When I was at Aldi, this morning, 3 out of the 4 cars where I parked were Saturns

[Siwsan]

As a LONG time Saturn owner who still mourns the demise of the brand, I always notice other Saturns. Mine is 19 years old, with 99,000 miles on it, so I'm hoping it's the last car I own.

[doc03]

1. Didn't they start out as a good concept? Then GM

made them just a Chevy with a different logo.

[Siwsan]

2. I'm not sure. I just know I've never regretted buying one

Most of my family drove Saturns, at one time. They all put a LOT more miles on a car, per year, than I do but my brother has my old 2002 sedan and it's got quite a few miles on it, and is still going.

I live about 2 miles from where I worked, and I'm in a major retail area so there's rarely a need to drive more than a few miles for anything I need.

[spinbaby]

3. Apparently the early Saturns were great

I had one of the later Saturns, which was a great drive when it was working right, but started having issues at around 60,000 miles. I’ve been driving Prius since then and found them to be far more reliable.

[Fla Dem]

4. The Life and Death of the Saturn Brand

https://autotrends.org/2019/07/01/the-life-and-death-of-the-saturn-brand/



Auto Trends Magazine

Matthew Keegan July 1,2019

More

The Saturn Launch
Production began in July 1990, as sedan and coupe versions of the 1991 S-Series were produced. Two model years later a station wagon was added, giving this model line three body choices that would carry the company through its first decade of existence.

The S-Series won numerous awards, representing a line of compact cars powered by a 1.9-liter four-cylinder engine and paired with five-speed automatic or four-speed manual transmissions. Intellichoice, MotorWeek, Automobile Magazine, J.D. Power & Associates, and Motor Trend were among those showering accolades on the car. More than 2 million S-Series were produced before this vehicle was replaced by the Saturn Ion in 2003.

More>>>>>

Ending a Brand
Following GM’s 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring, the automaker shopped Saturn in a bid to sell the brand. Race car icon, Roger Penske, tendered an offer to buy the company, but when a deal to have Nissan-Renault supply cars to Saturn collapsed, GM halted production on Oct. 1, 2009. The brand was officially discontinued on Oct. 31, 2010, ending GM’s experiment with its different kind of car company.

Saturn’s demise may be attributed by some to GM’s own financial problems. However, Saturn also competed against other GM brands, especially Chevrolet, setting itself on a collision course for its eventual closure.

[Fla Dem]

5. Your post piqued my interest. Hope you find this interesting.

There's a bit more history at the link.

[Siwsan]

10. The dealership was right up the road from me

So incredibly convenient for oil changes, and the staff was always so friendly.

[Freddie]

6. My daughter's first car was a 1997 Saturn coupe

We bought for her in 2004. She commuted to college 45 minutes one way for 4 years and it was really reliable, only “died” once when she left the lights on. 6 years later when she started a family it just wasn’t practical with a car seat so we did a family car swap, DH traded his Corolla sedan for it and drive the Saturn for another 4 years til finally the transmission went. Definitely got our $$ worth from it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. I think they created Saturn to appeal to younger drivers

Toyota did the same thing with Scion. The thing they found out is that younger drivers are fine with the Toyota brand and buy plenty of the ones that meet their needs, like the Yaris. I had a 2006 Scion xB (aka the Toaster). It has 100K miles on it now and I gave it to my niece. She loves it!

[sarge43]

14. My Saturn appealed to this once middle age woman.

Nice design, very user friendly, minimum bells and whistles to break and cost an arm and a leg to fix, didn't care about making an identity statement with it.

Brought it new May 2000, has 107K under its belt ("It's not the years; it's the mileage.&quot . It gets an annual physical and I attend to keep it until one of us gives up the ghost.

[TexasBushwhacker]

19. I felt the same way about my Scion

I was 50 when I bought it. It's boxy shape made it surprisingly roomy inside and I could haul a ton of stuff. I also think Saturn may have been the first one to do the "no haggle" pricing. The sticker price was the price, period.

[sarge43]

20. The sticker price was fine with me.

I thought it was fair for what I was getting and it was.

[Ocelot II]

8. I drive a 2009 Saturn Vue, which replaced a 1997 Saturn sedan.

The Vue, which has 108,000+ miles, has been almost maintenance-free. I was really disappointed when they stopped making them; if I ever have to replace the Vue I'd buy another Saturn if I could get one.

[Siwsan]

9. I've been asked, by a number of people, if I'd consider selling mine to them.

The answer is always the same - Nope.

[Ocelot II]

11. They'll take away my Saturn when they pry it from my cold dead hands...

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I still have my 1999 Saturn with 130,000 miles. Best car I've ever owned.

[Siwsan]

13. This is the first car I've ever owned with all the bells and whistles

A key fob, power seats and windows, speed control, sun roof, pretty much loaded, back then. Now I'm totally spoiled.

My mom actually bought it from a 'snow bird' who drove it to Florida and back. It had something like 86,000 miles on it. She just couldn't adjust to the car (we know now she was in the early stages of Alzheimer's) so she sold it to me at a discount. I then sold my Saturn sedan to my brother, who is still driving it.

[NJCher]

15. I have the Saturn wagon

as my "garden car." It's the greatest! I never have any trouble with it, but then it's low mileage. Only about 62,000 miles and I think I've had it since 2015. It was a gift from my aunt when she went into an assisted care facility. I take care of it and it looks good, too. My aunt ordered the V6 engine and it really goes if it has to. It also has all the bells and whistles.

Funny enough, a couple days ago I had to meet with a new person on our work team and when he saw I drove a Saturn, he said he and his family wouldn't drive anything else for the longest time. But now they've moved over to SUVs, although there are still one or two Saturns in the family.

[Siwsan]

16. Mine is a wagon, too

My mom LOVED station wagons. I have to admit it is convenient.

[NJCher]

17. gimmee five

'cuz I'm also an Aldi shopper.

[Siwsan]

18. My favorite grocer!

I had to go back, this morning, to buy more packs of peppermint sandwich cookies. They haven't carried them in a couple of years (seasonal item) and I've been CRAVING them.

Plus they have Lemon Curd so I think I'll bake some tarts.