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 VUE, its great! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By lorcan - November 28 - 10:00 am

  Im 64" and its very hard to find a car that I can fit into. The Saturn VUE is a dream! I have plenty of leg and head room and I can fall asleep easily on the passenger side. My wife thinks its the hottest thing around and she loves the green exterior color. We recently took it to Northern Calif. from Boise Idaho and had no problems.

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  Relay a Winner - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By kiwihouseusa - November 27 - 5:36 am

  Just returned from a 2000 mile road trip up the California Coast, over mountains, in pouring rain most of the time. The stabilitrak gave us total control at all times, whether climbing up a mountainside in the rain, or driving through the Redwood Forests and its potholes and mud while in search of Bigfoot. It is an elegant looking car, we got lots of stares. My son loves the built- in DVD player; we enjoy being able to fold down the seats at night time for the kids to sleep, and make all normal for seven people during the day. We are so pleased with this short road trip in the Relay that we have scheduled a two-week trip in June.

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  100K mile test Astra XE 5-door AT 2008 - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By rook119 - November 25 - 11:40 am

  Price new: $13,500 - bought winter 08 when the economony blew up and GM was giving cars away. The car was made in Belgium, with German parts and an Aisin (Japanese) transmission. So unlike other Saturn/Opels the car thankfully wasnt Americanized with things like overly spongy suspensions. So the car is manuverable and a blast to toss around. I think its still arguably the best looking subcompact on the market. Its really the best affordable European car on the market still today. Really if you can get this car at about 75K miles and about $6-7K I would highly recommend it.

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  satisfied - 2005 Saturn ION
  By ron nelson - November 23 - 4:00 pm

  excellent on the highway, great in the local streets....i love the exterior design....the interior seating is a little uncomfortable, but its very good for bad backs....the saturn handles curves and turns exceptionally well, gas mileage is great.

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  2005 Saturn Vue - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By John Marcus - November 23 - 10:46 am

  I bought my saturn view in october of 2005. The gas gage broke at 5000 miles, then at 12000 miles there was an electrical problem and the daytime running lights stayed on. The car died and I had to have it towed. :(. The dealer covered everything but it was still annoying. The dealer was really slow and took forever.

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  I enjoy my Saturn Ion 3 - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Morrowfield - November 22 - 2:16 am

  This car was purchase with 19,000 miles. It has leather interior and XM Satellite radio which I have not activated yet. It is my nicest car to date, but the black color requires weekly hand washes and detailing, as well as waxing or the dirt shows! I hope the car remains reliable in the next 5 years! I will keep my fingers crossed, for now I am very happy with my purchase! Also had a good buying experience. Its a good alternative to Civic, which I know from experience requires lots of maintenance over the life of the car.

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  My New Car - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Jim231 - November 22 - 2:00 am

  I just got my new car on Tuesday, and I just love it. GM sent me a letter saying that I could use my GM dollars towards a Saturn,and if I used them by December 31st, they would double them. Wow, that is $ 1,600.00 off my car. Thanks GM.

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  Sharp looking as well - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Tonydce - November 22 - 2:00 am

  This is a 1st for us - in a VUE - we love it

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  So FAr So Good - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Leppod - November 22 - 2:00 am

  I love the new 2004 Vue. The looks are stylish, interior is very roomy. Agreed that the interior is a little bland but I love simple design. Options are easy to use and not complicated. Performance is very good, 250hp gets you were you have to go quick. The interior noise is very little, bumps in road are hardley noticeable. Gas millage is right under 20mpg average mostly city driving.

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  GREAT SUV!!!! - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By nefodor2 - November 22 - 2:00 am

  WE LOVE THIS SUV. WE ARE BOTH GOOD SIZE PEOPLE & I HAVE A BAD LEG & I NEED ROOM TO GET IN & OUT, WELL THIS IS IT. WE GOT GREAT GAS MILEAGE, AS HIGH AS 28.5MPG. WOULDNT TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING.