psychophd

I also heard that some were surprised a Chinese auto company didn't take it for the distribution potential.

Penforhire

I test drove Saturns over the years (none in the last 3) and was never impressed. Too much noise and harshness for a non-sporting ride.

TommyDeVito

I just had a rental car from them. It was a Saturn Aura with the V6. It was horrible. And no, I didn't expect it to be a sports car or anything. Compared to a new Accord/Camry/what have you, it was a complete POS. The handling sucked, the steering sucked, I mean even the a/c dials were cheap. I could go on and on. It's easy to see why they fail. Americans make excellent trucks, and they make a fine car in the Corvette. You can cherry pick some good things that they make, but their product lines are shit IMO. Go away and let the Japanese companies that make good cars build more plants here and employ more Americans.

gospeedgo1

ehhhhh... we did it to ourselves. when the toyota camry is the more "america made" then GM, Ford, or Chrysler products. i always saw saturns' products as half assed. i have no pity on GM or the UAW which needs to be disbanded. locally, NUMMI is closing also, you can thank Unions and california taxes for that.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressReleas...009+PRN20090702

Silverstreak HX

The rumour I heard was that Penske wanted to buy every electric car he could find and rebadge as Saturns or something of that nature.

TheDonEffect

Typically I'd defend the domestic make from being bashed but it was a long time coming. When it first began it was profitable despite what the article said, later it lost. They started the whole fixed price thing and owner appreciation stuff, concepts toyota uses with its scion brand. Problem was that over the years they lost their core values and the few faithful went elsewhere.
To further put the nail in, the name and marketing became antiquated and there was no historical backing. Seriously, a lot of people buy cars strictly on the emblem, I know folks who buy merx or lexuses over bmws just because they hate the roundel.
Anyway, all the name cuts will pay off in the long run.

vader1

Huh, dunno. I found a couple articles saying the company had turned a profit first in 1993 and another in the late nineties, but a google search show plenty of article with a GM spokesman saying they never turned a profit.

Oh well, they are dead anyway.

common reactor

Saturn was never a car people aspired to own, so I'm not surprised.

Anrosphynx

I've owned 2 Saturns, including currently owning a Saturn Ion Redline..
They have been dead reliable cars. The dent resistant thing is actually pretty cool because we all know that dreaded feeling of parking next to someone and the potential door dings. Its great to just park and get out.. not worry about it.

However, I see how this happened. GM just hung Saturn out to dry after introducing it.. How long were the SL models around? 10 years? and they bring the LS? which was crap! Then, the ION, which was crap..

I thought there were down the right path with the Sky, VUE and Aura. Contrary to a former poster, I would take an Aura before any Camry. What people see in Camrys are beyond me..

Onehots2k

Saturn makes cars?