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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  My Orange planet - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Orange Fun - April 27 - 10:53 am

  I love my Vue. It is fantastic for the money, good mpg, easy to drive, plenty of room. I love the orange color and little touches that make it a pleasure to own, I got $3000 of MSRP and the ride is great. I traded in a terrible V6 Mustang and never looked back. I am very pleased with my dealer and the Saturn product. I bought off the lot, I would have ordered it with some different options had I been able to, but very pleased overall with the purchase. Glad to say goodbye to my gas- hog Ford! (16 mpg)

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  Worried - 2006 Saturn ION
  By cnp - April 25 - 3:50 pm

  I just bought my saturn Ion have been reading the reviews and its making me really nervous I hope that my car does not have all these problems it has 66000 miles on it in really great shape so far so good guess I will let you know how things work out!

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  Best for the money - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Bob - April 24 - 8:56 pm

  The front grille is a big improvement over the 2004 ION. It makes the car look expensive. The seats are comfortable. I like the center dash. I have just under 3000 miles on it and I have found nothing that is a problem. It handles like a dream and is very responsive. I like the timing chain over the timing belt and will not have to have it replaced after 60,000 miles like my other car and a $350 bill. The trunk is a plus and the overall style is what caught my eye.

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  Nice car - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Motown Mike - April 24 - 10:00 am

  This is my first Saturn and I like it so far. The dealership experience was good and they were very fast.

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  good, but could be better. - 2003 Saturn ION
  By ginny - April 24 - 10:00 am

  i like the ability to turn in tight places and the smaller steering wheel gives it a racing car feel. i do not like the leather seats. the quality of leather is very poor.

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  Perfect car except mileage - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By danny - April 21 - 1:16 pm

  One word: awesome. I put every option on. And the most I like is the brown leather seat. The is always power left no matter how hard you stepped on the gas. All my friends would like to take my car pool is possible. The only problem is that I never got my mileage under 11L/100KM. But with 252hp, what can you ask for. Also there are too much features which I have to try out.

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  The best of GM - 2009 Saturn Outlook
  By AndyS - April 18 - 12:30 pm

  Vehicle: 09 Outlook XR AWD. We traded a 04 Toyota Camry in on this vehicle to accommodate an expanding family. Contrary to the editors review, the transmission in the 2009 Outlook is not sluggish. Nothing about the engine or transmission is sluggish at all. The ride is smooth and extra quiet with great handling especially when you consider the size of this vehicle. In fact this vehicle seems to outperform the our old Camry in every aspect. The Outlook has all the features and modern conveniences we could possibly want. A side note, the high beams on the headlights are the brightest and most illuminating I have ever used.

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  A Different Kind of Car Company???? - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By MAK - April 18 - 10:00 am

  I am a 10 yr customer of the saturn company. Then came the VUE. I was leery about buying a new vehicle with it being its 2nd year of production, but with Saturns customer policy,I took that chance.I had to bring it in for hesistation problems. After the 3rd time I started to activate the lemon law. The dealership/service people were wonderful in the whole experience. But the Corporate Level people are rude and wont or cant answer any direct question put to them. I guess customer loyality means less than nothing to them. I would never ever deal with the Saturn Corp again. A different kind of car company put me through a whole different kind of hell!!!

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  Dont judge a book.......... - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Public Defender - April 18 - 10:00 am

  Compared four cylinder to six. At first four seemed like it had plenty of zip. A few months after I purchased the four lost its pep. Gas mileage not even close to what they represent. Buy the six!

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  I regret buying this car. - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By mf47960 - April 16 - 1:40 am

  Since day 1 I have had nothing but problems. The car squeaks more and more every day but upon taking it to the dealer have been told all the 2008 squeak and that is how they were designed. Well I am no looking into a lawsuit against them. Anyone else having this problem? I am beginning to think mine was a 30 day return as it had 300 miles on it and I was denied the 30 exchange policy because they gave me extra inncentives which was not disclosed to me, as at purchase they kept reminding me I had 30 days, well not when trying to exchange! Will never buy Saturn again!