Brand Fan: Saturn

[@chrisfreemesser]

Had two S-series Saturns, they were good little cars and if I could find a nice SW2 5-speed I'd buy it in a second. Ultimately Saturn's demise was due to a change in CEO...Roger Smith set up Saturn, but by the time the cars came to market Roger Stempel was in charge and wanted nothing to do with an independent division.

[@normbittner3762]

We had a 1994 or 5 Saturn sedan- base with manual transmission. I really like it, the way it drove and its materials inside seemed premium for a basic car. We did have an exhaust that would rattle, and you could hear the gas slushing around in the gas tank- both of which the dealer basically said we had to liv with. For these two reasons, my wife hated, but I still liked it for its minimalist and rebellious feeling. I still remember the salesman, Willie at the dealer in Rockford, IL. The longer Saturn was around, and Gm meddles with it- the worse it got. I wanted a Vue when they came out, but never did get one. Nice video- thanks!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thanks for watching and for sharing.

[@Cankersaurus]

My sister in law bought a twin-cam coupe early on which I drove a few times. I remember it being not horrible but forgettable. It did last her a good 15 years and 150K miles so maybe that's notable. Those plastic panels did not fair well over time under the California sun. Thanks for the video!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

You see them on occasion with sections of the plastic broke off.

[@petertornabeni602]

Too bad Saturn couldn’t have been incorporated into the Chevrolet brand because those engines lasted and they outlasted Cavaliers and so many other small cars. I don’t know what the hell GM did but it worked.

[@OLDS98]

Chevrolet had the GEO brand they later integrated into Chevrolet.

[@68beetlevlog]

Great cars. Saturns are excellent 💞💞

[@OLDS98]

Excellent. You did a great job of the history and many models Saturn had. You explained how they went from independent in GM to being integrated into GM. GM used to run all its brands as semi independent up until the 1980's. Saturn became Opel North America is what took place as they integrated into the rest of GM. I know it may have worked. I know that the last Buick Regal was supposed to be a Saturn Aura replacement. Buick got the car when Saturn was phased out. That car was the Opel/ Vauxhall Insignia. Holden got the car too as Holden Commodore. Saturn was created to take on the imports, but it caused issues inside of GM with the other brands( mainly Chevrolet) and they fought back. I guess the GM dollars could have better utilized. I recall that whole merge with Oldsmobile thing. The Oldsmobiles would have been the upscale cars and Saturn the small cars. All together it was supposed to be GM's import fighter. We all know how that turned out. I know parts of the Saturn Outlook ended up on the GMC Acadia. Saturn hindered GM. It then became an issue of too many brands and trying to maintain them all. Thank you so much again.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Sadly, another story of what could have been with GM. I test drove a early Saturn when they were advertising low leases, but it didn't really grab me.

[@Primus54]

Thanks, HCG. Hope you had a great Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year! 🎉

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Happy Holidays.

[@shoelover10.53]

Great report on the history of Saturn, but you stated the available engines for the L series as the 2.2L 4 and a 3.5L. That is slightly wrong; the bigger engine that was offered was a 3.0L V6 that was the same engine that was used in the Vectra and the same engine that was used in the Cadillac Catera, except in the Saturn it was transverse mounted.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thanks.

[@madmike2624]

I learn allot from your content, thanks and here's to a happy and prosperous new year!!!!~~

[@JohnnyAloha69]

If by different they meant ugly looking and crappy feeling then it was surely different.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thanks and happy New Year and good tidings to you as well.

[@user-surly]

Saturn's demise could be attributed to it becoming a lot less different than initially advertised. The premise was a ground-up new company that wasn't obviously linked to GM. They killed it off when they started rebadging GM models as Saturns to cut costs.

[@cherylcawthon3097]

I love my 02. Saturn sc1. I've had it for 4 yrs the only thing I have done was replace the starter. I have put 30;000 miles on it. I would not own anything but a Saturn. They very easy to work on. I have a 93/94 sl 1 it's got 500,000 + on it now. The only two thing that kill a Saturn No oil Rust.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

Saturn were the last cars of interest to me from GM. They weren't great but they worked well and lasted reasonably long.

[@tedhewitson823]

Wastnt there an advertisment for ( dent resistant doors)

[@thehopelesscarguy]

The one with the kid throwing the ball at it?

[@XXSLEDGEHAMMER360XX]

Well Saturn was to be not General Motor. But did and then failed. Just another GM managers sell out. Keep it up. I am Saturn tech. To the end. Also own 3 Saturn personal. Then own Mercedes after. Only 1 as good.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Interesting comparison.