Is Saturn Finally Getting it Right?

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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Saturn sucks. Saturn stinks. Saturn smells. Or did the GM branch take the criticism too harshly? A Saturn rep would say "we don't stink if our Saturn Vue has great performance." As an attendant of the Houston Auto Show on February 5, 2005, I've seen the Relay, the Sky, and the Aura. Now Saturn's Sky due out either this spring or next spring, and its styling is actually pretty exciting. Saturn's Aura has lots of redeeming value as well with its stylistic image and apparentely nice overall image (except for maybe how the headlights are all done up). I think recent Saturns have actually looked better since the Relay. At least they are now more decent looking and actually may be able to silence the bigtime critics with decent and even enticing styling. So I ask to those who love to hate Saturn, do you think that Saturn's finally getting it right? Think in terms of style, performance, or whatever you please. So, what do you think?
 
You know I rode in a Saturn Vue the other day and I was utterly impressed. They look so generic but they have nice seats (heated ones at that), AWD, fantastic factory sound system, and suprisingly plenty of power also. I don't know the power ratings but I'm guessing it has a GM 3800 pushrod V6? The Vue actually pulls hard like it'd run maybe mid 15s in the 1/4 mile. Saturns are very safe cars also. To me Saturn is a strange branch of GM that's generic yet unique at the same time. It's... weird.

EDIT: 3.5L SOHC 24-valve V6, 250 hp and 242 ft.-lbs.
 
The ION Redline is not that bad at all either. Some members of redlineforums.com were saying that with a minor intake mod and one other small modification, they are putting down 210 horses to the wheels! :drool: Saturn is really under-rating these things.. :dunce:
 
The VUE is a really nice SUV and M5 will agree with me on this one. They are very under rated SUV's. I didn't like them at first, until I got behind the wheel. I actually drove the Redline one, which I really couldn't tell if they did anything special to it but the ground effects looked pretty cool.

I was impressed with the ION as well, hell I'm impressed with every Saturn except that god foresaken van/station wagon/SUV thing they have.

I think the SKY will be sweet too. The only thing Saturn needs now is a truck based of the Colorado. I think they really could make one look good, well it would easy to make the Colorado look better.
 
Vue's goodness comes from Honda.

The Ion Redline...becides now being the Cobalt SS(gah), it doesn't look horrible, but a friend with one already managed to break it.

I also have heard that Saturn is ditching plastic body panels...so what will they be? They'll be cheapo versions of Chevy. It was quite fun at the car show to count the number of rebadged cars from GM alone. So many Yukons!

Sorry, Saturn has nothing better than anyone else.
 
You know, Blazin, I was envisioning a sort of Saturn pickup truck. You said "based on the Colorado," right? Tell you what. I have a booklet on Chevy's 2005 cars and trucks from the Houston Auto Show. I'll look through it and with all of Chevy's trucks, I'll imagine which would make a nice pickup for the Saturn lineup.

After glancing through the booklet and imagining if they had Saturn's stylistic touches, you said Colorado, but I'd like to imagine a Saturn based on the Silverado. If Saturn wanted to just b*tchslap all other performance trucks, they can make their own Silverado SS (but won't see Daytona or Texas)! Now, the Colorado Sport has a sort of "Xtreme Appearance Package" that makes the Colorado look more sporty than it actually is. You know, think about this like Toyota's latest Tacoma with the X-Runner package.

Just for fun, I had a weird vision of a Saturn based not from a Chevy, but a Hummer H1! Yeah, I know. I'm weird. But wouldn't it be the damndest weirdness to have a beast from Saturn that can be the H1's sidekick? I was in the Hummer H1 at the Houston Auto Show, and I felt like I was an Army Ranger serving my nation and trusting it with my life.

I think Saturn is coming off nicely. It has about a decade of existance now, and maybe they are just picking up the tempo. It may not be long before we may see something based on the Corvette from Saturn, and having it fight against the Mustang.
 
JohnBM01
You know, Blazin, I was envisioning a sort of Saturn pickup truck. You said "based on the Colorado," right? Tell you what. I have a booklet on Chevy's 2005 cars and trucks from the Houston Auto Show. I'll look through it and with all of Chevy's trucks, I'll imagine which would make a nice pickup for the Saturn lineup.

After glancing through the booklet and imagining if they had Saturn's stylistic touches, you said Colorado, but I'd like to imagine a Saturn based on the Silverado. If Saturn wanted to just b*tchslap all other performance trucks, they can make their own Silverado SS (but won't see Daytona or Texas)! Now, the Colorado Sport has a sort of "Xtreme Appearance Package" that makes the Colorado look more sporty than it actually is. You know, think about this like Toyota's latest Tacoma with the X-Runner package.

Just for fun, I had a weird vision of a Saturn based not from a Chevy, but a Hummer H1! Yeah, I know. I'm weird. But wouldn't it be the damndest weirdness to have a beast from Saturn that can be the H1's sidekick? I was in the Hummer H1 at the Houston Auto Show, and I felt like I was an Army Ranger serving my nation and trusting it with my life.

I think Saturn is coming off nicely. It has about a decade of existance now, and maybe they are just picking up the tempo. It may not be long before we may see something based on the Corvette from Saturn, and having it fight against the Mustang.
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So you're actually endorsing "badged engineering"? Why? If you want a Colorado, buy one, if you want a SS, buy that, I'm tired of seeing the same cars get pedaled around GM, and unfortunately people buy the different versions.

