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:

• 

  100K and still perfect - 2009 Saturn Aura
  By aobg - August 27 - 6:14 am

  Bought new in July 2009 - just turned 100K Have only replaced tires, wipers and rear shocks (dirt roads and potholes - yuck), oil & filter changes - everything else original including brakes. Avg @ 28 mpg summer, 26 winter. Maintenance at Buick/Cadillac dealer has been great! This is simply an extremely reliable car, with a great ride and handling, very quiet, good performance, comfortable, roomy and did I say reliable? Still looks new inside and out Rides far quieter than my friends Acura. I like it so much I am trying to find one for my daughter for a college graduation present.

• 

  Satisfied but wish for more... - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Sholop - August 26 - 2:00 am

  This car is a mix of "Great!" and "needs improvement. The power of the V6 makes this car extremely good at take offs and at passing on the freeway. Good driving position. Looks good. The interior is what needs work; servicable is what discribes it.

• 

  Couldnt be happier - 2007 Saturn ION
  By Couldnt be happier - August 25 - 2:00 pm

  Our daughter purchased the first model year (2003) ION, and is generally pleased with it. The ION has been refined and improved each year, then when they "perfected" it, they stopped making it. We purchased this car used (31,500 miles), but it looks, handles, and performs as if we just drove it out of the new car showroom. A good, solid feel to it, and fun to drive. A mistake with the original ION was the factory-installed Firestone tires (terrible), but they switched to Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds a few years ago, and they are great, safe tires!

• 

  A great reliable car - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Adam - August 24 - 11:33 am

  I just traded in my Dodge Ram 1500 that had a 5.2 v8 in it. Great truck but this car puts it to shame except in comfort and build quality. This Saturn scoots like no ones buisness. I can get it to squeal the tires in every gear. The car just loves to go fast. I love this car. At the time of purchase the dealer i went to had a rebate of $4500 which knocked the price from $12, 325 to $7,825. I glad I didnt pass up the deal, its been a great car.

• 

  Super vehicle - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By mike deck - August 19 - 2:00 am

  This suv was a major surprise to my wife and I after test driving it. It was very impressive, with a 3.5 liter 6 cylinder engine, built by Honda, with loads of power. A lot of time and effort went into this vehicle and we are very happy with it. We had to have it.

• 

  Best car I ever owned - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By frank - August 16 - 2:23 pm

  I have had my car for over three months now. I live in NJ and drive to upstate NY alot so I drive a lot. This car handles like a dream. It looks amazing inside and out. It is great on gas. I have people every day asking me about my car. I havent seen anyone else driving this car so I feel like a king who has something no one else has.

• 

  Very good fit for us - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Kanolt - August 14 - 10:00 am

  This is the perfect vehicle for my wife, having come from a mini-van but with the family downsized to just 2. The performance capabilities are great, the mileage is good, not outstanding but good, and the utilitarianship is excellent. It hauls and hauls, if you get my drift. No major unfixable problems yet and we just logged over 11K miles.

• 

  A nice SUV with - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Jenny5 - August 14 - 10:00 am

  The incentives and rebates were just too juicy to pass up..Thank You GM! I had been hearing about the "cheap interior"...maybe for the 02 and 03 models. I think the 04 design (especially with leather) has a nice, simple but elegant feel to it. The retro chrome speedometer trim is very nice. The interior color scheme (black & tan) is nice to look at too. We signed the papers on the V6 after driving the inline4 (the fuel economy is the same!). Over all, an awesome value for your American buck!!

• 

  Sneaky Speed - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Gomer1775 - August 14 - 10:00 am

  People who dont know, dont realize what it is until they are way back in the rearview mirror. The Ion redline is a mighty might that has what I like to refer to as sneaky speed. It is somewhat unassuming if you dont know what is under the hood, but then when the skinny pedal on the right hits the floor, people try to catch up just to find out what it is that hit them.

• 

  ION - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Gentrie - August 12 - 10:00 am

  Lets make this simple, heres what i like about the car:-Quiet-Tight turning radius-5 speed automatic provides for nice auto. trans. acceleration-nice suspention (smooth ride)-very decent torque-Automatic lighting system turns on headlights and dash lights-16 inch tires w/ alloy wheels standard-awesome travel package:auto dimming rear view mirror w/ compass & outside temp-7 microprocessors and a LAN for electrical system which provides for increased electrical reliability and -A digital readout on the dash that gives worded messages such as:LOW FEUL,TRAC OFF, OIL LIFE,CHANGE OIL (knows when the oil needs to be changed based on RPMs and engine temp)