The pending sale has been hailed by dealers who are looking for Penske to bring stability to the brand and stop an erosion of vehicle sales that has accelerated since GM said it would shed Saturn along with Hummer, Saab and Pontiac as part of a massive restructuring. This year, Saturn sales are down 59.2 percent, the second-greatest decline among GM brands behind Hummer, which is down 61.5 percent.

“We can’t wait for this thing to get done,” said Stuart Lasser, who owns three Saturn outlets in New Jersey. “We have to get on with our lives, we have to move on; the franchise has to move on. It’s been a year in the making since they said Saturn would not be a part of General Motors.”

Penske has said the deal could close late in the third quarter.

“We, along with General Motors, remain in the due diligence process and hope to complete that process sometime soon,” said Tony Pordon, senior vice president of Bloomfield Hills-based Penske Automotive Group Inc.

The agreements sent to dealers reiterate that GM will supply the Aura sedan and the Vue and Outlook SUVs on a contract basis for a period of time. When the memorandum of understanding was announced in June, Penske said GM would supply those vehicles for at least two years.

“I saw that as a positive step,” said Grand Blanc-area dealer Joe Serra, who signed the agreement, and could eventually be an investor in the new Saturn. “We know what the playing field is going to look like and now we can play ball.”

The agreements are a sign that negotiations with GM are nearing a conclusion, unlike bogged-down talks for GM’s other castoff brand, Hummer. The Beijing Youth Daily reported recently that China’s Ministry of Commerce rejected a bid by Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.’s to buy Hummer.

There are no major changes from dealer agreements under GM and details such as sales objectives are not mentioned. But the agreements last for two years, a key difference from the GM agreements, which were open-ended, dealers said.

“It points out they are going to maintain their commitment to the Saturn mission, philosophy, values and focus on exceeding customer expectations,” Serra said.

GM reached a memorandum of understanding in June to sell the Saturn brand and dealer network to Penske.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy court July 10 after shedding brands, billions in debt and thousands of employees, is focusing on Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

Penske’s deal with GM includes the Saturn brand, the parts operation based in Spring Hill, Tenn., and a network of about 340 dealerships, and is expected to preserve 13,000 jobs.

The Penske Automotive Group Inc., which operates 310 franchises in the United States and internationally, sells 40 brands. Penske also distributes the Smart car, made by Daimler AG.

The Smart car and Saturn vehicles will be sold in separate dealerships, Penske said.

Penske and Saturn may join a venture with Nissan Motor Co., the Japanese affiliate of Renault, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

“I can’t provide any speculation on who a potential OEM partner could be,” Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse said. “There have been a number of meetings with potential partners, but it’s really going to be up to the eventual buyer who they want to partner with to provide product for the future of Saturn.”

Other suitors include an Ohio investment group that wants to build vehicles using union workers at U.S. factories targeted for closure by the Detroit automaker. The group, headed by Ohio auto industry worker Gary Marvicsin, met with Saturn officials Tuesday.

Another group, Telesto Ventures, wants to partner with a foreign manufacturer and import vehicles under the Saturn name.

The group, which includes Oklahoma City-based private equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC and several Saturn dealers, submitted a proposal last month, terms of which were not made public. Telesto proposes initially distributing GM-built vehicles through Saturn’s 400 dealerships in North America and eventually offering small, fuel-efficient vehicles produced by several manufacturers, most of which would be sold under the Saturn brand.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings has submitted a bid for Saab, according to the Wall Street Journal.

GM, subsisting on $15.4 billion in federal aid, is trying to sell or phase out Saab, Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer as part of its broad restructuring.

A Geely spokeswoman could not be reached for comment today.