Key Takeaways
General Motors ' first unexampled nameplate in over 60 years was born in 1982 as Project Saturn . Conceived in part by then - chairman Roger Smith , it was an all - out effort to stanch the develop Japanese authorization of the U.S. small - car market that had begun in the other ' 70s .
Smith recognize that although GM was highly successful with traditional American cars , it ill lagged behind Nipponese Jehovah for small - cable car quality , blueprint , and cost . As a result , unseasoned buyers were deserting GM ’s little U.S. products for Hondas , Toyotas , and other Japanese example – and they were n’t coming back .
More than eight class passed before the first Saturn were sold . For some , that long gestation reinforce doubts that GM could field a competitive , profitable , all - American small gondola – especially given late exertion like the problem - plagued XTC - body front - drive compacts .
Heady pronouncements along the way of life did n’t serve . For deterrent example , at the November 1983 introduction of a full - scale sedan prototype ( later dubbed " the little reddish car " ) , Smith promised Saturn would be a " a quantum leap beforehand of the Japanese , including what they have come in the future . In Saturn we have GM ’s reply – the American answer – to the Japanese challenge . It ’s the clean - sheet approach to producing little cars that in metre will prove to have historical logical implication . "
in the beginning , Saturn vehicles were to be sold by Chevrolet , embark on with a front - drive four - door sedan somewhat smaller than a contemporaneous Chevy Cavalier . The projected Leontyne Price was $ 5000-$7000 and its introduction was vaguely name as sometime in " the recent ' LXXX . " A two - door coupe and a sport-utility fomite ( SUV ) were to succeed afterward .
By the time Saturn opened for business enterprise , however , it was Saturn Corporation , a wholly owned subordinate charged with pioneer novel ideas in everything from styling to divine service . The most successful institution would then fan out throughout GM itself , or so it was assume . Saturn was supposed to make money , of course , sooner by stealing sales from the contest , not other GM makes .
In presenting the prototype , GM served notice that Saturns would be different : Body panels would be made of either metal or plastic and attach to a steel " spaceframe " as on Pontiac ’s then - Modern Fiero sporty automobile . The locomotive engine would be a brand - young , fuel - shoot four - cylinder with an aluminum block and piston chamber heads formed by a precision " lost froth " technique . Oil passages would be designed in instead of drill in after casting to save both time and cloth . Astonishing EPA - rated fuel economy was promised : 45 mpg city , 60 mpg main road .
Other element need not come from incorporated bank identification number , and Saturn was free to devise its own technology and manufacturing methods . A major goal for this experiment was finding ways to exit the monetary value break with " Japan , Inc. , " then gauge at more than $ 2000 per car . The accompanying preservation , Smith said , would finally make GM a modest - car power in the U.S. market place . In fact , he declare Saturn nothing less than " the key to GM ’s foresightful - term competitiveness , survival , and success . "
As announced in January 1985 , Saturn Corporation would have its own flora , its own employees , its own contract bridge with the United Auto Workers conjugation , and a separate dealer electronic internet . Initial funding was $ 150 million , and up to $ 5 billion was earmarked for future expenditures , include some $ 3.5 billion for a " greenfield " factory in Spring Hill , Tennessee .
Smith hoped production would start by fall 1987 , and vow to drive the first car off the line himself . Oldsmobile world-wide handler Joseph Sanchez was tapped as Saturn chairwoman , but died of a heart onset less than three weeks later . Pontiac general managing director Bill Hogland was cite to replace him .
Saturn Rethinks Car Manufacturing
Saturn , a division of GM founded in the 1980s , had its own dedicated automobile manufacturing plant from the beginning . A prime reason for locating in Tennessee was to distance Saturn from other GM installation , thus allowing a unique " corporate culture " to flower more easy .
Just as important , diminutive Spring Hill ( population 1400 at the prison term ) was about 35 miles to the south of Nashville and 30 mile from Smyrna , Tennessee , house of Nissan ’s North American factory , so vital railroad line , interstate main road and suppliers were all handily close . Groundbreaking took piazza in April 1986 , by which prison term fledgeling Saturn , barely a year old , had its third president : Richard G. " Skip " LeFauve , transferred from GM ’s Buick - Olds - Cadillac Group after Bill Hoglund , LeFauve ’s forerunner at Saturn , was name to head that unit .
Saturn ’s ego - proclaim missionary post was to " market vehicles developed and manufacture in the United States that are human race leaders in quality , monetary value , and customer enthusiasm through the desegregation of people , engineering , and business system and to switch noesis , technology , and experience throughout General Motors . "
That was a tall order for an instal automobile company , but Saturn was starting from cabbage . The line of work was monumental , and result months witness delays , cost overproduction , and difficulties in signing up dealers that drive press back the production start engagement to summertime 1990 , in brief before GM Chairman Roger Smith ’s schedule retreat . Yearly volume was first set at a half - million units , then reduced to a more manageable 240,000 , and GM ’s entire investment funds was trim to about $ 3.5 billion .
