[Slack]

I saw one of these Saturn Coupes this weekend at an SCCA Solo event. It was fast, and looked like a blast to drive. A fitting tribute to a good car. I was hoping after I saw it there would be a Sky, or even a Solstice there.

 

[ejfx]

I hope Saturn burns in Hell ... they kept money and resources away from the other brands ... Saturn costs GM billions to startup ... all the other brands starved when they needed GM the most ... if GM concentrated on thier original brands maybe they could have stayed off the advancement of the Asain brands.

 

[Al465]

I bet Consumer Report rip the Saturn apart back then. I think CR caused GM to lose lots of sales with their bias reporting.

 

[CrunkedRL]

I found this review on youtube a while back it's funny that others here have mentioned that most of the cars in the comparo are rarely seen if at all on the roads today while you can still spot an occassional SC in traffic. I still have my 98' SL2 with no plans of giving it up anytime soon. It looks almost as good as it did when I first purchased it some 11yrs. and 120K miles ago. There are really fun to drive cars. For me it is more than a car but rather a piece of history.

 

[prototype66]

I think it would have been much cheaper to have transformed Oldsmobile into what became Saturn. It would have saved on trying to introduce a new brand and setting up a whole network of new dealerships. Oldsmobile was already starting to decline when Saturn was introduced so it would have made sense, in my opinion, to radically alter Oldsmobile's lineup and structure. Heck, they were already running those "not my father's Oldsmobile" ads. It would have saved a lot of cash, and we might have still had Olds up until the bankruptcy. By the end of Saturn's run, any of those cars could have been Olds' anyways.

+1 I have been saying the exact same thing for years. It always came back to the "Old" inOldsmobile.
Lame excuse for poor management and advertising/PR. Olds would have continued to be the "Tech" brand...whats more futuristic than a car that wont dent or rust! Big mistake not pooling resources into what you already have.

 

[Mcmflow]

I bought a new 95 SL1, 5 speed with power door locks. I remember being all impressed going into the showroom and they had the door panels taken off and you could walk all over them. And I didn't have to pay for an oil change forever. The retailer would send out these surveys and if you filled them out great you got a free oil change.

The only bad thing was had to replace the seat backs twice, my friends and I were big 6'1" around 220-240lbs and I guess our turning to the sides to talk to people in the back would wear out the little side bolsters and they would go flat.

I wish now that I had kept it longer. I don't remember how many miles I had on it, but in 98 traded it on a new 98 Olds Intrigue because I wanted something bigger.

Lots of memories in that car!

 

[TORRED1]

I found this review on youtube a while back it's funny that others here have mentioned that most of the cars in the comparo are rarely seen if at all on the roads today while you can still spot an occassional SC in traffic. I still have my 98' SL2 with no plans of giving it up anytime soon. It looks almost as good as it did when I first purchased it some 11yrs. and 120K miles ago. There were really fun to drive cars. For me it is more than a car but rather a piece of history.

What is great about the Saturn's is that, the body could last forever, being plastic. That is one of the things that I liked about them. In the snow belt states that is big, others have mentioned that few other old cars of the sane years are still on the road, that would be a reason why. My son was sold on saturn and purchased a new Ion 3, put on a ground efects package, wheels and a moon roof. Very sharp looking gave it to his wifes sister and she didn't care for it, but I got it back for my daughter and at 90k+ miles is going strong, she likes it and it is the only one like it in the area. I have told her that when she wants to get rid of it thatt it belokngs to me. Because of those plastic panels there are no dents and no rust, it gets 38mpg on the hwy and runs good. Leather interior is like new except the drivers seat which shows some cracks. Other than that it is a nice car, I think Saturn was a good idea just not well execuited.

 

[Jay]

My first car was a 1995 Saturn SC1. Bought it specifically for its plastic panels and coupe styling. Had a real smooth shifting 5-speed too. Bulletproof reliability. My dad still drives the car today. It's sad to see the demise of coupes; sedans really are the most boring of all body types.

 

[chevypowa670]

It is all because of the extensive amount of safety features (and luxury) a car must have these days. The mandates make heavy cars. But also remember that the cars pollute a lot less, and part of this is due to the anti-pollution systems found on cars today that add weight. So it is not all bad...

All I have to say is you would not want to be in a Honda CRX in a highway crash, or any crash for that matter. Saw enough ripped to smithereens when I was young. Cars really are a lot safer now...

Yup, exactly. Also, don't forget about all the sound deading material that are in cars these days. That def add's on more weight. Those cars back in the early 90's and such you could hear every bump in the road...Not to mention the wind noise.

Saturn: One of GM's biggest mistakes from GM's worst CEO.

The money thrown at Saturn would have been much better spent on Chevrolet and Pontiac.

Agreed.

 

[carart]

I still miss my 1997 Saturn SL2. I would say that of the cars I have owned for myself, it is my number one favorite.

 

[AirCleaner]

Saturn was cheap junk. In fact all cars pictured in that test were cheap junk. Vehicles have come a LONG way..that heavens !

 

[vcs2600]

Saturn was a good idea, but it about 5-8 years too late to make a difference. GM was stuck in the 1980s mentality that imports were limited to small inexpensive cars.

However, by the time they finally designed the car, built the plant, opened the dealers, etc., Toyota especially had already moved on to attacking GM's core markets. The Camry was about to eat GM's lunch in the midsize market, and Lexus had surpassed Cadillac in many ways. GM didn't know what hit them.

