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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  Great Vehicle if youre tall - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Bryan - April 24 - 2:23 am

  I love this car! Im 65" tall and the leg room and head room are by far the best Ive seen in a vehicle! I actually have to stretch out my foot to shift! usually my knees are up under the steering wheel or straddling it and have to push in the clutch by pushing with my knee. The telescoping wheel helps too I can drive much more comfortably not having to lay the seat back(so my head doesnt bounce against the roof) this requires me to stretch my arms out to reach the wheel. But the headroom and telescoping wheel definitely gives me a more relaxing ride.

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  Review2 - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Hoagie - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I originally reviewed this car in Jan., a week after purchase. With now over 16k miles on it, I am very pleased with my purchase. I get 30 mpg (city/hwy mix) consistently. I never really get fatigued in the drivers seat. The tight handling has saved my rear end more than once around crazy city drivers. I only wish it had another gear and another 20-30 horsepower. I have had a few minor issues that the dealer has fixed under warranty, but no deal breakers.

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  GM finally got it right - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Scott P. Fisher - April 22 - 5:36 pm

  I just wanted to test drive the Aura as I was happy with my Saturn L-300, but after I did, I fell in love with this car. The extras that came with the Aura, plus the solid ride, quality workmanship, and comfort, quickly sold me.

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  Best 30k Roadster on the road - 2008 Saturn Sky
  By TomT - April 20 - 4:56 pm

  It was my wife who first got interested in the car. I had always wanted a Vette for a 3rd fun to drive car, but she did not like the new ones and finding an older one that fit our budget just did not work out. It was not until I saw one in person that I fell in love with the car. Cannot believe how much fun it is to drive, you just go looking fot the windest roads you can find to put the car through its paces. Great power to weight ratio. Am always getting compliments on the looks, and most cannot believe its a Saturn.

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  Have Never Been So Disappointed - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By Ednava58 - April 20 - 2:00 pm

  I wish I never bought the 2002 Saturn VUE. When I first test drove it, it had no heat and it was in 12/02, before purchasing the car they promised to fix it. Well the dealer had my car more than I did and it became a joke at work and with friends. I would always hear, oh it is in the shop AGAIN. I told them I had transmission problems, of course they say there was nothing wrong. Well in 2008 I was still having problems with the transmission and the service manager checked my VIN and found out that I was ONE number away from getting a new transmission, but no luck. I lost all power one day entering on the highway, oh so many things went wrong with this thing they call a VUE.

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  Excellent choice for the price - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By RJules - April 19 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned my Saturn now for a year and I love it. I went looking at other GMC brands and saw that you can get the same performance from my Saturn for half the Price of the GMC Denali. My only let down is that the nearest dealer is 70 miles away, so I do all of my own maintenance. If I had to do it again, I would buy 2 VUEs. I love this SUV.

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  Saturn losing its charm. - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By David Bonanno - April 19 - 2:00 am

  After a wonderful dealer experience with my first Saturn several years ago, my Vue experience was akin to the same old typical b.s.you expect elsewhere. This manual is difficult to shift and noone can seem to fix it. The size is great and its wonderful on the highway, but I wouldnt do it again.

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  New Car, Great Car - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Toby - April 16 - 9:56 am

  This vehicle is very comfortale, with captain style seats in the front. Very appealing interior and sleek exterior. Very quiet engine with little wind noise, great acceleration and smooth ride

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  Go for it! - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By Jay - April 15 - 3:20 pm

  The 06 is a great improvement over our 03 VUE AWD. We still have the 03 and now have an 06 brother for her. I really enjoy the acceleration and the ride height. The interior seems tighter now and has improved to what you would expect out of a car. I really like the new seat material and the heated seats. I would of never bought heated seats for a car, now I wouldnt buy one without it. The new Euro style exterior design is most appealing. The wind and engine noise is less now. The VUE is no more of a soccer moms car than any other, if you want to impress the chicks, buy a sports car. If you want to save the money and buy an enjoyable SUV that wont break your wallet, go for the VUE

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  Eh. Just Ok. - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By 2vues - April 13 - 2:00 am

  Its loud. Its rough. Its sluggish unless you floor the pedal. It seems to get stuck between gears. It seems to built like a toy. I dont really like it.