Fiero and the Saturn Vue .

FORBES: The Best, Worst & Weirdest Car Names

GM's vice president for research and development, Lawrence Burns, says consumers have to start thinking of their car as a power-supplying appliance as well as a means of transportation. (A hybrid car, for example, might be an alternative to an emergency generator during an ice storm.) Meanwhile, GM is endorsing Huber's thinking with plans to introduce plug-in versions of the Chevrolet Volt and a Saturn vue crossover by 2010.

FORBES: A Light Bulb Goes On

The Ion small sedan and the Vue small crossover will be replaced (not a moment too soon) late next year, and then Saturn will get at least one other small car.

FORBES: Saturn Rising?