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:

• 

  Love It! Extremely Good Value - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By Ralph - November 22 - 2:43 am

  Value - this is by far the best car for the money. Sure you can buy a Toyota or Honda with the same level a reliability, but this has style. And you dont see 30 of them in whenever you look for a parking space. The car drives wonderfully with more than enough power. More power is available with the XR but the XE - V6 is plenty of power. For more spirited performance drop it in I from D. Every guest in my car compliments the design and comfort and thinks it is much more expensive that I paid. I look forward to enjoying this car for years.

• 

  nice car and excellent ride - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By mmo - November 21 - 10:00 am

  purchased car june 2002, excellent ride. great pulling capacity, some road noise but for price of car nice ride. extremely reliable, no needed service other than oil change. very easy to do oil change at home total cost about $13.00. Have 5 sp vue as well.

• 

  Fourth American Made Vehicle - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By Michael - November 19 - 10:00 am

  I bought my 2008 Aura used with 27K. I usually lean towards Toyota and Honda. I thought I would give America another try in quality since my last American vehicle was a 92 GMC Sonoma pick-up and was a lemon. The car now has 42K and have not had one problem (knock on wood). I was very amazed with the ride, handling, and gas mileage. I am sorry that Saturn no longer exist because I think they might have had something going for it with the Aura. Oh well maybe my next will be a Malibu.

• 

  Beautiful, but much to be desired - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By DnTnSC - November 18 - 7:56 pm

  Overall a great little car. Fun to drive, great handling, good power, and the car definitely turns heads! On the road it gets around 31 mpg, 24 to 26 in town driving. However, it does have some flaws. After owning for a year, it developed a very loud squeak in the front end (during cold weather) that Saturn cant find. Its noisy at high speed, and when you really get down on it the acceleration should be smoother. The dash developed a couple of different rattles after a year. The passenger side cup holder is a waste - it breaks if you use it (mine has been replaced 3 times). The window controls are not positioned well, and it has no room for any cargo at all.

• 

  Love it - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Jrojones - November 18 - 7:13 am

  Ive only had my Vue a little over a month now, but I think it is great! Traded in my gas chugging Dodge Durango and am really happy with the change!

• 

  Love my Saturn Outlook - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Flora Rowland - November 18 - 7:06 am

  This is without a doubt the most comfortable vehicle Ive ever owned. I took a trip, drove 18 hours straight and got out of the vehicle with no back pain. The whole trip was relaxing. The Outlook handles great on snowy, slushy roads. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone.

• 

  Proceed with Caution - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By Buddha - November 14 - 11:46 pm

  Our relationship started out great and we always enjoyed driving the VUE. Went downhill as soon as we hit the 14,000 mark. First had a window motor needing to be replaced, then a strut mount needed to be replaced. The tech put the assembly to gether wrong and it made a load noise on every bump. After another two visits they found the spring was not seated in the assembly proper. After the 4 visit we still have a sound coming from one side of the front end.

• 

  Love this vehicle! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Jason - November 13 - 11:13 pm

  For the first 2.5 years of ownership, I drove 49 miles one way to work (mostly highway). I average right around 24 mpg which I find pretty good for an SUV. Folding the front seat I was able to get 10 2X6s in and close the gate (had rest the end of the 2X6 on the dash - but still). Im constantly amazed at how much Im able to cram into this thing. After a baby shower I was looking at all the large gifts and planning my 2nd trip - but it all fit (with room for me and a passenger). In just over 3 years I have 95k miles on it and no mechanical problems (Im even on the original brakes!)

• 

  Steal of the year 2 - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By matt - November 13 - 4:26 pm

  Same here. Got the 3rd to last one left in MI (Just after x-mas). They were less new than a typical used one and sales tax deductable too, warranty, etc. Got the dealer to throw in a second set of wheels for $100 (for winter tires). It has not been driven much, but seems to have tight handling and rides pretty good for what it is meant to be. My wife wanted an auto, but go for the manual, the auto is a little disappointing (only a 4sp auto) and the enigine is a little rougher running than the 1.8L in my sons Vibe. Great looks and is a pretty practical car. Not worthy of the $21,000 list, but at $12,400 it sure is.

• 

  great suv finally hits the market - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By william mardavich - November 12 - 6:40 am

  This car has been a great eye opener- alot of people stop and ask me if I like it. I tell them its great-fun to drive easy to drive and has great pickup and speed-Its not afraid to move out when I hit the gas.