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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  Saturn Ion 3 Review - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Michael Sico - February 16 - 10:00 am

  great car, drives well, not had 1 problem with the car so far unlike the mini cooper which I had for 3 months and was given my money back under lemon law. only suggestion would to make larger seats and more comfortable.

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  Dissappointed, sad, and upset - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Annie - February 13 - 10:03 am

  I bought my Saturn Ion new in February of 2006. After the first year of ownership I had the transmission replaced and it was not something I did but something they say just happened. I paid for it out of my pocket. I called GM and they said they were not going to reimburse me. I still own the vehicle and cannot drive it now. As of April 6, 2009 I was returning home from work, tried to turn off the ignition and it would not turn off. I called Onstar and they GM. Neither one knew what to do. My Saturn Ion ran for three hours sitting still because they could not figure out how to shut the car off. I had to have the ignition switch, steering column, and the key replaced. GM said it was natural.

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  08 vue - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By andy - February 12 - 1:43 am

  I recently traded in my 06 vue for an 08 vue xr due to an extremly good deal on the 08. Wasnt really sure how well i would like the 08 but i have to say it is a big improvement over the plastic vues. being all steel now the 08 weighs more and that gives it a better ride and better road feel.Drove both v-6s and the 3.6 is so much better than the 3.5.The interior is much improved as well,with less cheap feeling plastic parts. Only have a couple of complaints -1 being the fuel economy.its about 5-6 mpg less than my Honda powered 06. im sure part is due to the extra weight (500#)but also to the fact the the engine is now GM built.and 2,the torque steer is worse than my 06.but overall better

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  Crude Design - 2006 Saturn ION
  By talismanPHL - February 8 - 12:00 pm

  Dark gray exterior looks great when its clean - very sleek lines. However, the interior is awful. Its filled with cheap mismatched plastics. We never did get used to the centrally placed dashboard - why not go with a normal dashboard with larger gauges? Extremely cheap seat fabrics that stained very easily and small rear seat with very little legroom.

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  Saturn Customer Service Rules - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By JSHOULTA - February 8 - 10:00 am

  My first Saturn and I am impressed with the feel of the drive.

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  Have it almost a year, still love it - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By Jeff N - February 7 - 2:00 am

  Had our VUE almost a year and still very satisfied. No rattles or squeaks in interior and no problems at all with build quality. 4 cyl./5 speed combo offers plenty of zip but would go for 6 next time for its extra towing capacity. Rear seat is low but I dont sit there, the kids do, and they dont mind. Split rear folding seat + front passenger folding seat very nice.

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  Love My Saturn - 2003 Saturn ION
  By wvmediamogul - February 7 - 2:00 am

  I absolutely love my ION. It handles very well. The steering is extremely responsive. Also, the engine doesnt drive like your average 4 cylinder. It feels like it has much more power. The ION is also a lot more roomy than the old S-series. I used to own a 99 SL and at times I felt like a contortionist getting into and out of it. Granted, I am 63" and 280lbs. I have no problem getting into and out of the ION. I even have legroom to spare. Even though Saturn was about 5 years late for a re-design; it was well worth the wait.

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  so far so good - 2006 Saturn ION
  By bowtieguy4 - February 6 - 8:03 am

  hello, i owned a 2006 cobalt prior to this car and i had 65,000 miles on it. i had some of the same problems as other saturn owners had. i do however i enjoy the saturn more than the cobalt. it seems to be a better built car and drive better, the sound system is much better it has a dome light big improvment.I hope the power steering dont go out like on the cobalt that is a expensive fix,the center dash is a very nice design.the performace is better that is a nice upgrade. this car has a r title to it only paid 6000.00 for it in very good cond,will give more updates as i drive it more.

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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