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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  Dont - just dont.... - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By 4norm79 - May 9 - 11:37 am

  After owning this car for the past two years, I must caution anyone who is contemplating purchasing one. The car I bought was a "certified" vehicle with a 12 month/12000 warranty. Warning, thats not enough protection. Repairs done so far:transmission replacement, front engine cover, brake sensor malfunction, ignition replacement, body control module failure, ignition control module failure and two dead batteries. Save yourself some time, money and frustration and buy yourself a decent car.

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  What Next? - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Neveragain - April 21 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car new in 2006 and loved it at first. Then one night during a rain storm my car alarm went off for no reason. The next day I found the foam seal along the top of both doors is badly weathered and rain water runs in along the door panels and puddles on the floor. With 20,000 miles the front struts are shot and just yesterday my key became stuck in the ignition while the car is running. Likely the ignition cylinder will need to be replaced (from the looks of it this is a huge big with the ION). And who will have to pay for it all? My guess is GM will bail on that as well. So here I sit with a car that leaks every time it rains, bad suspension,and a junk ignition cylinder.

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  Warm weather only! - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Catt - February 28 - 10:03 pm

  Aside from the plastic construction, & non-ergonomic interior, I can only recommend this car to be owned in warm climates. From my experience, once the temps fall to freezing, the anti-theft system in the steering column freezes, the engine is incapacitate & you are stranded. I have to carry a small electric heater & a very long extension cord with me & insure I park near an outside outlet. Getting rid of it as soon as possible, & I will never buy another. Saturn denies there is any problem with the anti-theft & will not remove it.

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  Dont buy this car - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By bbmyers - February 5 - 11:06 pm

  Since purchasing this vehicle (new) we have had nothing but problems. Air conditioner was barely functioning from day 1, front sway bar, sunroof not opening/closing, drive shaft bearing howling, wheel bearing (twice!!!) drivers door coming out of alignment, brake ratteling (not able to stop - claims this is in normal manufacturing paramaters)

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  Crapola from GM - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By 62Sunbeam - February 4 - 8:56 pm

  Three years on I am still kicking myself for buying this horrible vehicle! I have never in all my life seen a more poorly made vehicle on the road. This includes a mid 80s Sonata. This car has been in the dealer more times than all of my precious cars combined. Faulty ABS system, Bad brakes, bad A/C, bad DVD, bad front wheel bearings, bad side doors, bad suspension, bad parking brake adjuster, bad side trim, and overall horrendous build quality. I would sell it but it has NO replacement value and I foolishly took out a loan to buy it. so it is now worth about 8 grand less than I owe. I tried to have the warranty extended as a courtesy but I was told to take a hike and with 34000 on th

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  the good/the bad/and the not reliable - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By rhonnybeware - January 15 - 2:00 am

  ive had my vue only 4 months and it has been in the service dept 5 times,from pink fluid leak to clicking noise under the hood to noise in the dash and the worst of all 4 times for a very bad transmission problem that is still no good. talk with the manufactures said not enough to be sent in as a lemon. so to anyone out there if you are looking to buy a vue,really think again.will be trading this lemon in may have to pay more but i want good and reliablity in a vehicle. fell in love with vue when i saw it now really unhappy!! with performance.

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  Steering Lock up - 2007 Saturn ION
  By nothappy615 - December 21 - 10:30 pm

  I only purchased this car because it was affordable (I got a discount on the price through family and friends discount) and the reviews on it were decent. I have had problems with this vehicle since day 1. Everything from replacing both frt wheel bearings ( 5 mths after purchase) to now having the power steering to lock up. I am very dissatisfied with this vehicle.

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  Piece of crap - 2006 Saturn Relay
  By cbt - December 18 - 2:23 pm

  MOST RECENT problem: from being PARKED with engine running, car slid into REVERSE, rolled downhill, knocked me over twice and hit my neighbors tree (better than the house)! Add to that problems weve had since we bought it new: both sliding doors sometimes wont close; the dash lights flicker; the a/c goes out and we have to move the knob to heat and back to get cool air again; a/c only blows cool when were actually rolling; "ABS disengaged" light comes on all the time; full brake replacement at 50K miles; radio changes station when braking suddenly; dead spot in accelerating from a stop; gas reads empty on incline even when 1/4 full; back wiper doesnt move; hard to get into 3rd row.

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  Like a bad marriage - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By NoNoNo - November 26 - 7:36 pm

  I purchased this Vue thinking it would be great quality. Since it is my 3rd purchase from Saturn. Great price for an suv. From the get go, problem after problem. I would gas up the vehicle to get on the freeway and the max speed it would go was 20 mph? got problem covered through warranty. Now a couple years later, my horn has gone out and thermostat sticks. $2000 worth of cost and Saturn says "no we cant help you, your warranty has expired." the car is only 5 years old. These problems should not be occurring I am trying to get out of this car but no one will take it for trade unless they gouge me! Ouch. I will never buy another Saturn they left a sour taste in my mouth and I dont like it.

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  Worst Saturn Built - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Jessica - November 24 - 6:36 am

  Ever since I purchases the VUE, I have had nothing but trouble with the transmission. I had so much trouble that they had no choice but to extend my warranty for the transmission. I have been back and forth to the dealership at least 10 times. Every time I go in, the problem does not get fixed. If they do "fix" the problem, it stays "fixed" for about a month before the transmission starts to act up again. I have had at least 3 loaner cars while they tried to fix mine. Since I did have to have the loaner car, I am not going to buy a model from another dealership that I drove while my Saturn was being "fixed".