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 SUV - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By donsand1 - June 7 - 10:00 am

  This is the best Saturn yet. 250 hp is great!

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  Vue - A great car! - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By kylecody - June 7 - 10:00 am

  Its a fun car to drive. Ride is smooth and the Honda V6 engine performs well in the GM body. Good gas mileage for a V6.

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  Good: ride& price. Weak: quality - 2005 Saturn ION
  By captainhurt - June 6 - 3:50 am

  Nice ride since 2005 ION(much softer ride, much quieter than any earlier Saturns). Never had a Saturn break down on me leaving me unable to drive, but they do have some quality issues. Historically...battery failure, window motor failed, gasket failures, engine mount failure, steering column failure, exhaust system brackets failed,engine light on 3 times in 1st 3 months of ownership, and a few others.

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  End of the Green Line? - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By Ken - June 4 - 10:06 pm

  If you are looking for a vehicle to pull your boat or camper or to climb to the top of the mountain it had best be a pop up trailer and a very small mountain. The Vue delivers a good comfortable ride but you had best know what your giving up performance wise. It does travel well on the flat and narrow and the mileage which is one of the main reasons we purchased the Green is about what we expected, 25 around town and we have gotten 30 on the highway. It will hold a bit of stuff but its not a four wheeler. It does get a bit of attention on the road and lots of questions at the gas stations. Fit and finish are good, but it leaves you wanting more.

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  Good Car - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By Mom - June 3 - 11:20 pm

  I like my VUE. Its not as good looking as the other SUVs in its class but so far it has been a good car. I love the OnStar.

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  Great Used Car For The Price - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By andrew_aura1 - May 31 - 3:20 pm

  The Saturn Aura is a very well put together vehicle. It has great handiling capibilities but the steering lacks feedback. Power is adeqaute but more would be nice. The gas mileage is fair in the city I average around 21-23 mpg in the city and on the highway 30-32 mpg. The ride is very smoth and it feels like a cadillac compared to a honda with road and wind noise. Overall it is very nice and drives well for 71,200 miles and I hope to get it over 150,000 miles. They are quite a bargin compared to used malibus and accords.

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  TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE RECALLED!!!!!!!! - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By jd1979 - May 29 - 11:39 pm

  Sudden acceleration, hard shifting, not catching gears, slight hesitation when shifting gears is a few. It would usually work fine after pulling over and restarting the car. As time went by the car would not go out of first gear at times. It never lasted long enough to get it a half hour away to GM. I attempted to and by the time I arrived the light went off and it would be fine. Months later we had to have it towed in. AT 84,OOO MILES! two weeks later I received a call telling me what I already knew...that the 35 WAVE PLATE and VALVE CONTROL MODULE in my transmission needed replaced. Same problem EVERYONE IS HAVING w this car. Its a major flaw that needs to be RECALLED!!!!!

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  Compares to the Best - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Bubba - May 29 - 10:20 am

  My original choice was not the Saturn but after an intensive month of shopping and visiting the dealers I was disgusted with other dealers sales tactics, and decided to give the Ion a look. The Ion 3 with the 170hp, 2.4L engine in my opinion compares to the Mazda6. There are no dealer games and they got me awesome GMAC financing. This is the first time I feel like I got an absolute steal on a car purchase. The only thing that needed getting used to was the console that is in the center of the dashboard. But if you shop Saturn you get a big bang for the buck and no sleazy dealer tricks.

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  Love my Vue! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By susieq - May 29 - 10:00 am

  I have had my Vue for almost 4 months now, and I love it! I have been driving a 95 Pontiac Transport minivan and was ready to get into something more sporty and a little smaller, but I still needed more room than a typical car would have. The Vue is ME! I have had so many people say that it "fits" me and it does. I no longer needed all that minivan space because my kids are out of the playpen, stroller stage, but we do go on car vacations and it has performed beautifully. Were taking it camping next weekend. I really love having a 5- speed, too, it has great pick-up and gets decent gas mileage (better than my minivan).

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  My First Saturn - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By Dj Daily - May 28 - 12:40 pm

  It is not super small or super big. It tows 3000 lbs without effort. The ride is quiet and not harsh. It gets me to my fishing spots. The only complaint the window switches could be better placed other than around shifter.We love it more than the other GM models based on the same platform. We looked at the Ford Escape, Rav4, CRV, Liberity, and Element. This was the best around package for my wife and I.