Using engines is one thing, but taking the whole car and just changing a grill and the emblems, why?
 
One of my daily drivers is a 1996 Saturn and it is extremely dependable, gets 30mpg city, 40+mpg on the highway. The body panels are all plastic so they wont rust. Leather interior and sunroof. Ive had it for 2 years and it has never broke down besides the muffler fell off.
Now with that said, I completely hate this car. No engine or suspension performance, very very uncomfortable to sit in for more than 30 minutes. The car just did not seem to be designed with ergonomics in mind. I only bought this car for the gas mileage. Besides that I hate this car.
Mabey the new 2005 has many improvements and I dont want to emphasize that Saturn's in general suck, but mine sure does! 👎
 
One of my daily drivers is a 1996 Saturn and it is extremely dependable, gets 30mpg city, 40+mpg on the highway. The body panels are all plastic so they wont rust. Leather interior and sunroof. Ive had it for 2 years and it has never broke down besides the muffler fell off.
Now with that said, I completely hate this car. No engine or suspension performance, very very uncomfortable to sit in for more than 30 minutes. The car just did not seem to be designed with ergonomics in mind. I only bought this car for the gas mileage. Besides that I hate this car.
Mabey the new 2005 has many improvements and I dont want to emphasize that Saturn's in general suck, but mine sure does! 👎
Now for the new Saturns the style is quite attractive and I might have to take one for a test drive to see how the overall performance and comfort have changed.
 
JohnBM01
Is Saturn Finally Getting it Right?
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Yes.

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Do remember, I have called this vehicle and will continue to call this vehicle the best small SUV ever built. Until the Honda engine went in, it was good - great spec, lovely options prices, just lacking power (181 was the previous figure). When the Honda engine went in, adding a smooth 5-speed automatic transmission, it turned into the best small SUV ever - and it's among the quickest too, with a 2WD 0-60 time of 6.6 seconds.

Other Saturns are crap - the Ion Red Line is the same price as the Neon SRT-4 but without the pace, and the Ion itself isn't a class-topper. L300 is arguably the least-powerful V6 midsize sedan on the market and deserves the cancellation it will soon receive. But the Vue V6 makes up for all this, even if it's Honda who's doing all the work.
 
I don't know if this applies to anyone else, but I can't help but think of Saturns as "nerd cars" every single Saturn owner I've met has been a Trekkie, Otaku, a comic book geek, an occult wannabe, or some other kind of obsessive dorkiness. I also notice that the number of Saturns with Decepticon, or anime-related, or Trek, or whatever, stickers, is much higher than anything else.
 
Takumi Fujiwara
I don't know if this applies to anyone else, but I can't help but think of Saturns as "nerd cars" every single Saturn owner I've met has been a Trekkie, Otaku, a comic book geek, an occult wannabe, or some other kind of obsessive dorkiness. I also notice that the number of Saturns with Decepticon, or anime-related, or Trek, or whatever, stickers, is much higher than anything else.
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Its funny you mention that. The day I traded my 1996 Firebird Formula in for my 1996 Saturn was a really sad day but they gave me a lot of cash on the trade in. Keep in mind the Firebird had a V8 and over 300hp, 6 speed, leather, T-Tops and much more. The best part was they gave me enough cash to buy all the goodies or my 69 Camaro including the wheels, 2002 dash and interior, 6 speed viper tranny and much more.
The people at work couldnt believe the saturn was my new car and neither could I since I have been driving muscle cars all my life. Its still hard to get into that thing every day when I go to work but the gas mileage sure makes up for it. And if I feel too nerdy I just drive my 69 Camaro to work or my truck. :) 👍
Pretty soon I will be able to drive the 67 Mustang. :)
 
As a previous owner of the Ion Redline, I think they got it right with the Redline. The car was small, light, and pretty fast for a Saturn. It changed my views on Saturn.
 
McLaren F1GTR
As a previous owner of the Ion Redline, I think they got it right with the Redline. The car was small, light, and pretty fast for a Saturn. It changed my views on Saturn.
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On performance alone, the Ion RedLine is a loser: $20900, 205hp, 0-60 in 6.3 - those numbers are decent given the price. But consider the Neon SRT-4: $20700, 230hp, 0-60 in 5.8. Now who would get a RedLine?

The Vue RedLine is a joke. It's a Vue V6 plus 18" wheels and lowered suspension (and add another $2000). What's the point? Just get the V6 and you can have a sleeper, the RedLine just handles slightly better (which matters on those frequent days when you take your Saturn SUV to the track), costs a lot more, and rides much worse.
 
I agree with M5, Saturn hasn't quite gotten there, with the exception of the Vue. However, I feel that if Saturn places the Sky with a good price in the market, it should sell well.

Is the Saturn Sky going to be priced around the Mazda Miata?
 
sUn
Is the Saturn Sky going to be priced around the Mazda Miata?
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I've heard it's going to be a little more expensive, but that's okay, given that it will have 170 horsepower (same as the MazdaSpeed Miata) compared to the Miata's 142. Pricing really will be the key here - price it too high and it's a waste of everyone's time.
 
So The image of Saturn is Vue=Great, Anything else=Meh...

Anyways aside from performance... The Vue isn't much a looker... Just like all the other Saturns...

BTW... Didn't they have some concept car that looked decent? (Or was that me drifting into a hallucinating state?)
 

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