Smith envision the Saturn industrial plant as the last word in automatize fabrication , with computer - lead vehicles delivering parts to golem that did most assemblage chores . But like so many GM leaders before him , Smith was a fiscal manager , not an technologist or manufacturing expert , and he did n’t really see " gamy technical school " or its limits .
Spring Hill would use golem for welding , apply adhesive material and paint the machine , but the plant was n’t near as futuristic as Smith picture . The literal conception amount in labor / management coition . As LeFauve note : " People are belong to make the difference for Saturn . "
The first employees were enter from other GM operations . There were just 3800 jobs but more than 16,000 applier , all manifestly intrigued by the Saturn experiment and wanting to be part of it . Candidates were invited to Spring Hill for a two - day cover session , and 90 percent of those who came were hired .
The eventual employee roster show migrants from 46 states with an norm of 13 years GM experience . Being so habitual to GM ’s onetime ways , " associates " were require to undergo comprehensive training in the new Saturn direction of thinking and figure out .
UAW members pick up 350 60 minutes of training on average , though some mellow - acquirement billet come doubly as much . Base pay for all prole was 80 percent of GM ’s home average , but there were bonuses for meeting productiveness fair game and a profit - communion plan – if Saturn turn a profit .
Saturn ’s labor agreement had few traditional manufacture " shop rules " and gave employee more say in how they did their jobs . worker were direct into teams responsible for monitoring the character of parts and their own work , and any prole could stop the assemblage line to fix safety or caliber problem on the spot , a common practice in Japan but unsung in U.S. automobile plants .
That let doing away with separate quality - control review areas . In addition , workers sat alongside managers in confluence , aid to make decisions as " team members , " and everyone ate in the same dining elbow room . LeFauve even shared the executive power suite with the UAW ’s Saturn coordinator .
The team approach also figured in Saturn product maturation . couturier , factory workers , engineers , and outside supplier get together for what was called " simultaneous engineering . " This was in sharp contrast to the sometime way of life of having designers , once finished with their part of the car , " project it over the bulwark " to engine driver , who did their Book of Job before tossing the task to manufacturing , and so on down the line .
Just as important , Saturn planners , some of whom already drove imports , put away personal preference to sharpen on what buyers want . Said technology frailty - president Jay Wetzel : " Most great cars in history speculate the personality of one mortal . In our case , that person just happen to be the consumer . "
Early Production of Saturn Cars
Despite myriad obstacles and much outside naysaying , Saturn production got under way in clock time for manakin - yr 1991 . Job One , a metallic - red saloon , roll out the doorway at 10:57 a.m. on July 30 , 1990 , with Roger Smith at the wheel in one of his last public appearance as GM chairman . With that , aid turned to the car itself .
Saturn greeted the world with four - door sedans and two - threshold coupes sharing a basic front - drive platform and major components . Each body style had its own styling , but neither draw rave reviews on that score .
The sedan chair was knock as attend like a scaled - down Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme . ( Some designer apparently worked on both , with the Saturn finished before the Olds but introduced after it . ) The coupe , a swoopy 2 + 2 with hidden headlamps , was more favorably received , though some say it resembled the Geo Storm , an Isuzu - built hatchback door coupe then sold by Chevrolet .
Despite the share weapons platform , the sedan ride a 102.4 - in wheelbase , the coupe a 99.2 - inch span . Respective overall length were 176.3 and 175.8 inches , making Saturn a little brusque than Chevy Cavaliers but seven inches longer than a Honda Civic , a fundamental design bench mark .
As promised , torso gore bolted to a blade inner skeleton , with fenders , doors , and other vertical panels made of dent- and rust - resistive thermoplastic polymer material . blade was used for hoods , trunklids , and roofs . Galvanized underbelly panels and a stock stainless - steel exhaust system helped reduce corrosion worries , too .
Also as promised , the locomotive engine was a new inline - four created expressly for Saturn , with an aluminum block and head teacher cast off by the lose - foam technique . There were two versions of this 1.9 - l ( 116 - cubic inch ) design , both fuel - put in and mounted transversally per naturalized front - drive small - car pattern . The base 85 - horsepower unit had a unmarried overhead camshaft ( sohc ) and throttle - body shot with a key water pistol at the intake manifold paper . A dual - cam ( dohc ) derived function with multi - point injection ( a squirter for each piston chamber ) turn in 123 bhp .
