Overview & Reviews

The Saturn brand, which was part of General Motors, has been discontinued as of the 2009 model year. Though popular in its early years, Saturn suffered from poor sales and was shuttered as part of GM's bankruptcy reorganization.

Despite its sad end, Saturn started with a bright future. After losing market share to Japanese imports during the '80s, General Motors launched Saturn, a new division that began selling small, low-priced cars in 1990. The division promoted itself as "different," with Saturn dealers offering no-haggle pricing and friendly customer service.

Saturn made its debut with the S Series line of vehicles. Available in sedan, coupe and wagon configurations, these Saturns differentiated themselves from other GM products with all-new platforms and flexible plastic panels meant to resist denting. Additionally, the brand was granted its own plant, with all Saturns being built at a dedicated facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee. These first Saturns weren't exactly built to burn rubber; they were powered by engines that offered from 85-124 horsepower. The payoff, though, was that these were among the most fuel-efficient vehicles of their day, offering up to 40 miles per gallon (when equipped with a manual transmission).

Just after the brand's conception, GM boasted that Saturn vehicles would benefit from rapid evolution, but in the early years, this wasn't the case. The brand's vehicles saw only one redesign in their first decade of existence. The revamp took place in the mid-'90s, and for the most part, it was only skin deep. Exteriors were spruced up and interior room saw a slight increase.

The Saturn brand enjoyed some success in its earliest years, fueled by buyers who were in love with its unique approach to customer relations that included "no-haggle" pricing. By the turn of the century, though, the novelty had worn off. With dated platforms and a limited range of products, the marque was neglected by GM, and disappointing sales figures showed that buyers had taken note and chosen to spend their dollars elsewhere.

GM responded by ramping up its commitment to the Saturn brand. In 2000, it rolled out the L Series; sharing a platform and an engine with the Opel Vectra (one of GM's European products) the sedan was the opening salvo in GM's ultimately futile fight to resuscitate the struggling brand. An SUV, the Vue, was unveiled, as was a minivan, the Relay. The S Series was replaced by the lamentable Ion, which was available as a sedan and a coupe. GM also added a hybrid to the lineup, with the introduction of the Saturn Vue Green Line.

Later, Saturn included the sporty Sky roadster, the midsize Aura sedan, the compact second-generation Vue crossover and the full-size Outlook crossover. For a brief period, there was also the European-sourced Astra compact hatchback.

Despite the increase in product quality, however, the Saturn brand effectively collapsed in 2009. As part of GM's bankruptcy proceedings, Saturn was offered up for sale. Initially, it was believed that the Penske Corporation would take over Saturn. But the deal fell through at the last minute, thereby spelling the final end for GM's import-fighting experiment.

User Reviews:

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  Saturn Vue Arrives - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By LisaMForrester - August 8 - 2:00 am

  The 2004 Saturn Vue is not to be missed! There is quite a difference between the 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder engines. The 6 cylinder is an entirely different car! With the 250 horsepower, you feel that you can go anywhere and do anything. The ride is smooth, quiet and enjoyable. Tune-ups are not required for 100,000 miles and the warranty is bumper to bumper. There are no tricks or gimmicks with Saturn and I absolutely love my VUE!

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  Saturn VUE - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By jgraham - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Smooth drive and all kinds of features make this vehicle the best I have driven in a long time.

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  BEST KEPT SECRET - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Gtown Memphis - August 8 - 2:00 am

  My full Saturn experience was exactly like the commercials shown and more. Everything was conducted in a professional manner from beginning to end. My salesman kept me informed, he did not rush my decision nor pressure me to make a choice. Upon purchasing my 2004 Vue all the sales people song the Saturn song to me and each came out to greet me and shake my hand to welcome me into the saturn family..."Wow! Thats service!!!" Then my salesman gave me a tour of the facilities. What an experience. I am happy with my Saturn and boy has it turned heads. Let me end by saying, I received the full VUE of the saturn experience.

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  Saturn Vue Review - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Charles B. - August 8 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car. The Honda 3.5 Liter engine gives it all the power you need (unless you are a race driver). Its fun to drive and the customer service is number 1!

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  I love Saturn - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By trentcolep - August 8 - 2:00 am

  This was my first ever new car that I bought and I love it. The salesman was great, the car is great and I have no regrets at all.

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  the best car ever - 2004 Saturn ION
  By xiomara - August 8 - 2:00 am

  i love the color and that saturn of reading made a mircile out of me i love the car and my payments and the way it drives

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  Great little car - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Virginia - August 6 - 6:00 pm

  So far I love my Astra! Its comfortable, sporty, gets great gas mileage, and all around fun to drive. I only have one minor complaint, and that is the temperature control dials are kind of hard to read on the fly, but other than that, its been the perfect car. I love the sun roof, love the heated seats, love the handling, and love the look. My family was very skeptical about me buying this car, but even they seem very pleased after seeing it in action. Its definitely a step above the Fit I tried. More bells and whistles, and much better handling. For the money I dont think it can be beat!

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  My first Saturn - 2006 Saturn ION
  By John korner - August 6 - 5:10 pm

  This is my first new car in 15 years and my first new Saturn. I am a gear head. I bought a silver ION 2 sedan with automatic transmission. I had been looking at this car for 3 years. I needed a car that would fit my wheel chair in the back seat without taking it apart. The trunk is large. the fold down seats are nice. Having OnStar as standard was the deciding factor. Loud good sounding sound systems sells cars and the base one in this car sounds as good as the infinity system in my 2000 Dodge.

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  One Reliable Car - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Mark3152 - August 4 - 10:40 pm

  Purchased the car new and I essentially live in this car. Driving for work through out the midwest 12 months out of the year. Currently has 221,000 miles on it, plan to keep it till it dies and dont expect that to be very soon. I truly believe in scheduled maintenance intervals. Most reliable car my family has ever owned. Ive thought about a new car but this is too good a car to get rid of. Thank you Saturn!

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  Great fun for small SUV - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By Tim B. - August 2 - 10:13 am

  This is a great SUV for a small family especially one like mine who is weaning itself off of sports cars. The 6 cyl engine has terrific pep and it has plenty of space for luggage and for people and carseats! I love my Saturn VUE and I would recommend it to anyone shopping for a small sized SUV.