I agree with the other posters that GM should have realized they had a losing bet and launched the car as the Chevy Saturn or Oldsmobile Saturn instead.

 

[Kennyboy]

Saturn was cheap junk. In fact all cars pictured in that test were cheap junk. Vehicles have come a LONG way..that heavens !

Define cheap "junk." For 1992, those cars were revolutionary; good mileage, great interiors, good engines, nice safety features and reliable. Maybe for the expectation of the Hyundai, the cars were ahead of their time.

 

[godsthere]

Western NY was a top market for Saturn. Since they are gone you see more imports on the road here. Gm made a mistake killing Saturn. Many of the employees of the local Saturn stores are now selling imports to the loyal customers they have serviced for years. Dealer like Paddock will never have what Saturn dealers had, loyal and fanatical owners. Still driving a lw200, great Saturn

 

[rsbaker]

I knew it was the end of Saturn, with no turning back, when they started to purchase and install Honda V-6s in the Vue redline.

Agreed! I never did understand why GM thought it was necessary to install Honda engines. It made no sense to me.

 

[Mcmflow]

Saturn was cheap junk. In fact all cars pictured in that test were cheap junk. Vehicles have come a LONG way..that heavens !

What did you drive in 1992?

 

[ponchoman49]

In some ways I miss the 90's if not for the rather crappy car interiors but for full car lines, little to no product holes like today, interiors colors ranging from white, maroon, blue in addition to today's blah tan, black and gray, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Saturn, Pontiac and Mercury were still with us, cars were far lighter and more efficient with very nice running port injected engines and smooth electronic transmissions and you could still order RWD sedans and wagons from Chevy and Buick and sedans from Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercury, Buick etc. Gas ranged from .87 cents to 1.49 a gallon. The economy was doing great, technology wasn't as nearly out of control as it is today, buzz words like "global, green and peak were thankfully not used, the internet was still pretty new in user's homes and it hadn't yet wiped out 80% of our local businesses and 911 hadn't yet changed our crazy world. It really is sad seeing the faces of 60-80 year old customers walking into a Cadillac or Chevy dealership asking to see a replacement for there Devilles/Fleetwoods or worse there Caprice Classic or Grand Marquis. Well we have this compact sized RWD CTS or an Impala. Pathetic!

 

[CrunkedRL]

Agreed! I never did understand why GM thought it was necessary to install Honda engines. It made no sense to me.

I knew it was the end of Saturn, with no turning back, when they started to purchase and install Honda V-6s in the Vue redline.

Previous to the Honda sourced 3.5l the Saturn Vue was equipped with an Opel sourced 3.0l V6 between the years 02'-03'. This engine was underpowered and proned to having timing belt related issues as previously observed in the Cadillac Catera. At that time the only other option would have been GM's Chinese built 3.4l V6 (offered in the Equinox/Torrent) which was course in nature and very underpowered in it's own right. On paper the Honda sourced 3.5l (J35 L66) was by far the best engine out of the 3. It had smoother acceleration with an additional gear and better horsepower rating. The J35 was a result of an engine swap program Honda est. w/ GM where GM provided small diesel engines for use in Hondas sold over in Europe in exchange for Honda's 3.5L. The 3.5L was one of my reasons for buying my Vue.

I think the end for Saturn came when the beancounters at GM amalgamated Saturn's business plan in with the other brands and began platform sharing, cost cutting, and aggressively trying to move the brand upmarket.

 

[CrunkedRL]

What is great about the Saturn's is that, the body could last forever, being plastic. That is one of the things that I liked about them. In the snow belt states that is big, others have mentioned that few other old cars of the sane years are still on the road, that would be a reason why. My son was sold on saturn and purchased a new Ion 3, put on a ground efects package, wheels and a moon roof. Very sharp looking gave it to his wifes sister and she didn't care for it, but I got it back for my daughter and at 90k+ miles is going strong, she likes it and it is the only one like it in the area. I have told her that when she wants to get rid of it thatt it belokngs to me. Because of those plastic panels there are no dents and no rust, it gets 38mpg on the hwy and runs good. Leather interior is like new except the drivers seat which shows some cracks. Other than that it is a nice car, I think Saturn was a good idea just not well execuited.

Yeah the plastic panels are awesome despite the large gaps they hold up pretty well. I wish other cars out there used the same polymer panels for this reason. Saturns for the most part will last forever and they're pretty easy to work if you're mechanically inclined.

 

[Rocket 88]

Yeah the plastic panels are awesome despite the large gaps they hold up pretty well. I wish other cars out there used the same polymer panels for this reason. Saturns for the most part will last forever and they're pretty easy to work if you're mechanically inclined.

As a New York City commuter/work car my 2006 VUE's doors took a beating and held up great. The car didn't do so well in a massive hail storm I hit in Jim Thorpe PA since the roof and hood were metal....but what were the odds of that.

In true GM fashion they ruined what Saturn stood for, screwed up the product by pushing another division up market selling the same rebadged vehicles etc.

Some people will always say Saturn was a mistake; just like some people can recognize greatness and some people can't. By far the greatest dealership with the highest sales per store with the most satisfied customers. Saturn wasn't a waste of money. Saab was a waste of money. Developing knock of clones of crappy cars for Pontiac was a waste of money. Offering the same vehicle badge engineered at 4 divisions was a waste of money. A $2 billion dollar deal with FIAT for NOTHING was a waste of money.