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 I BOUGHT - 2006 Saturn ION
  By HATE IT - September 2 - 6:26 pm

  Everything was fine the first year or so, but one of the first problems I had I was driving my car and the steering wheel wouldnt turn and I was going on a curve. I also heard rattling inside the steering column and was told it was a loose screw, but I still hear the rattling in there. My engine light came on twice in 6 months. And 5 times my car wouldnt start. Was told it was the battery which wasnt the case. Comes to find out that it was the engine switch. And I also had a transmission leak. And customer service were the ones telling me lies, like how the car "should be" fixed at a certain time. I worked hard for this car and its krap.

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  I will never buy another Saturn - 2005 Saturn ION
  By michelle315 - July 14 - 8:36 am

  I have had nothing but problems with this car. I bought it new and have owned it for three years now. It has had three transmissions replaced. The first two were in the first year of ownership. It recently had the bushings replaced in the front control arm. I picked it up from the dealer, drove it less than 30 miles, when the control arm came loose and fell onto the rim of my tire. The mechanic did not tighten the pinch bolt after servicing. I am glad I was only traveling about 30MPH or I would have had a major accident, loosing all control of the steering. It felt like the whole bottom of my car hit the pavement!! I cant wait to trade this piece in, and will never buy another Saturn again

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  JUNK!! The Worst Car I Have Ever Driven - 2003 Saturn ION
  By BHMnPalmBeach - June 25 - 1:56 pm

  Now that the car is a year and a half old I have observed many problems. One recall, a transmission problem that the dealer cant figure out, and countless other trips to the dealership for various repairs. The build quality is horrible. Everything rattles, the car gets horrible gas mileage compared to everything in its class(my Acura gets better economy and it has 60 more HP), and the transmission downshifts into to high a gear going down hill rather than letting the driver use the brakes. About the brakes, not very effective and the rotors warped after 100-200 miles. The value after 18 months is only $6000 compared with my Acura which is $16000 and the Acura was only $1900 more when new.

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  Problem after Problem - 2006 Saturn ION
  By crpolston - June 20 - 2:50 am

  Ive had this car for 3 1/2 years and unfortunately Ive had nothing but problems in the past years. One is the driver side automatic window has broken twice. Once under warranty and now that it is not under warranty. Also, the check engine light has come on numerous times, stumping the dealership service guys. The MAP sensor has been replaced, the fuel pump has been replaced, the catalytic converter is now having problems, I have so many work up reports it takes up an entire file cabinent! If you want a reliable car do not pick this one.

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  TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE RECALLED!!!!!!!! - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By jd1979 - May 29 - 11:39 pm

  Sudden acceleration, hard shifting, not catching gears, slight hesitation when shifting gears is a few. It would usually work fine after pulling over and restarting the car. As time went by the car would not go out of first gear at times. It never lasted long enough to get it a half hour away to GM. I attempted to and by the time I arrived the light went off and it would be fine. Months later we had to have it towed in. AT 84,OOO MILES! two weeks later I received a call telling me what I already knew...that the 35 WAVE PLATE and VALVE CONTROL MODULE in my transmission needed replaced. Same problem EVERYONE IS HAVING w this car. Its a major flaw that needs to be RECALLED!!!!!

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  I see its not just me - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By mike d - May 23 - 3:00 am

  I do not know how many times I have had this van to the dealer. Things replaced off the top of my head, fuel sensor, radio,and windshield wiper motor to list a few. There is a constant noise in the front hubcaps when going 20 mph like sticking a playing card in a bike tire. Was told they fixed it with spacer washer in the lugs. No it is still there. They cant fix the front cupholders will not close or open properly. Need new tires and brakes at 30,000. This might be one of the cheaper suv/minivans out there but for 22000+ I expect a decent vehicle this is not. Cant wait till my lease is up to get into something else. Anything has to be better then this. Buyer Beware!!

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  Whats Really Going On - 2004 Saturn ION
  By matthew romero - May 12 - 8:33 pm

  I,ve had my quad coupe for about two years,It ran good for about a year,with scheduled maintenance. At about 40,000 mi. it started getting out of control with problems. Power windows stopped working, when starting the car it began to idle at 4,000 rpms and down,or not start at all, and finally the transmission quit, and the car has been parked for almost a year, with $5,400 in aftermarket parts, time to part it out, and get a new honda civic.

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  Unhappy with Saturns 2005 ION3 - 2005 Saturn ION
  By tialynn510 - April 9 - 3:30 pm

  Dont buy a Satrun unless you want to spend a lot of time at the dealership. Within the first month I had it in for service on the cruise control, it didnt work at all. I had to have the cd player replaced twice because they ate my cds which they did not bother to replace. The front turn signal bulbs keep blowing out I have had to replace them both twice. While I understand that these are not major isuues they are thing that you have to take time out of your day to take care of. They want you to drive clear across town so they can fix it when and if they have an opening for you, and god forbid you have somewhere to be like work you have to demand a rental car. Which is a total joke.

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  Stupid American Car... - 2007 Saturn ION
  By papaclutch - April 4 - 12:20 pm

  Used to Hondas and Toyotas. Bought used Ion for my teenage daughter - what a mistake. Clean CarFax, 91,000 seemed to drive fine. Assumed it would be good for her limited driving needs for a few years. Wrong - at just 91K needs ball joints, shocks/struts, and the transmission seems to occasionally slip. Repairs first year are going to be as much as I paid for the car - $3000! In the end I should have just spent $6000 on a good Honda or Toyota. American cars are just bad - especially GM. No American cars for me EVER AGAIN.

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  Saturn VUE Stalls while driving - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Pat609 - March 31 - 10:10 am

  I own a 2005 Saturn Vue AWD with 37,700 miles,last week while driving home from work the vehicle just stopped running no warning at all, dashboard lights went out except for the rear defogger which at that point came on and wouldnt shutoff. I emailed Saturn Co. and received a response, denies knowing of any recalls for the vehicle, ( I found dozens of complaints all over the Internet) suggested I take the SUV to the dealer . The Saturn is still setting at dealership. I called them prior to taking it in,and was told they had one or 2 vehicles with same problem, I go in and now they tell me this never happen before. I hate this car!!