Each team with five - speed manual transmission or optional electronically check four - focal ratio automatic . As on some Japanese cars , the automatic had a switch for take " normal " or " performance " geological fault mode ; the latter delayed full - gas pedal upshifts to higher rpm for best acceleration . Alas , no Saturn powertrain present anywhere near the economy touted seven years earlier – 45 mpg urban center and 60 mpg main road . The best was 27 mpg city and 37 highway for the single - cam / five - speed combination .
Initially , the sedan was offered in price - loss leader SL and easily - equip SL1 models with the sohc locomotive and as a dohc - powered SL2 with " Twin Cam " writ large on the rear bumper . The coupe , dubbed SC , was dohc only . Bumpers were black on single - cam cars , dead body - color on the sportier twofold - River Cam models .
inner designing and features mime those of targeted competitor . Climate controls and the steering - pillar straw switches for Christ Within and wipers might have been lifted from a Civic or Toyota Corolla , and all model come with repose textile front bucket seats , tachometer , arguing steering column , tripper mileometer , split pen up rear seatback , and a rear electric deicer – items found on most all Japanese rivals .
Wheel excogitation emulated Honda ’s , including the employment of four lugworm nuts instead of GM ’s common five . With all this , some people thought Saturns were Japanese car , but content was actually 95 percentage domestic .
Early route - exam verdicts were generally cocksure . Despite automatic transmission , Consumer Guide ® ’s mental test SL2 ran 0 - 60 mph in 8.8 seconds , surprisingly brisk for an affordable subcompact car . A single - cam car took up to two seconds more , but Saturn ’s slick - shifting manual transmittal was a match for Japan ’s best and a welcome change from previous GM efforts .
All model offered quick handling , a well absorptive ride , salutary people and cargo space for the exterior size , and , of course , convenient Japanese - panache ergonomics . Fuel economy was another asset , but most reviewers judged the locomotive too loud and harsh , especially for a innovative four - cylinder under 2.0 liters . Which led to the most - telling judgement of all : Despite all - fresh engineering and the long gestation , Saturn was not the big breakthrough Roger Smith had foretell – militant with the Japanese , but not clearly superior .
Where Saturn did have an boundary was cost . At $ 7995 to start , the Scrooge - peculiar Shining Path was a whopping $ 1495 less than the basal Civic sedan and $ 1000 less the cheap Corolla ( though the Shining Path did n’t offer an automatonlike transmitting or power steering ) . Saturn ’s $ 275 finish charge was in pedigree with those of Japanese makers and $ 180 less than Cavalier ’s .
The SL1 , starting $ 600 above the SL , swiftly became the volume seller . The SL2 listed at an attractive $ 10,295 , but could be optioned up to around $ 14,600 – a bit steep for the stratum , though that included antilock brakes ( AB ) with rear disc ( an $ 895 option ) and CD player , features Civic and Corolla did n’t yet offer . The SC2 topped the line at $ 11,775 and , like most other modest coupe , was a tougher sell than the saloon .
Saturn Emphasizes Customer Service
Saturn sales officially began on October 25 , 1990 . Advertising never observe a GM connector – arguably wise , considering GM ’s sullied reputation among the targeted buyers , though also appropriate for Saturn ’s drift condition .
The Saturn works at Spring Hill , Tenn. , was still moving slowly on a single shift to assure the highest possible assembly character , now a must for even incoming - layer car . The first Saturn were sold by some 30 dealer in Tennessee and neighboring states as well as on the West Coast , long an importee stronghold . Dealers opened in other areas as product ramped up . By the following spring , Saturn counted 130 " retail merchant " in 33 states , most of them in 70 major urban marketplace .
It was in the retail area that Project Saturn had its greatest impact . Saturn cautiously selected dealers who agreed to build separate showrooms and inspection and repair facility and to operate under strict guidelines for customer treatment . Sales personnel were trained in " consultative merchandising " to supersede hard - sell maneuver . A " retail companion " would sit down with client , discuss their needs , explain their options , and coiffure a trial drive .
Pricing would be just as emptor - favorable . Federal law on price - set prohibit automobile company from force dealers to sell at a set price . That ’s why window stickers carry the caption " manufacturer ’s suggested retail price . " But Saturn powerfully urge on its dealers to avoid the usual haggling , saying no client should ever inquire about paying too much . Dealers agreed , and Saturn sell at full retail damage – no more , no less .
With output slow to clear nagging timber trouble , requirement quick exceeded provision during the 1991 model class . A good thing , then , that dealer obeyed another Saturn teaching : Thou shall not squeeze . Buyers used to learn " added bargainer profit " sign on popular cars were enjoyably storm by Saturn ’s " no ups , no extras " policy .
The ruby - rug discussion did n’t end there . Buyers were given a tour of their principal ’s service area and met the mechanics who would work on their cars . Before labour off , new owners were photographed in their Saturn amid rousing cheer from dealership employees .
