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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  Best Saturn Yet - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By KEN - March 31 - 1:03 am

  This is my 5th Saturn. All sports coupes until now. Im 63"and it is a little hard getting in and out and my head touches the roof, but it is a convertible and the top should be down. We bought the bluestone color. Looks sharp. Get a wind screen. It really helps.

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  Stormy is an amazing vechile - 2005 Saturn ION
  By L. Kelly - March 28 - 12:03 pm

  So far my experience with my ION has been wonderful. I have only had it for a few days but the ride over all has been great. The kids really like it to.

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  Saturn Outlook Excels - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By GlennG - March 28 - 3:10 am

  We have been driving our Saturn Outlook XE AWD for a few weeks now and must say that we have never had such an enjoyable new car thrill which only grows the more we drive it. With a combination of a growing family and rising fuel prices we needed a car which would come to the rescue. The Saturn Outlook was the solution period. Compared to all other competitors (especially the so-called high quality foreign models) Saturn Outlook delivers an enormous level of cabin space, power and fuel-economy. The absolutely stunning handling and ride of this car just blew me away. Braking and road presence feed back to the driver make this respond like something much smaller. Wow

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  Buy American - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Gary B - March 25 - 6:06 pm

  This car rocks. Great handling, smooth ride, quiet interior. Awesome sound system. Heated seats, OnStar and the list just keeps going. This is the car has it all for the right price. The car is fun to drive and a comfort to sit in. Make this car one to check out when looking for a new car.

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  Saturn needs to brag a bit more! - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Jason - March 23 - 7:23 am

  I bought it spanking new. Now has just over 12000 mi. on it. For a 4 cyl. this car can move! I upgraded to stage 2 and it is a much more agressive beast. I have 2 kids that love to ride in my car. I cant say Ive pushed it to its limits, but Ive pushed it to my limits and it suits me just fine. I really like the center gauge cluster over the typical behind-the-wheel gauge cluster in other vehicles. Dent resistant door panels are a plus. Too bad Saturn no longer makes their vehicles this way any longer.

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  Great Value - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Fair - March 22 - 10:00 am

  Saturn has a hard to find configuration - 4 cyl engine and a manual transmission. Great on gas! Best price over all other SUVs.

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  Saturn will lead GMs turnaround attack - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By brad - March 18 - 8:50 am

  Saturn, in still a people friendly atmosphere, in an almost naive way is going to steal the heart of America with its aggressive new line of products. I love this Outlook for its handling, performance, fuel economy, safety. Its sleek styling and impressive list of standard features make even my least priced ($28000) purchase a great value. I trust this car ( it feels like one), is going to last me a long long time, (my last Saturn did...223000 miles on my SL2), and will be fun every mile of the way!

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  Beats Honda CR-V - 2009 Saturn VUE
  By Roger - March 18 - 8:06 am

  Although Im a confirmed Honda guy, I decided to test drive the 2009 Saturn Vue XR -- what a surprise! This car looks great and drives even better. Its solid as a rock with better steering response that the three BMWs Ive owned. I needed a car that is flat towable behind our motor home, so I compared Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and the Saturn Vue. The Vue won out and Ive been very pleased with it so far.

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  red is good - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By mygirlsvue - March 16 - 10:00 am

  I purchased it for my college girl for school. So far it has been great and has no problems. A very reasonable price auto especially during the rebate period of $3000. Dad cant ask for much better. She loves it.

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  Get used to economy/fun to drive/looks - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By DelBizo - March 14 - 11:46 am

  First, this is an economy car; its why I traded my 6cyl crossover. On my 2nd tank of gas I got 29.82 mpg, with about 75% highway driving. But I drive around the SF Bay area on freeways that move at 70 to 80 mph. With the needle just above 3000 rpm Im running about 75, and the mpg indicator is above 30 mpg. The automatic shifts to neutral when youre at a dead stop, to save gas, and I quickly got used to it--if you didnt know about it you might think theres a nano-second stumble when you apply the gas to go. After economy, the seat on the 3dr XR is comfortable for my 511/285lbs. Tilt-telescope wheel makes a big difference. Finally, a very fun to drive economy car that looks great!