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 looks, bad deal - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Thwarted Saturnite - October 1 - 10:00 am

  The appearance of the VUE is very nice, but dont let that fool you. There are too many "bugs" in this car that have not been addressed by Saturn. Ive had this car almost 2 years and Ive had "Warranty" repairs at least 20 times. Perhaps my vehicle is a lemon, but others that Ive test driven havent been much better. These vehicles have a front end problem that causes squeaking and rattling. Most drivers have said that it feels as if the front end is about to collapse. Overall the ride is not smooth, it feels like a old pickup. The factory radio system is below average. Reception is horrible. The air conditioner blower does not reach the back seat

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  Why is my car knocking? - 2006 Saturn ION
  By readingteach - September 28 - 4:16 pm

  I owned an SL2, and it went almost 150,000 miles until I traded it in for my current car, a 2006 I0N 3. The quality of the ION 3 is much poorer than with the SL. Its obvious that Saturn cut corners with the ION, which may account for its short run. Like others, Ive noticed that the interior seems cheaply made, and the material does easily stain. The biggest problem is that the car keeps surging when Im idling at a stop sign or a red light. Ive taken it to the dealer multiple times, and they cant find anything. I was originally very proud to own a Saturn since the company took a lot of pride in its products, but the company obviously doesnt care about quality like it once did.

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  Buyers remorse - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Heidi - September 20 - 6:30 pm

  It only took me 2 days to realize I had made a very bad choice. I was really excited to get an suv and upgrade from my 2005 mazda 6. When I bought it the visor buzzed so I took it back in and they politely fixed it and now the whole car buzzes. I drive down the road banging the roof of the car so that the buzzing will stop. The windshield is so windy it sounds like it isnt secure. The inside also looks very cheap. I am very disappointed and have been searching for a new suv ever since.

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  Wish I had known - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By jcr - September 6 - 9:53 pm

  This car has been in the shop more times than my previous 7 cars. Windshiped wipers didnt work - 2 times to fix, ESC light on - 2 times to fix, cruise control - hit bump in highway - quit - 2 times to fix, and now on 4th time in for rear brake lights - some times stayed on all the time, other times never came on when applied the brakes. My car is definitely not "car of the year" Ive driven borrowed cars half the time Ive owned this one.

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  unhappy owner - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By saturn owner - September 2 - 2:00 am

  We have 2 powered doors and have had nothing but problems with them. They have opened while driving 75mph down the highway and GM is refusing to fix them even though we have a 16 page detailed service report of these on going problems. Put the doors aside and the other issues we have had with this very expensive vehicle and it is a great ride. It is a very comfortable and smooth ride. But I will never buy another GM vehicle again, we were sold a lemon of a vehicle and GM just tells us too bad. Hopefully not everyone is having the same problems we are. But I would not recommend buying this vehicle to anyone. The dvd screen is way too small for the kids to see it good from in back.

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  Last GM junk that I buy - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Greg R. Hess - August 29 - 6:16 pm

  I purchased this nice looking suv with high hopes. Only to be disappointed once again by GM. This will be the last time I get burned by them. I have replaced a front left hub-wheel bearing that cost $455 and ever since 48,000 miles there has been a rumbling noise from under the hood and under neath the center of the suv. The dealership mechanic says that there are nothing mechanical to explain these noises! So I guess I have to be satisfied with paying $30,000 and having a problematic car. Unbelieveable! The big three wonder why the public is switching over to imports. They have lousy warranties, until of late but I bet theres a lot of red tape one goes through to have anything done!

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  Worst car I ever owned! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By cyoung430 - August 25 - 10:00 am

  This car with less then 20K miles has had to have numerous repairs which each took several trips to the dealer including a broken ac system, replaced the the canister vent soleniod, cracked driver mirror b/c of water leakage, the service engine light has gone off five times for various reasons, and other small repairs. After two trips to the dealer and over 3 hrs of waiting, the dealership would not give a rental car as promised in the warranty I purchased from Saturn because they can only bill for 1.2 hrs, not 2. I would recommend never to buy this car, but anyone purchasing a Saturn Vue should question the quality of this car.

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  Good Commuter Car - 2006 Saturn ION
  By epic_sandwich - August 24 - 6:36 am

  Ive owned my 06 Ion for 4 years, purchased used from a Saturn dealer with 22k on the clock. It just passed 80k the other day and thus far has been a good car. Average 33mpg, over 40 on trips. Issues thus far: AC compressor failed (replaced under warranty), power steering motor failed (out of warranty, dealer wanted $1300 to fix, I bought a used ps motor off eBay and did it myself for $80 bucks), ignition module failure (twice, $82 part at AutoZone), and now the front right wheel has a bad bearing and is causing excessive road noise. Most of the problems are easy and quick to fix, no car is 100% failure proof and I think this car is a good trade-off. People have unrealistic expectations.

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  My Last Saturn - 2005 Saturn ION
  By sfr - August 22 - 6:50 am

  This is my second and last Saturn vehicle. The ignition has been replaced three times in three years and is ready for a fourth replacement. Ive now developed a new problem where the power steering randomly cuts out but comes back if you turn the vehicle off and on again. I liked my first Saturn. The gas mileage is good - but there is a serious design flaw in the steering column architecture.

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  Saturn ION2 - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Sara - August 14 - 2:10 am

  With only 35,000 miles i already had to replace a gas cap and vent and valve because it did not pass emmissions. I cannot believe that I am already putting money into this car. I will make sure not to buy another Saturn again.