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 In Class - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Derreck - May 29 - 4:46 am

  Has the room of a minivan without the look. Build quality appears better than the Honda and Toyota and is much more fun to drive. The third row is big enough for adults which is rare in this vehicle category. The 3.6 engine and 6 speed auto supply plenty of power even though this vehicle is around 5000 lbs. I think GM and Saturn have a winner and its built here in Lansing, MI.

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  Blessed - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By stanjj - May 28 - 2:53 pm

  It is a awsome car. I just love it and so do my friends and family. You cant beat the price for all the bells and whistles. The ride is great. I was not going to buy a GM car, but this one was God sent. Its wonderful. Buy one everybody.

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  I love my Ion - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Nikkirox - May 26 - 11:06 pm

  I absolutely love my car, Ive never had a single problem with it, and it has ridiculously high miles for a 2004. At 100,000 miles, my car runs amazing. In fact, Im in a racing club. People are surprised at the amazing gas mileage and the style of the car. It drives great and I love it to death! Just baby the car and it will baby you.

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  WE LOVE OUR ION!!! - 2004 Saturn ION
  By HOLLYS ION - May 26 - 2:00 am

  WE LOVE OUR ION! IT HANDLES GREAT WITH THE ELECTRONIC STEERING AND WE LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT INCLUDING THE BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR AND THE UNIQUE AND NEW AND COMPETITIVE BODY STYLE!

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  The best unknown vehicle out there... - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By RN - May 25 - 11:20 pm

  This car still amazes me on the build quality, handling, style, and gas mileage. This is by far the best unknown car in the market, it boggles my mind how GM didnÂ’t market this car. For any of the few people that have complaints they are either haters or just will complain about everything. For the price I paid: $19,980 - $5000 dealer incentive, $4500 clunker trade, $1000 supplier discount, I bought this car for $10,950 out the door. I have the 3 door XR 5 speed with leather, tinted windows, tuned sport suspension, stabiltrac, heated seats and mirrors, moisture sensing wipers, onstar for a year, dual lighted vanity mirrors, onboard computer, tire pressure readout, and the list keeps going.

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  Will Never buy another one! - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Unhappy Owner - May 25 - 1:53 am

  The first six months the car was pretty great and then the problems started. Since then I have had it in the shop 8 times. I am so sick of taking this car in! I am trading very soon and I will never buy another Ion! The dealership was really great but the car is crap. I have never had a car with so many defects. I have had every blinker and light replaced and now I am having transmission issues. Also my AC knobs dont turn right anymore. Please....dont buy this car unless you want problems. I wish I knew about this site before I bought!

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  Do not buy-not safe!! - 2007 Saturn ION
  By tobrien017 - May 25 - 12:20 am

  This car is known for steering problems. The steering locks up while driving causing an extremely unsafe condition. Saturn is aware of this problem and has not notified owners or issued a recall. You will have to fix at your own expense (a hefty one). Saturn needs to address this issue before somebody gets killed.

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  This is a dream car. - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By B.Birtles - May 24 - 8:06 pm

  This dream car gets so many Ohhs and Ahhs from strangers. I even had a guy and his wife (in a sport convertible of their own) follow me back to the dealership to check out the car! A smooth ride with responsive handling that makes you feel like you won the lottery. Everyone should grab the experience at least once in their life time! Saturn sales reps were the most accomodating and previous experience with the service center on my last Saturn was something I actually talked about. VIP service for the little guy. Ongoing mailings brought the SKY to my attention; my deposit was made days later.

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  Its a keeper. - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By bkm73 - May 21 - 1:46 am

  I like my VUE. The vehicle I liked best out of recent years was my GMC Jimmy but I couldnt keep it away from the fuel pumps. When I found out VUEs are rated for 27 highway that got my attention. I have 80+ thousand miles, just bought new Bridgestones last fall and still have original brakes. You can hear it run thru the 5 aoutomatic gears as you accelerate but I kind of like that. I have had no problems in all kind of snow and ice and the only time I was afraid of getting stuck was in MUD. It didnt let me down. I like the outside distinctive styling and the interior is comfortable if it is plastic. I have spent some money on repairs but not out of reason.

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  Not A Bad Car... - 2004 Saturn ION
  By kelseyxglamour - May 20 - 11:16 am

  good car for reliability, does good in the snow. The suspension is kinda squeaky, great deal for the price. The interior design is horrible you will defiantly be squeezed if there are more than two people in the car. There is no room to put anything, and there are only two cup holders.Over all i am happy with the car when i or one other person is in it. Defiantly Not a family car.Oh the fabric on the inside stains when you get water on it, the seats look terrible.