Do you remember GM’s Saturn division? It’s been defunct for going on sixteen years, which is almost a generation – in the sense that pretty much everyone who is about 20 or younger today probably cannot recall Saturn except in the vague way that people who are 40 or 50 today vaguely remember there were once Studebakers – but most probably couldn’t name a model.
I remember Saturn because I got to drive many of them when they were brand-new cars, back in the early-mid 1990s. That’s when I began to write about cars and writing about Saturns was fun because they were interesting – and they were interesting because they were different.
Saturns were the only cars ever sold by GM – or by any other major American car company – that had mostly plastic exterior body panels. Today, almost all new vehicles have plastic front and rear clips (“fascias” is the formal term) but the hoods, doors and quarter panels are still made of metal. Very thin metal, for the most part – which means they are very vulnerable to expensive-to-repair damage from even minor bumps, as sometimes happen when backing out of a parking spot at the supermarket.
Saturns – the early models – could easily absorb such minor impacts without incurring any damage because the panels were not made of thin but rigid steel but of a flexible plastic composite material. These panels had the additional virtue of being light – which greatly reduced the overall weight of the cars. An early-’90s Saturn SC coupe weighed just 2,378 lbs. Of course, it was not weighed down by multiple air bags and the surrounding structure necessary to accommodate the air bags. It was fun to drive for that reason and also because it came standard with a manual five speed transmission. The combination of light weight, overdrive gearing and a low-to-the-ground and aerodynamic shape made it feel faster than it was, especially on the highway.
The Saturn’s little engine – just 1.9 liters – didn’t make much power (just 122 hp) but it more wasn’t necessary because the car was light and with the manual, you could make it work. Big half-oval gauges – speedo and tach – dominated an actual gauge cluster, as opposed to the current LCD display fad that will hopefully fade away like bellbottom cords did. I remember winding the SC’s engine out to its near 7,000 RPM redline – remember, this was basically an economy car – and watching the speedometer needle arc toward 120 on the far right side. I managed to peg it on I-66, on the way into town one early morning. This was before DC became a panopticon and so it was possible to drive this way and not end up in the clink, provided a cop didn’t see you.
For awhile, GM sold a lot of Saturns. Then GM decided to make Saturns more like the rest of what GM was making. They got bigger and heavier, in part because they were clothed in stamped steel panels, like other GM vehicles. They lost their Saturn-ness and thus became duplicative and so, superfluous by the early-mid 2000s.
Just before the end came, GM tried to resuscitate Saturn by adding a Miata-like small roadster called the Sky for the 2007 model year. It looked great but Saturn wasn’t Mazda – meaning Mazda had a successful line of cars. Saturn – by this time – had a line of cars that weren’t. The Sky, in other words, was not enough to keep Saturn going.
It didn’t help that GM decided to make the Sky available as a “Pontiac” – which it wasn’t, except being badged as such, which was the same death-blow that befell the once-very-successful Firebird and other Pontiac models that had become rebadged Chevys by this time. Also, the Sky never got much time to establish itself. A little more than a year after its debut, the collapse of 2008 happened and GM shortly went bankrupt. The Sky was cancelled in 2009 and Saturn itself soon after – along with Pontiac.
It’s as shame that the Sky didn’t get the chance to become more than it was – and become what it might have been.
And it’s a shame that it was expected to carry Saturn all by itself – which was doomed to fail from the start.
. . .
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In late 2000, the transmission in my Saab 9000T decided not to shift into 5th gear, making the highway driving noisy and gas guzzly.
I decided that the best thing for me was to purchase a new car, a maroon Saturn L100 with no features other than a radio/CD player. I heard about the L-series and decided I wanted a mid sized car. with roll down windows and no power locks.
I had the car for close to 15 years and it served me well. The only thing that broke was the ignition cylinder and the starter. I also replaced the struts and the clutch at 115k miles. It got regular oil and transmission fluid changes. It’s a long story, but I gave it to a struggling friend of mine to drive. After he passed, I took a look at the car. It only needed an alternator.
The car rode and drove like a new one. Due to the fact that the car was out of state and I was on a schedule, I could never get the car back. It got towed by some predatory towing “firm.”
It had 198k miles at the time of its demise.
With the 2.2L ECOTEC motor and a 5 speed manual transmission, it was not a flashy car at all. It got 23 mpg around town and about 27 on the freeway at 80 mph. It wasn’t particularly fast of fashy, but it was the most reliable car I had ever owned. I would stack it up against a Camry any day. I wish I still had it.
I drove a ’94 SL with 5-speed manual for several years. While it wasn’t the most exciting car to drive, it was extremely reliable and fuel efficient. Also, I found the space frame construction with bolt-on body panels to be mechanically elegant.
My eldest son bought and drove a Saturn 5-speed sedan through most of his twenties on an extremely tight budget. Cheap, decent, reliable transportation. Gone with the wind.