Almost all dealers invited owners in for weekend service clinics and even a barren tiffin . They also fall out up with customers on a steady groundwork after the cut-rate sale . If for any reason an proprietor was infelicitous with a Saturn , the car could be refund within the first 30 day or 1500 miles for a full refund , no questions demand .
When Saturn announced its first recollection in February 1991 , dealer technicians drove to where the owners were just to replace a seatback bracket on about 1200 car . A few months later , Saturn learned a supplier had put up a mint of improperly formulated antifreeze that might cause engine damage . rather of substitute the antifreeze , Saturn supervene upon more than 1100 cars .
Saturn Car Company: Buyer Satisfaction
Another key part of Saturn ’s sales strategy was impart trader wide " food market area " so they would compete with other brands alternatively of each other . Thus , a metropolitan area like Chicago might have more than 60 Chevrolet stores but only nine or 10 Saturn dealers . limit the telephone number of retail outlets helped Saturn become the diligence leader in sale per dealer , and Saturn dealership quickly became both profitable and assay - after .
This new path of doing job got an prompt endorsement in the form of J.D. Power and Associates ' 1991 view of new - car owners . Respondents ranked Saturn third in both customer satisfaction and sale gratification . In its very first twelvemonth , the " different kind of car company " leapfrogged Honda , Toyota , Nissan , and other rivals in two key measurements : how well customer like their cars and how well they were handle by dealers . Only Lexus and Infiniti , the new Japanese sumptuousness brands whose cars sold for three and four time as much , ranked higher .
And this was no first - year trematode . Saturn again ranked No . 3 in both Power surveys for the ' 92 and ' 93 model years , and was No . 1 in sales satisfaction and third in client satisfaction for ' 94 and ' 95 . More impressive still , Saturn would stay tops in sales satisfaction each model twelvemonth through 2001 except for 1999 , when it tied for 6th with Lexus and Germany ’s BMW at a bare four points behind first - place Cadillac and Jaguar .
These and other accolades buoy up values of used Saturns , which retained a high pct of their original price than other cars in their stratum . Saturn ’s own enquiry testify that fully 50 pct of its customers bought chiefly for the positive shopping experience , versus 25 percent for the product itself . This led one Saturn executive to note , " We ’re not assay to sell masses a car . We ’re helping them buy a railroad car . "
Other brands jumble to " Saturnize , " hoping to boost their customer satisfaction and gross revenue with it . Struggling Oldsmobile , in fact , before long follow up many of Saturn ’s policies in the " Oldsmobile Edge " program . Some other dealers change over to " one - cost " and " no - haggle " appeal , but many of those also sell other brands eventually returned to in high spirits - pressure manoeuvre .
As Saturn President Richard G. " Skip " LeFauve observed , Saturn ’s winner staunch from many factors , include being truthful to its mission statement . " You ca n’t just tell your retailers to be nice to people , " he said .
Saturn Car Company’s Early Success
Saturn ’s first big ware modification hap belatedly in the 1992 fashion model year : an optional equipment driver - side airbag . The railroad car had been introduced with motorized shoulder belt to meet the federal requirement for dual front - seat " inactive restraints , " but Japanese challenger were chop-chop adding airbags and Saturn needed to match them . The motorized bash continued through model - year ' 94 .
The number one wood - side cushion became an across - the - board standard for 1993 , when four - door beach wagon and optional traction control get . The Plough , stride the same wheelbase as the sedan and otherwise selfsame to it forrader of the rear doors , follow in sohc SW1 and dohc SW2 versions .
Also added was a abject - monetary value coupe , entitle SC1 , with the undivided - Cam River engine and exposed headlamps . The dual - River Cam coupe retain its hidden - headlamp brass as the SC2 .
The new traction mastery was available for just $ 50 on models ordered with Ab and automatic . There was hardly any ironware involved . Saturn simply write newfangled software allowing the ABS computer to counteract wheel shimmy in three stages : cretin spark timing to reduce engine power , dislodge the transmission to a mellow gear , and interrupt fuel catamenia . Traction restraint was a Saturn class sole and thus a self-aggrandising putsch for the brand ; even many luxury machine did n’t have it yet .
Saturn output eventually strike full tread during poser - year ' 93 . Spring Hill ran two shimmy to crank up out some 244,000 cars , almost 75,000 more than the year before . But dealers were still short of stock and ask for more , so a third fault was added and all work shift reschedule to four days a week , 10 hour a daytime . That had the plant going six days a workweek to stuff out well-nigh 60,000 extra cars each year . The cars themselves were little switch for ' 94 , but there was large news on the financial front . In January 1994 , Saturn announced its first operating lucre , achieved in calendar ' 93 , though the amount was n’t made public . The work force had grown to 8500 by then , and each employee receive a profit - sharing arrest for about $ 5100 .
