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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  Im in Awe of my Aura - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By John Russell - July 27 - 5:00 am

  I have back problems after two painful surguries and the Aura was the only car that was really comfortable for me to drive in. The heated front seats are a major blessing for anyone disabled like me. The comfort of the ride is awesome. No side to side movement, and my back lets me know that this existed in all the other cars that we tested. The 3.6 litre engine with 6 speed transmission makes gear changes so smooth. This car is more like a limo in feel and ride. As much fun as a Porsche with its standard option of manual shifting with steering wheel mounted touch paddles to up and down shift. If you dont want that fun, you just use the great automatic transmission with the smooth ride.

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  awsome - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By hwiseman - July 25 - 10:00 am

  I wouldnt trade it for anything else it is the best vehicle i have ever driven

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  watch the sun - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By curls58 - July 25 - 10:00 am

  I love my VUE. Cant think of any major complaints. We did have a little problem with the turn signals which kept failing, but that was repaired. The sun visors are a concern to me. They really dont provide much protection from the sun. To get any use you have to tilt or cock your head at a strange angle.....Other then that, the VUE is my favorite car ever

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  The best SUV in the segment, hands down - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Engineer007 - July 24 - 4:23 pm

  The Vue V6, in RedLine (mine) or standard dress, is the fastest, safest and most fuel efficient SUV (without going hybrid) in the <$30k market today. RedLine looks cool, has huge 18" rims and tires, handles on rails, and puts almost every other SUV to shame in performance, except maybe the Porsche Cayenne. $50k Sequoias cant keep up and get 1/2 of the gas mileage. I have an 05 BMW, the Vue Redline, and motorcycles. I enjoy the Vue the most.

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  A "BULLETPROOF" HONDA ENGINE IN A LOWER PRICED SUV - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By OUTTHEDOORKING - July 23 - 5:08 am

  The Saturn Vue is a great value in an suv. I strongly prefer and recommend the Honda 3.5 liter v6 version which boasts great power and legendary Honda dependability! The fit and finish on these vehicles is very good! I think they are undervalued and therefore a great buy!

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  Great car - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Glenn - July 21 - 9:20 am

  I picked this car over a Honda Fit after Saturn came down to 15000 on a 19,000 car (1000 dealer cash back + 1000 GM credit card discount + 2000 red tag discount). Ive had it for a month now and I really enjoy it. Ive always thought that GM and Ford make excellent cars only refuse to sell them here. Well this is the exact same car as the Opel Astra and its built in Belgium. Its not Euro car thats redressed and made it fulfill what Americans want.

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  vue - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By Cesar Marchioli - July 21 - 2:00 am

  awesome car handling all of my needs and economically as well. It has been as good as advertised.

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  Great car as long as you dont want an engine that runs - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By csa1 - July 20 - 10:56 pm

  Our 2008 Outlook has 46000 miles on it and we are having to have the engine torn down. The dreaded timing chain problem that GM claims doesnt exist in the 2008 model DOES EXIST! For some crazy reason GM has extended the timing chain warranty on every other year of this vehicle except 2008. Our last GM had cronic problems as well but not this bad. Honestly I love the vehicle but GM has lost this customer. I am so disgusted.

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  Saturn reVUE - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By amg - July 20 - 8:03 am

  Ive had my VUE for about a year. So far, its been a great car. It has great pick-up and the interior is refreshing for an American car. I took it on a 1500 mile trip about 3 weeks after I bought it and it was great. Very comfortable, gas mileage was OK, and its fun to drive. Overall, Im happy with my purchase.

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  Vue with aroom - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By TROY MORPHEW - July 19 - 9:56 pm

  A pleasure to drive.