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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  Love my Redline - 2004 Saturn ION
  By SpikemanII - March 22 - 4:40 pm

  I went to my dealership for routine maintenance on our VUE, and drove home with a Redline . Needless to say, I am not allowed to go the dealer without supervision anymore. I love this car. It is quick, handles like a dream, gets good gas mileage, and is fairly unseen on the road. Give this thing a test drive and you will want one too. Just go supervised.

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  Good Fuel Economy, Electrical Glitch - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Andrea - March 22 - 2:23 pm

  I knew I wanted a 4 door car with rear side curtain airbags, on a limited budget. Saturn ION was only one I could afford, plus it had good fuel economy according to the window sticker. It does have good fuel economy for American, around 28 with mixed use. I didnt own an MP3 player when I purchased the car but I do now and love the audio jack! The center console was an adjustment but I love it, it gets the eyes moving around instead of staring straight ahead, less strain. I have had horrible problems in winter with doors freezing shut, seal around doors is bad water gets into cavity and freezes at hinge, also leaks through window seals, and drips inside car. Electronic issues see below.

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  2008 Vue - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Gord - March 19 - 12:23 pm

  Performance is fine as I wanted a 4 cylinder for the fuel economy. Overall very satisfied with the vehicle.

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  Wont hold up - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By JP - March 18 - 8:43 pm

  This vehicle will be great as long as you have warranty coverage left, but that isnt very long. There is no extended powertrain coverage and the major system problems start at about 45,000 miles. In less than 50,000 miles, the entire hydraulic system for the clutch went out ($1,500) and parts are increadibly tough to get. It took almost a week to get repaired even though the work only took a day after the dealership got the parts in.

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  Great car - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By PMM - March 17 - 4:30 am

  So far, about 3,000 miles of driving. The car meets all of my expectations in terms of size, flexibility, utility, handling and comfort. Gas mileage for 6 cyl AWD on steady highway of 26 mpg; 17-18 in city; overall 22 mpg. Good smooth and strong performance from engine and trans; heated seats are real nice. The sound system is decent and it has an MP3 jack. I really like the storage flip up system in rear. Chrome dresses it up and the fog lights are super. The sun roof works great and closes completely -- no whistle from wind. Since I live in New England, it is the perfect blend of vehicle for all climates.

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  Good to us...watch the CVT - 2004 Saturn ION
  By skally - March 16 - 1:02 pm

  We bought this car brand new and overall it was a good vehicle for us. Here are the issues we had over 8 years and 140k miles. The remote start from the dealer never did work right. It engaged the PassLock system which left you waiting 10 minutes while the fuel system reset. We had the common issue with the ignition switch replacing it a few times before it was fixed for good. The biggest problem was the CVTs in these cars. They failed more often than they should and couldnt be rebuilt, only replaced. GM fixed a lot of them but ours never died. However at 140k miles it started act up a little which is why we decided to move on.

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  My first new car (2006 Saturn ION 2) - 2006 Saturn ION
  By firsttimebuyer - March 15 - 6:56 pm

  Well, I didnt like the positioning of the gauges on the dash at first, but, now I love it. I really like this car and I think it is a great car. I have only had it about a week but Im sure Ill love it for a goow long while to come. I recommend test driving one for yourself!

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  Do it, you will not regret this car - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By Dave - March 15 - 4:33 pm

  I was a little leery to buy a Saturn, boy was a wrong after taking a closer look. These things are built well for the most part. Theres a couple things that could be refined like the doors having to be all the way open or closed to open/close the hood, and the window controls being to far back on the doors, but this thing is a ton of fun to drive. It handles like its on rails, has a nice solid feel, decent power for a NA engine (I plan on putting a big turbo on it in a few years). With the sub its stereo has an excellent sound. This thing kicks the heck out of the Miata. For the price this car is fun, reliability will be proven, but with 6 year 100K mile warranty Im not worried

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  Love it ! - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Simon - March 14 - 7:00 pm

  Great SUV! Interesting design and confortable interior. A little heavy on the gas but its not too bad. Superb cargo capacity.

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  Great value! - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Spike - March 13 - 3:06 pm

  Excellent value. When you consider gas mileage, comfort, power of engine, and pick up, all on top of a great price, you have to call this vehicle a great value.