Though Saturn was still a long way from pay back GM ’s initial investment , official hastened to point out several benefit fall from the new company . On the technology side were the lose - froth engine casting technique , a unexampled pee - borne rouge process , and team - oriented fabrication systems , all being sweep up or studied by other GM operation .
In addition , Saturn ’s four - cylinder cars were earning worthful corporate average fuel thriftiness ( CAFE ) acknowledgment for GM as a whole to cancel sale of gas - guzzling V-8 modeling , include a tight - rising number of hungry full - sizing light truck .
Most of import perhaps , 75 percent of Saturn sales represent " plus stage business , " meaning they make out at the expense of non - GM mark . More than half of Saturn owners said they would have purchase a Nipponese car instead , thus realize one of Roger Smith ’s goal – stealing customers from the likes of Honda , Toyota , and Nissan .
To say thanks , Saturn ask for its customers – all 700,000 of them – to a " Homecoming " weekend in Spring Hill in late June 1994 . It was another extraordinary matter for a gondola company to do , but even Saturn was surprised when more than 44,000 people showed up . All came at their own expense , some driving in from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii .
swamp rains and muddy fields did n’t damp the family - point fun , which included works tours , pushover , a concert , and sharing the gospel with fellow owners and Spring Hill workers . Two employees from Pennsylvania Saturn retailer got married during the event ; Saturn President Skip LeFauve fall in the Brigid by , plus a 1995 Saturn as a wedding party nowadays .
Beyond great Puerto Rico , the Homecoming testified to how well Saturn was make friends and fostering customer loyalty . It was label a achiever , despite the miry weather and other problems , and would be repeated in 1999 .
Saturn Car Company’s Economic Downturn
Saturn was a hit in the years after rolling out its first car , but blue clouds were gathering . Saturn bowed in 1991 amid huge losses for GM as a whole : $ 2 billion in 1990 , $ 4.5 billion in 1991 , the latter a U.S. clientele criminal record to that time .
New top - level executives came in during 1992 , and though they had GM back in the black by mid - decade , the company ’s total market share continued to shrivel and profits were down . With support soaked , sibling rivalry broke out within the GM family .
As AutoWeek observed in its report on the first Saturn Homecoming in 1994 : " General Motors has already poured $ 5 billion into Saturn , and there are citizenry at place like Chevrolet , Buick , and Oldsmobile … who would lour upon more of their corporation ’s one dollar bill head south . They ’d wish to see their younger sister pull some of her own weight ; that ’s how families work . " Trouble was , Saturn had only small motorcar to sell , and the small - car grocery was countermine .
In light , Saturn postulate more financing and new models , yet other partitioning were needy too , and there was n’t enough money to go around . Some observers recommended that GM cut overhead by merging Saturn with Oldsmobile Division , as both were growing ever closer in products and sales practices .
By summer 1995 , however , GM decided to detain additional Saturn model and shift development resourcefulness to other brands , Olds include . This intellection probably made sensation at the time , as Saturn was doing great business . Though sales allay fractionally for calendar ' 95 to less than 286,000 , production for that simulation twelvemonth rise 18 percent to a record 303,000 .
Saturn ’s lineup would extend , but the fast - interchange economic science of the auto business enterprise meant succeeding models would share more with other GM cars . Tellingly , Saturn President Skip LeFauve was promoted in 1995 to head all GM modest - car programs and " small - car convergence " efforts . GM veteran Don Hudler took over as president and CEO at Saturn Corporation after dish out as its vice - President of the United States for sales event , marketing and table service since 1987 .
Several change marked the 1995 Saturns . A passenger - side airbag in a redesigned splasher take into account manual three - point seat belt to replace the never - liked shoulder " mousebelts . " Multipoint fuel injection added a welcome 15 bhp to the single - River Cam engine , coupe got mildly freshen faces , and the SC2 sported a new rear panel and spoiler .
A choice principle for spaceframe expression with bolt - on body panels was to make styling update relatively sluttish and cheap , but Saturn said it could n’t give to redesign the whole car at once , so it focused on the interior first . outside were update for ' 96 . Sedans and wagons retain intimate clue , but grow slightly longer and more rounded ; a newly arched roofline increased sedan headspring room fore and aft .
But the self-aggrandising change was reserved for coupes . After a brief trial of ' 96 carryovers , the ' 97 models bend in former 1996 on the saloon / wagon wheelbase to put on a whopping 4.5 column inch of rear wooden leg elbow room . All simulation got additional side - impact trade protection in advance of 1997 federal standards , plus daytime track light ( inboard of the headlamp ) , a safety characteristic spread out throughout GM .
grip control was now available with either transmission as part of the ABS option . Prices had been creeping up , pasture now from $ 9995 for the basic SL sedan chair to $ 12,695 for the top - line SW2 wagon . Despite the restyle , calendar - year sales event slipped 2.5 percent to around 278,600 – not a good sign .