I’ve had four S series Saturns and I’m still driving a ’98 SW2. I suppose this will be the last one I’ll own unless another low-mile grandma special appears on my radar, then I’ll likely not be able to say no. 🙂
My brother and his wife had Saturns when they were first married. Good affordable cars for them. GM should have just continued on with that course with Saturn, but of course they have to f*** it up like they always do when they actually try something different. No wonder why they don’t anymore.
The Saturn plant was designed to be non-union and super efficient. Too much better than the UAW standard and so had to be killed.
Saturns were a great car, my daughter had one she bought used when she lived in San Francisco back in the 90’s before the area turned to shit. She sold it for more than she had paid for it when she moved back this way a few years later. Wish I could buy that car today.
I owned two saturn sedans a used 1997 with a 5spd snd 100k miles, ran like a top, great gas mileage. Then i had kids and bought a new 2001, it got totaled two months later. But….the car was demolished yet you could open and close the doors like nothing happened. The day after the crash i went to get mine snd my wife’s stuff out of the car at the wrecking yard, the tow truck driver looked at the car, looked at me and said after seeing a lot of accidents and how smashed this car is how are you walking the next day? They were great affordable cars, a concept missing today. I Miss my saturns. After that the wife snd I bought a Pontiac to replace it, I kiss all three of my Pontiacs as well. When GM went tits up in the ’08 crash and took billions of taxpayer funds and started making most of their models in China, I stopped buying GM, except for that used camaro SS i got dirt cheap and couldnt pass up. Lol
While “Doing Time” at a Corporate Arbeitslager in Valley Forge, PA
Stopped by the Saturn Dealership in Wilmington DE….
AND immediately bought the Dealership Display Model of
the SL2 1994 “Homecoming Edition”…
That paint job “pearl opalescent” was WILD!
owned the ICE wheeled conveyance for 14 years.
When I was a kid, the guy across the street collected 50s cars. He acquired a Studebaker President that he didn’t have room for in the garage, so it sat in one of his driveways (double property with 2 garages).
He left it unlocked and told us we could play in it whenever we wanted.
I’ll admit I wanted a Sky. Thought they looked good. Life happens and couldn’t justify it as an extra car that wasn’t needed.
‘They were interesting because they were different.’ — eric
Today vehicles have congealed into four categories: sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and pickups. These aren’t just descriptive — Big Gov actually defines them for regulatory purposes. It’s the analogue of arthritis and atherosclerosis in people: a rigidification, as a prelude to senescence.
I was just reading about how, after the value of Roman currency was destroyed by removing its silver content, Diocletian implemented payment-in-kind taxes: barley, shoes, wine for the army — whatever one happened to produce. This led to freezing everyone in their occupation for life, and for generations to come. Rome became a ghost town.
Such is our auto industry under the dead hand of Big Gov: keep producing crossovers, SUVs, or pickups, just like the ones made by a handful of other industrial colossi. Obviously this rigid, customer-insensitive business model will collapse in less than a generation. At least we got to glimpse the Before Time, before those halcyon days went poof. 🙂
By Diocletians time way over 95% of Roman citizens were renters.
Saturn/GM was one of those fantastic examples of what happens when a company becomes too big for a CEO to manage. Roger Smith tried to change the direction of GM, but the entrenched bureaucracy was having none of it. Sure, there were problems (remember the painting robots?) but at least he was trying to position the company for head-to-head competition with Japan and Europe. But he forgot to fix the org chart first. First thing he should have done was kick the old guard to the curb. So once he was gone, the old roots re-sprouted and back to bland was the rule.
GM built the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee with the promise of jobs to the community. Instead, carpetbaggin’ senior UAW workers got a free relocation to warmer climates and a state with no income tax.
Me too. Good car. I agree about more leg room.
The Solstice/Sky was doomed from the start if it was to compete with the Miata.
It was big, heavy, high-silled and non-functional to boot. The first time I sat in one I was amazed at how high the window sill was. I felt like I was in a tank. It also seemed very bulky compared to my NB Miata. Add to the lack of a trunk. To cap it all off, the space for little luggage you could carry unavailable if you put the top down. So much for a weekend trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
An acquaintance of mine had one. When I pointed out the trunk/top fiasco her response was that it was way better than her motorcycle for trips. If GM’s target market was to entice motorcycle riders to lead them to the land of plenty, they were high on their own supply.
Parents had 93 Saturn SC2 4 dr auto.
Nice little car.
I thought it drove well. I personally would have preferred at least 1 inch mote leg room.
I had many opportunities to drive the car. Revved to high for my liking at 70mph but otherwise fine.
Can attest to flexible door panels. Drining on Garden State parkway in right lane some woman from on ramp came in and bumped into my mom’s car. I was furious but dumb. No one stopped to get any information. I just drove home. Fortunately there were no visible marks on the car.
Sadly at about 203000 miles the car was involved in a crash and was totalled.
Overall I had fond memories.
In the summer I do see the odd Sky still on the road. Not a bad looking car but as you said it was a case of too little, too late.
Sadly just about everything looks the same now. NASCAR is a joke now that the cars all use the same body with just a different wrap on them. Being different might help now but GovCo regulations are a hindrance to different.