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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  New to Saturn - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By Cindy - December 6 - 9:46 am

  Just purchased the vehicle. Like the performance and the gas mileage so far. Interior design could be better in the center console area. Not much storage room. OnStar is great. Rear door is very heavy and hard to close. Very comfortable seats and lots of leg room in the rear for the size of the vehicle.

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  Vue Review - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By powerbar - December 2 - 10:00 am

  This car is not made for back road driving. Its appeal may be for young drivers but this car is made for family transportation. I live in the country and the suspension has not held up. In addition, the antilock brakes strangely work against an agressive driver. I have had my wheel bearings replaced numerous times and have only had my vehicle for a year and 1/2. In addition my front coil spring broke in two!? To sum this up the suspension and quality in this car have not lived up to the making of an SUV (AKA Sport Utility Vehicle).

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  I like my car - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Carolyn Manning - December 1 - 2:00 am

  Its fun to drive. Great price. Large enough for the family.

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  Test Drive First - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By oleytwo - November 30 - 10:00 am

  Sort of a good car. Had bad dealer experience, salespeople are great, service people typical GM. Arrogant, might be a good word, like "I never heard of such a problem". Drive it 50- 100 miles before you buy, not just around the block. Some good points but mine still surges and I dont think I be back to Saturn or GM. Been 10 years since I had a GM car, sorry they are still the same.

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  Solid, Fun and Great Service - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Todd - November 26 - 11:33 am

  I have thorougly enjoyed my Saturn and will certainly consider buying another. Two things that need serious improvement are some interior materials (cheap in some places) and it could use about 15-20 more horsepower.

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  Not Dissappointed! - 2008 Saturn Sky
  By Larry B - November 23 - 6:03 pm

  Love this car! Beautiful with plenty of power and great handling. Had a 280Z and Porsche 944 both of which which I liked and drove for many years, but the fully loaded Sky Redline is a lot more fun, and way more sexy! Some of the interior design features and lack of storage space take getting used to, but the positive aspects of the car far outweigh what for me are relatively minor inconveniences. The leather seats are very comfortable with electric vertical control. Door lock controls are fine. Steering wheel mounted controls are small but completely adequate. The top and windshield have a somewhat chopped look which limits visibility some, but looks great with the top up or down. Fun car!

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  2002 Saturn (after 10 months) - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By DWoodmanJr - November 23 - 2:00 am

  Purchasing this SUV has been one of the best decisions Ive made in a while. You cant beat the value, and I get compliments all the time on the looks. The only option I didnt get was the side window airbags, and I still spent under $26,000. The V6 has plenty of power, and you barely notice the shifting of the Automatic Transmission.

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  2008 Saturn Astra - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By blakeschneider - November 9 - 4:03 pm

  I purchased a Saturn Astra in July 2008 because it was 0% financing and we needed a small car for commuting. The sunroof and heated seats were an unexpected bonus for the price. We had the car 1 month when the transmission created a problem and needed to be replaced. I told the dealer that this was unacceptable and I wanted a new car. Without arguement they said ok. I said my wife hated the red and would like a blue one. They said ok. In all my life I have never had a more positive consumer experience. We have had this car for 6 years and never had any mechanical issues. It has 150,000 kilometers and we have not even replaced the brake pads or mufflers. Great car.

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  My New Sky - 2008 Saturn Sky
  By JimA - November 8 - 7:06 pm

  My wife and I were drooling over this car since we fist saw it at the auto show last year. We knew then we wanted one, it was to be a fun car only and not a daily driver. We waited a year for the prices to come down and mark up to go away. The car is quite quick for being non turbo, I recomend the manual trans, I drove the auto in the test drive, it was no where near as fun. This car is not purchased to be practical, I have a Toyota for that. I dont know why all the automotive journalists dont get the point. The manual top adds to the fun. So what about trunk space, if we need it, we dont drive the Sky.

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  Very good car! - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By Chopper - November 7 - 10:00 am

  Got it for a full yr. So far no problems with mechanics and electric. The dealer changed the front strut when I 1st had it, was the only known issue. Ride/acc. is good. Drive through snow well. All bells and whistles are worth it. My only wish was that I should have order the leather package! PS, dealer folks are great and do good works. Good gas milege, got 24.9 miles/gal.