Saturn’s Battery-Powered Car: The Saturn EV1
A widely come sign of the time to come arrive at select Saturn retailers in December 1996 . The EV1 was n’t GM ’s first battery - power machine , but it work up on decades of party experiments with electric vehicles .
And it was n’t just for sport . California and other states had act out laws need automakers to trade a percentage of zero - emissions vehicle ( ZEVs ) as a experimental condition for doing business in those states . Though lawgiver kept fiddling with deadlines and sales count , clean - air travel mandates were a fact of living demanding alternatives to the internal - combustion locomotive engine . Most auto manufacturer started with electric cars .
EV1 was built to gain real - world experience with advanced engineering and , just as important , to assess consumer involvement in galvanizing vehicles . Saturn owners liked unexampled thought , and the low lozenge - determine electric coupe had plastic body dialog box over a steel skeleton , so it was right at home in Saturn showrooms . EV1 was not a Saturn , though , wearing the GM logotype as a newfangled one - manakin " make . "
Evolved from the 1989 Impact paradigm , the EV1 had a front - climb AC induction motor driving the front wheel through a " 1 - velocity " transaxle with reduction gear . The juice came from 26 lead - acid batteries arranged in a central T - structure and weigh some 1175 pound , closely half the car ’s American Stock Exchange weight .
For maximum driving mountain range , a " regenerative " feature of speech reversed the chief motor on braking to replace some of the office used ; a transaxle " coastdown " feature pass a similar effect when coast on categorical surface or when or descend hill . Recharging was by a 220 - volt stand - alone whole or a 110V onboard courser . Recharging took 12 - 14 hours with the onboard unit , about three hours with the 220V equipment .
The EV1 cost a cool $ 350 million to develop , and GM said it should have sold each one for at least $ 35,000 just to violate even on the project . That was deem excessive for a fair impractical motorcar with unclear market prospect and embryologic technology . So alternatively , GM offer up three - calendar month leases that included all normal servicing , though not the required home battery charger .
Fittingly , EV1s were first take in smoggy Los Angeles and San Diego , California , and in Phoenix and Tucson , Arizona . The program was extend to Sacramento , California , in 1997 and to San Francisco the next year .
" proprietor " loved the cars , happily pass natural gas stations in eery silence and zipping through dealings or along winding roads with vitality . Acceleration was unattackable – about 8.0 moment 0 - 60 – but you dare not habituate full mightiness very often . Even heedful drivers were heavily - put to get more than 60 miles on a full charge .
With that and the rise of more - hardheaded gasoline / electric " hybrids , " interest in the EV1 tailed off . GM ended yield in late 2000 after fewer than 1000 units , but continued the rental program for a time .
Saturn Car Sales Fail in Japan
Saturn No . 1,500,000 , a blue SC2 , vagabond out of Spring Hill on January 17 , 1997 . There was little product word , though : just a standard low - fuel warning Christ Within for all ' 97 models and , with the optional keyless entry system , an antitheft feature that sound the horn in the event of a break - in .
But in another extremely symbolic event , GM ’s import - fighting brand began sell cars in Japan , something even Saturn godfather Roger Smith had n’t planned . critic had long maintained that American cars were n’t serious enough for demand Japanese vendee . But Saturns were sell well against many Nipponese cars in the U.S. , so why not Japan itself ?
The export modeling were reengineered for ripe - handwriting drive and equipped to satisfy both local regulation and , it was hoped , the local market . Unfortunately , sales commenced in April 1997 just as the Nipponese economy was slipping into recession , and there were only eight bargainer for the entire body politic .
But the independent difficulty , sound out one Japanese industry analyst quoted by U.S. business deal weekly Automotive News , was that " Saturn did n’t have any make appeal . American mark are heavy to sell in Japan because some people still have a low - caliber range of a function of them . " After four tough years and only 4324 sale , Saturn gave up .
It was just as well , for troubles were mount at home . Calendar - class gross sales fell nearly 10 percent in 1997 , another 7.7 pct in ' 98 . The trouble , many observers felt , was that Saturns had n’t changed much and the competition had – and not just signification - brand contender .
Meanwhile , the ' 98 Saturn come along with only re - tuned suspensions , for a smoother ride , and more powertrain nuance – an almost yearly ritual – propose at reduce randomness , vibration and harshness . Retailers soon discover themselves with more cars than buyers for the first time , yet Saturn ’s one - price insurance precluded rebate and other incentives to dress the reserve .
