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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  Nice and Safe to haul the Kids! - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Eye On - April 18 - 7:43 am

  Love the "sucide doors", its easy to get my two small kids in and out. HUGE TRUNK and fold down seats great for shopping. I can steer into and out of tight spaces in a snap. Lowest priced car in its market, with lots of great features. Just a great overall "ride" that really stands out! Sales guy really helpful and NOT pushy, bought the car that I wanted w/no hassles.

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  A doom with a vue - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By brian - April 16 - 2:26 pm

  Should have been and still be recalled due to computer failures in all or most vues sold. Poor repair info and no gm dealer is willing to touch it. Power steering fails and makes it like driving a tank. Poor info for self repair work. Recall these cars.

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  I loved this van - 2006 Saturn Relay
  By LEW - April 15 - 2:53 pm

  This was the best van I ever owened. I had one problem with one of the doors, it wouldnt close sometimes. The gas mileage wasnt to good but other than that the kids and I loved it.

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  A fun SUV to drive - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Molly A - April 15 - 10:00 am

  I bought this SUV to tow behind my 36ft Motorhome. It was between the Vue and the Honda CRV. I wanted a car that I didnt need to modify the transmission to tow it It was a pleasent experience to deal with Saturn. There no hassel was a breath of fresh air. As I bought the Vue the end of July I had to take it from dealers stock. The one I wanted my dealer didnt have so they looked throughout the 6 sate reagon they found me mine in Maine. They went out of there way to make sure I was completly satified. This is the way all car buying should be and the rest of the car dealers could take a lesson from Saturn.

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  This vehicle has surprised me!! - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By taar - April 15 - 10:00 am

  Its been about 11 months now with this SUV. The silky smooth Honda engine and tranny is a must have! I now have 30000 miles on this puppy with absolutely no problems.

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  Smooth and Fun - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By starrdancerr512 - April 15 - 10:00 am

  I love my Vue! Surfing the net for my new car was the very rewarding. The Vue has a very smooth ride which is also enhanced by the CVT transmission. The electric steering is one of reliability and a great performer. My reason for choosing a Vue is the CVT transmission, the electric steering, the Hepa air filter, the polymer body, the excellent bridgestone tires. Plenty of room inside the vehicle. It is a very fun vehicle to drive in the sunroof, the tinted windows, It has a very classy yet rugged look to it. Its a must drive SUV.

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  Vue to a Tow - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By DrDave654 - April 15 - 10:00 am

  The Vue has the Honda 3.5 and Honda Transmission in it The engine is very powerful and not only has 250 hp and has great torque but is also rated as a ULEV ( Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) It gets good gas mileage even when towing a camping trailer. ( I do reccomend a Tramsmission cooler be installed) Very good driveability and steering. Tows the trailer without effort. visability is very good, and once you get use to the heated seats it is hard to do without them We have a 2003 Saturn L300 with the heated seats. Still have it as well. Compared it to several vehicles before buying. Saturn of Concord is fantastic to deal with.

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  Disappointing - 2004 Saturn ION
  By MeOhMy - April 15 - 10:00 am

  One really wants the US to build a better economy car, but ION is merely another failed attempt. The car handles very poorly. Foremost, beware of the shoddy steering, which has an electric assist motor rather than a vacuum. This means the steering mistakes a bump in the road for the driver turning the wheel and pulls you off course with sudden and alarming frequency. What control you do have is administed through a shrunken steering wheel which was miniaturized in consideration of easing the 3 seconds spent getting into and out of the car rather than the hours spent driving it. The wheel has a slippery texture and no indentations for a sense of grip. Taking the car in bends is harrowing

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  Impressive - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By bsquare - April 15 - 9:36 am

  Have owned for 2 weeks now, and so far very pleased. Smooth, comfortable ride and plenty of pick-me-up in the V6. Nice lines - more than a few double-takes from other drivers and pedestrians. Shopped the Aura against the 2008 Accord (Im a two-time Accord owner). Liked them both, but feel with Aura Im getting a lot of car for several thousand less.

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  Poor gas mileage! - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By crasberry - April 11 - 8:03 am

  I realized in the 1st tank of gas that I wasnt getting the MPG that Saturn told me I would get. The vehicle is rated at 16 MPG city but we struggle to get 12. It would be different if the vehicle was driven hard but its driven very slow in a fairly small town that you dont drive over 35 MPH. Ive had the vehicle back to 2 Saturn dealerships 4 times and they cant seem to figure out why it gets the poor mileage. The last Saturn dealer told me they drove it and got over 16 MPG. I offered to ride with them to verify their claim and they refused. My wife loves the vehicle but if I knew it was going to get 12 MPG I would have bought another vehicle with a V-8 engine.