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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  Worst Car Ive Ever Owned - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Johnny - August 28 - 10:06 pm

  This car has been a nightmare. No less than 5 recalls since purchased; the transmission needed to be replaced (not one of the recalls), and the seat fabric stains if you drip clean water on it! Also, for a relatively weak four cylinder engine, the gas mileage is just not good. I will never, ever purchase another GM product.

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  Great Buy!! - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By nine - August 28 - 7:53 pm

  Went from a 3/4ton Suburban to this tiny Vue, I absolutely love it!! I have had it a year with no problems what so ever! Stock stereo is great nice and loud! There is plenty of room for my kids and travel and camping gear. The dent resistant body is great keeps it looking smooth. Very classy sophisticated family car!

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  Wind noise - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By Smith - August 27 - 3:06 pm

  The only complaint I have about my VUE is the wind noise, lots of wind noise. Also in bad weather when you open back doors there is mud rain snow rock salt that has came in under the door. Seems to me they should of sealed around doors more and also windows. The seal is a hard plastic not like rubberized on most cars. Also the window controls are in an odd place, hard to get use to. Other than that I love the drive and ride of it.

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  My Car Rocks! - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Talitha - August 27 - 4:16 am

  I have had my Saturn Ion since October of 2005 and it is awesome. It looks great, it takes very little up keep and I am very happy with my purchase. This is my second upgrade, the first was also a Saturn and when I get another it will be a SUV by Saturn. I love their cars!

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  05 ION - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Thomas - August 24 - 7:03 pm

  This is the second Saturn that Ive owned. The ION has what the market needs. Mid range in price, and a new look and feel compared to the SL2 that I had for the last three years. It has good power, even on hills. Fuel mileage is great, considering the cost of gas, and is coming in at 29 mpg (city)

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  Bought Used Love It - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By nicevue2007 - August 23 - 5:34 am

  Overall I really like the car. The Honday V6 has plenty of power yet gets great mileage. A dependable car, but more suited for smaller people. Great for around town or short trips (3 hours). Again, probably more comfortable for smaller people. Its compact, interior space is decent, seats somewhat small. Good features, everything within reach for driver. Moderate road noise, car has a few interior noises mostly caused by plastic folding cargo box in back. Recommend for second family vehicle with small children or older couple. Not ideal for large people.

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  Bad Design, Poor Quality - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By demein - August 22 - 1:36 pm

  This was the first gm/Saturn I have owned new off the lot. I must say it looks great and the wife wanted it just for its looks. Beyond that, it was a terrible displeasure owning it and dealing with all the problems the came with dealing with Saturn corporate customer service. List of problems: keys being locked in car automatically (like while pumping gas). Car does not shift properly. Aggressive acceleration with out driver input... Just takes off. Parts breaking: door handles, windshield wiper tank tubes failure of airbag system sensors. Transmission problems with downshifting when accelerating. Instrument cluster / panel failing. 48 days in the shop in less than 6 months.

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  Dont Buy This Car! - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Christopher N - August 22 - 2:00 am

  As far as I am concerned this car is the worst car Saturn has ever put out. Being a returning customer of Saturn, I expected a good quality car. However since we have brought it home it has been back to the dealership several times. Though there has not been any major mechanical problems yet, there have been a lot of annoying little things go wrong. For example lights burning out, steering wheel grinding, key getting stuck in the ignition three times, panels fell off on the inside, and the hood release broke. Not to mention the gas mileage has gone down. In my opinion a new car should not act this way. This experience has sworn me off to Saturns forever.

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  First time Saturn Buyer - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By T& J - August 19 - 11:56 am

  Purchased our new Saturn three weeks ago. We fell in love with the styling, and roomy interior. We have decided to use the exchange option that Saturn offers. With less than 1300 miles the car has developed camshaft problems, and a noise from the rear end every time we turn a corner. This 275 hp engine is not very strong when driving up hills. Its been in the shop three times in three weeks. If the exchange vehicle is not any better, we will probably never purchase another Saturn.

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  Best small car on the road in the US! - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Joey Astranomical - August 18 - 12:30 pm

  This car looks like it is a generation ahead of any other car on the road. I get a lot of positive comments about the styling. The second question you get after "what is it?" is "what does it get for gas mileage?" I have the 5 speed stick and I consistently get mid 30s mpg.