The only affair left was to dress output , and the Spring Hill , Tenn. , factory scaled back in September 1997 by about 17 pct to some 275,000 cars a year . There were no layoffs , prohibited by the UAW declaration , but worker were worry all the same .
gross revenue were basically flat in calendar 1999 , which was relatively good news . And Saturn last had some material product intelligence that year : three - door coupes . A routine of extended - hack pickups had latterly sprouted auxiliary rear door to improve back - rear access , and the idea made even more sense for the lowly Saturn SCs .
New Jersey retailer Stuart Lasser reportedly suggested it after acknowledge how his son Hal had hassle getting in and out of the regular two - doorway . engine driver work tight , and the " back door " coupe were in dealerships by November 1998 .
The extra door was on the number one wood ’s side , can - hinged , about 19 inches wide , and could open up to near 90 degree . You had to launch the driver ’s door first , because the rear - door latch was flush - climb up in the front doorjamb for safety ’s sake . Opening both door left a spacious unobstructed spread 62 inches wide .
The third door changed roof styling slightly – but only on the left – and bestow a mere 50 pound despite call for structural reinforcing . Unfortunately , it also cut rear hip room by three inches and rearward shoulder elbow room by 5.5 inches . Young Hal Lasser might have had an easy scramble in and out , but less blank to move around in once inside .
Saturn Car L-Series
With sale flat in the late nineties , and after several years of dithering , GM had finally decided to fund the extra product Saturn so badly needed . First up was the all - new mid - size L - Series , launched in early 1999 for model - year 2000 .
A $ 1.2 - billion effort , the L - Series was loosely based on GM ’s European Opel / Vauxhall Vectra , and Saturn took pains to make certain newsperson understood how unaffixed the kinship was . Though the L - Series used the Vectra ’s basic architecture and front - drive powertrains , only about 130 part , mostly fixing , were said to be interchangeable – as one applied scientist demonstrated by swarm them out of a small washables basket at the press preview . " That is literally everything this car has in vulgar with the Vectra , " he declared .
Saturn took over an older GM plant in Wilmington , Delaware , and revise it for the L - Series , which was build under a more - traditional labor concord than live in the initial Saturn factory in Spring Hill , Tenn.
Despite similar " globose GM " styling , the L - Series strode a 2.5 - inch long wheelbase than its Euro cousin and looked recognizably Saturn . It even had moldable fender and door skin , though they attached to a conventional unibody rather than a spaceframe .
Two engines covered five models with conversant Saturn nomenclature . power the LS and LS1 sedans and LW1 estate car was a dohc 2.2 - liter four - cylinder , part of GM ’s new " L850 " engine family and marketed under the " Ecotec " name . The LS2 sedan and LW2 wagon carried a twincam 3.0 - liter V-6 , also design by GM Europe and shared with Saab of Sweden ( by now part of the GM conglomerate ) .
The V-6 teamed only with a four - stop number automatonlike transmission , which was also uncommitted for four - cylinder models in position of five - speed manual . Options included BA with adhesive friction mastery across the add-in , leather upholstery except on the base LS sedan , and a rear despoiler for LS1 / LS2 . V-6 modeling came with rearward disk brake .
hope were high for the L - Series , though the odds seemed against it . After all , Saturn was wad into a very crowded and competitory market where the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry were repeated competitor as America ’s well - trade car personal credit line .
But with full sales agreement of some 3.5 million unit a year , the mid - size family offer Brobdingnagian growth electric potential for Saturn and GM – an resistless opportunity . What ’s more , critic found the L - Series had most everything necessary for winner . Said Car and Driver : " We ’re not about to bet against the top dogs … but the LS1 cover all the sedan bases very well and could make the others sudate a niggling if Saturn can persuade Americans to take poster of its new model . "
Unfortunately , Saturn fumbled . Unexpected production glitches kept supplies fast in the critical early week , and initial advertising touted " the next bounteous thing from Saturn " without pay a clear idea of what the L - Series was . As a result , calendar-2000 legal transfer were just over 94,000 . Saturn had projected 192,000 the first class and up to 300,000 a year thereafter .
railroad car started piling up once the factory get cranking , forcing Saturn to thresh production double in flying sequence . To bound - start sales , Saturn allot a $ 1000 per car " advertising valuation reserve " that retailers could use any manner they liked . Many simply passed it on to customers as a hidden rebate , but even that did n’t help oneself . Zero - down lease were being offer by July , when Business Week report that medium motivator for all Saturn fashion model were at a record $ 1116 per vehicle .
With the L - Series in the card , the smaller Saturn were named S - Series for 2000 . The SW1 wagon was omit . Remaining models rollick a new gauge clump and switchgear , redesign center console , revised front seats with more rear traveling , plus new small - torso gore that increased length by 1.2 inches but were just detectable .
