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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  awful first experience - 2003 Saturn ION
  By newbie - February 7 - 10:00 am

  when we bought the vehicle, it had to go back into the shop for: 4 new windows (due to the glass was scratched by the window tracks), defects in paint, interior dash was rattling, brakes were wobbleing (due to the rotors and brakes were out of surface tolerence), steering was shaky when driving at high speed. These problems were due because of the factory.

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  1st year out - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Daivarie - February 7 - 10:00 am

  I wasnt even in the market for a new car when the Vue came rolling off the truck. I purchased the first one off the truck because I liked the look and the test drive of the demo. I received a great deal from the dealer as they were trying to push the Vue to get them seen on the road. I knew going into the car that I was going to have problems as do most cars in the first year of intro.Although Ive had several problems, mostly pertaining to the fuel portion of the vehicle, it has been a great car. Ill wait a year or two before trading it in for a new one, thus giving them the chance to fix the bugs.

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  LEMON! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Aimee Steven Perry - February 5 - 10:00 am

  We purchased our Vue in March of 2008, the first weekend driving it the axle broke going up the steepest hill in our city. We were rolling backwards and could not stop, cost of repair 800. The next thing to go was in October of 2008, the BCM blew, the car would not start. Saturn told us it was not under warranty and not sure why it broke the repair would be $2000 Then the exhaust manifold cracked not only once but twice, cost of that $1000, when we replaced that we found that the bearings all needed to be replaced Dec 09.Most recent, our car stopped dead in traffic, we had to push if off the road, the car is not getting gas so it stalls unless you keep your foot on the gas.

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  Saturn XE V6 - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By Steve - February 5 - 10:00 am

  Bought car used-have driven 3 months 150 miles daily-rides great, especially on long trips-very comfortable- looks very good-interior finish a bit cheap, especially armrests-but that is a GM trait from 30 years ago I get 27 mpg on highway- it gets 30 mpg if I set cruise to 55 but EVERYONE passes me at that speed

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  Saturn VUE AWD6 - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Delaney - February 1 - 2:00 am

  Compared to larger SUVs this one is really easy to enter and exit. Sits, drives and rides better than most cars. Great looking car.Firm seats comfortable on long drives, no back aches. Gas mileage good, lots of cargo and head room; some little quirks need to be eliminated, like window control placement and miss not having power seats up front!

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  Great Driver, Quiet and Zippy ! - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Frank ODonnell - February 1 - 2:00 am

  Driven for 5 weeks now, center mounted speedo was greatest concern, no problem in changing to watch from center of dash car rides great, quiet especially, shifts fine, comfortable and nice interior, great looks and great visibility from inside. A nice car which feels more expensive that it really is...........glad I looked before I bought a Ford Focus, ION is much nicer ride and drive ! Car actually rides and feels like a BMW.

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  Nice Improvements - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Icedog 5 - February 1 - 2:00 am

  I thought the first year was good on the IONs, but, I had to wait till this year to purchase one. Boy am I glad I did. This year they came out with XM Radio,an improved interior,dash and lumbar support knob for my aching back. The cloth was also revised so that it doesnt look like @r*p. Overall I think its one of the best cars Ive owned.My wife just purchased one yesterday and she loves it too. Cant beat it.

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  my second saturn - 2004 Saturn ION
  By boarderfly - February 1 - 2:00 am

  My new ION3 is fantastic. You cannot compare it to the former S series of cars, it is infintly improved. Much more powerful, nicer ride, and cool features like restyling the dash and putting the cupholder lower than the a/c knobs so you dont spill coffee all over them!

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  It"s Great - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By Great SUV - January 31 - 6:10 pm

  It is a great SUV and fun to drive. The 06 Saturn is one of the best looking SUVs the the road today.

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  Saturn V6 - VUE - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By baskerj - January 29 - 2:00 am

  First off, Im a guy...not a soccer mom. ;) A very nice vehicle. I did not drive the four cylinder, so I have no feedback there. The V6 has a lot of get-up-and-go. Saturn has 8.4s for the 0-60 test. That is extremely modest. I like the exterior look, especially the orange (burnt cienna) at night. The interior is a little lacking. The cup holders are annoyingly low and the arm rests are too close to the body and low. I found a lot of people looking at me as if they had never seen something like it before. Obviously an overstatement, but Ive gotten a lot of good comments on it. If you havent experienced Saturn, try it out. Definitely the way to purchase a vehicle.