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:

• 

  Finally a Good Experience! - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Beth - July 12 - 6:33 pm

  I had a great experience at the Saturn Dealership in Houston. I loved the people, and I love my car! I had been to a ton of other dealerships over the course of 4 - 5 months and nobody else came close to the service, honesty and respect I dealt with at Saturn. My mom and sister are both jealous, and say that Saturns will definitley be their next choice of cars.

• 

  Worth the Wait - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By MNuffda - July 11 - 3:00 am

  I ordered my VUE last April. I wanted to upgrade my 94 SW1 and was not willing to leave the Saturn service so I waited. After driving the VUE for a month, I have absolutely no complaints. With manual transmission, I have plenty of power. So far I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a small SUV.

• 

  WOW...what a pleasant surprise!!! - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Drum - July 6 - 4:36 pm

  I love this car!! Ive owned several sports cars and sports coupes and I immediately felt very comfortable in this car. It is a lot quicker than you would expect given the (under)stated horsepower and weight. A little cheap feeling in the interior, but hey, the price more than makes up for it. Hard to imagine a better performing car in this price range, even compares quite well to more expensive cars like the RX-8 (what I originally planned on).

• 

  Aura - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By rony - July 5 - 5:40 pm

  This auto is on par with any Japanese product I have owned. Includes, Camry, infinity and Honda.

• 

  Worst Car I have ever owned... - 2007 Saturn ION
  By Rich Anderson - July 5 - 12:51 pm

  I bought this car only 7 years old with 95,000 for my daughter. The shocks and struts had to be replaced, and even after that it made horrible creaking sounds from underneath. It had 6 or 7 factory recalls. One was that the key could be removed from the ignition even when the car was running! Crazy - but when I took to the dealer they refused to replace the ignition switch because they said it had been done 1 year prior. If so they put another bad one in! Next the gas tank leaked - and had to be replaced - $300. Never had that happen to a car before! Replaced a couple sensors and check engine light came on again a couple months later. I have owned 15-20 cars in my life and this was by far the worst - even worse than an old MG Midget I had. I will never buy any GM product again - I should have known better. I only have 1 good thing to say about this car: The battery is in the trunk, so when - predictably - I had to replace that it was super clean. Yay!

• 

  Disappointing Hybrid Vue - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By fairfield1 - July 5 - 11:10 am

  Im very disappointed in this vehicle. I have had several scary driving events in which the car jumped, lunged, and/or stalled for no apparent reason. It has been in for service and repaired several times. In addition it only gets 22 miles per gallon -- pretty bad for a hybrid. I think the poor gas mileage and the problematic engine/electrical system must be related but the service department denies that there is a problem. They say their problems are no worse than the Toyota Prius. I find it odd that they justify their problems by another manufactures problems. I will never buy a Saturn or GM product because of these problems and how I have been treated by Saturn.

• 

  VUE Views - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By SHANE - July 5 - 8:33 am

  A nice car. Perfect for the wife to bus the kids and general driving around town. Works great as a ball field running bus for all the kids.

• 

  Not Impressed - 2007 Saturn ION
  By tazette - July 5 - 12:26 am

  I typically buy foreign cars. In selecting Saturn, I reviewed the fuel efficient and its environmental impact. I wanted to buy an American car again, but I have had problems in the past. Anyway, I bought the ION brand new in 2007. I have been put in a rental car for a total of two weeks over the past year due to problems with my vehicle: I was driving on the highway and my vehicle started decelerating while I had my foot on the gas. It took them three go arounds to fix that. Right now, my passenger window will not roll up. My seatbelt light indicating that something is wrong with it goes on intermittently. Cheap interior. The mileage is good though all around - not impressed!

• 

  Happy Vue Owner - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Vue04 - July 4 - 7:10 am

  Engine and transmission are excellent. Handling average for a small SUV. Interior layout good, but materials could be better. Seat cushion is too short and flat. Exterior styling is aggressive and unique.

• 

  Dont get one - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By Vermont mom - July 3 - 10:00 am

  My 23 month old Vue already has over $2500 in repairs. A front wheel bearing went, and recently, I had to have the engine rebuilt and the sway bar replaced. The oil vent got condensate, froze and forced all the oil out my dipstick, oil light never came on, and it ruined my engine. Sway bar? never heard of THAT breaking.