RIP Saturn

Somehow appropriate that the Saturn thread would have a comment from Starman.

 

I guess heaven needed car dealers who serve free doughnuts and coffee.

Anyhoo, an example of how American car companies can fuck up a one-man parade.

 

Also unavailable for comment.

 

As a younger man, I loved the concept that Saturn brought to the marketplace, and tried to get one in the early 90s. But being a larger guy, the initial sedans and S series were just not big enough for me to fit in comfortably, so I passed.

When I went car shopping in 2006, I bought a Vue. Having owned several Honda Accords, the Vue was a step up. Similar gas mileage, more storage room for work equipment and other travels, an SUV over a sedan and much cheaper.

In a little more than three years, I've put nearly 80K miles on that Vue, and have had nothing but very minor issues.

Count me in the crowd that is very sad to see Saturn leaving the marketplace. Hopefully, someone will take the good ideas and try again with the concept.

 

I bought a Saturn SL1 eight years ago. My first new car. My first GM car. Quite reasonably priced.
140,000 hard-driving reporter miles later, I'd gladly buy another, except that my Saturn SL1 still runs just fine. A few minor issues now and then, but it gets me where I need to go.
Is it possible that Saturn put itself out of business? Making cheap good cars that last a long time (and so don't need to be replaced every three years) isn't exactly the Big Three business model.
It's a damn shame, though. I'd rather buy American, but my next car will probably be a Honda or Toyota.

 

The lack of development dollars killed Saturn in the 1990s. We waited 12 years for the Ion and it was the most mediocre smoking turd of a car ever issued by GM. One of the loudest cars I've ever driven and that cyclops-style instrument panel anchored what has to be the most awful interior design by any carmaker...ever. Driving it back-to-back with Hondas and Toyotas made me laugh. They improved their product 10-fold, but it was a case of too little, too late.

Saturn had potential, but GM didn't want it to succeed. It's a shame that it failed.

 

Which means it'll probably be more American-made than anything the Big 3 puts out. The only difference is which nationality the suits are. The guys actually making Hondas and Toyotas are just as American. And Ford, at least, has outsourced plenty of its manufacturing to Mexico.

 

That's what I was thinking when I saw the title of this thread.

There are rumors that he's dead, but there was a recent thing where he got stabbed because he was trying to prevent a girl from being raped.

 

Oh, I know, though the UAW guys I still occasionally write about don't quite see it that way. It's nice to own a car I can drive to a union hall. As for Fords, don't get me started...

 

I miss Pluto :'(

 

our first saturn was an SL2, and now we own a vue. i've got nothing but good things to say about Saturn. we'll drive the vue until it dies. Buying the SL2 was the first good experience i ever had in a dealership.

 

my mom has a saturn aura and it's a sweet car. looks much more expensive than it was and hasn't had a single problem i know of. and i love the monthly e-mail alerts i get showing computer diagnostic tests. tells me when the oil needs changed and even the air pressure in the tires.