Coupes had a short model class , with more or less restyled ' 01s arrive in former 2000 . Powertrains were fiddled with yet again , get a new generalization organization and other changes in the uphold quest for smoothness and quietness . Consumer Guide ® mean a decade of effort had " finally paid off – at least in the ' 2 ' models . Their twincam locomotive engine now feel coarse and buzzy only at maximal rpm . The changes do n’t bear on [ end product ] , so acceleration with either transmission remains somewhat respectable than the class norm . "
But at geezerhood 10 , the original Saturn figure look downright old against most rivals , and sales took a beating in calendar 2000 , dropping 23.7 pct to a short over 177,000 . With that , Spring Hill was put on furlough to give dealers clip to clear stock – including some remnant ' 99s . Still , Saturn ’s total sale rose 16.9 percent to 271,800 . The L - Series , dashing hopes though it was , more than made up for the S - Series ' declination .
Saturn Car Company Losses in 2000 and 2001
Saturn sales were flat in the belated 1990s , but sounding a hopeful notation in 2000 was the April 25 proclamation of a $ 1.5 - billion hard currency infusion .
Two - third base would go toward capital improvements at the Spring Hill , Tenn. , plant for building Saturn ’s first SUV , starting in late 2001 . Remaining monetary fund were earmarked for equipment needed to build the 2.2 - cubic decimeter four - piston chamber engine , which Saturn would supply for all North American GM vehicles using it , as well as a new continuously variable automatonlike transmission ( CVT ) .
Intriguingly , the announcement also mentioned a " yet undisclosed time to come Saturn " with a Honda V-6 . The locomotive engine would be supplied under a late concluded arrangement between GM and the Nipponese automaker , who was to get diesel engines from GM affiliate Isuzu in telephone exchange . " Our challenge now , " tell raw Saturn president Cynthia Trudell , " is to keep up with client demand for a wider variety of vehicles … and [ to ] position Saturn as more than just a modest - car caller . "
in reality , it was do - or - die clip . In 2000 alone , Saturn lost nearly $ 840 million , more than $ 3000 on each sales event . The brand create to finish buyers from desert GM was itself being desolate . With that , nearly half of Saturn ’s total manufactory capacity was left idle that year , according to an internal report .
By April 2001 , GM was well-nigh out of patience . Saturn was told to duplicate productiveness at Spring Hill , hike production there by two - thirds while cutting employment by 18 percent , and to at least collapse even on operations – or else .
abruptly , everything seemed to depend on the raw SUV . If it bombed like the L - Series , reported Automotive News , GM would cancel the redesign S - Series hardening for manakin - year 2003 . Though Trudell await to run out all of management ’s marching social club , she admitted , " If we are not successful with [ the SUV ] , no one would put in more products . "
But 2001 was another discouraging year . Aggravated by a sharp-worded downswing in the home thriftiness , calendar - yr sales slide 4.2 percent from the previous 12 months to just above 260,000 . The L - Series was up ( to just over 98,000 building block ) , but the S - Series was down ( by 8.6 percent to 162,110 ) .
Product news program was again light . Both lines added optional drape side airbags that dropped down from above the threshold to shock absorber occupier ' mind in a side wallop , but neither yet offered torso side airbags . Midsize model names changed – four - piston chamber L100 and L200 sedans , V-6 L300 sedan chair , and LW200 and LW300 wagons . And that was about it .
For 2002 , the S - Series lost its rest black Maria , while every L - Series exchangeable ABS , drape airbags , and traction control . L - Series also expanded options with an in - dash six - disc CD changer , minivan - style rear - seat videodisk video , GM OnStar communications / assistance system , and 16 - inch chrome wheels .
Saturn Vue
The national nightmare of September 11 , 2001 , was the out of the blue backdrop for the rollout of Saturn ’s full of life SUV , the Vue .
Americans were flocking to automobile - establish " crossover " paddy wagon like the Ford Escape , Honda CR - V and Toyota RAV4 . Vue was intended to pair or ticktock them for roominess , versatility , functioning , and fuel economy . Significantly , Vue introduce the " Theta " platform designate for similar vehicles at other GM mark , but maintained Saturn custom by put on thermoplastic vertical consistency panels .
Vue initially offered the two L - Series engine . The V-6 came only with a fresh five - focal ratio robotic transmitting and an all - wheel drive system ( AWD ) with no transfer casing or humble - range geartrain . The four - cylinder teamed with front parkway and five - f number manual or with front ride or AWD operating through the prognosticate CVT , called VTi ( for " Variable Transmission , level-headed " ) .
develop by GM ’s Hydramatic Division and source from Europe , the CVT was another Saturn first in American product . Like standardised designs at Honda and Audi , it used a special drive rap run between two laterally expandable pulleys to offer a near - space turn of drive ratios . Electronic ascendence insured the transmission was always in the ripe " geartrain " for optimum performance and fuel efficiency .
Interestingly , Saturn take 0 - 60 miles per hour acceleration of 10.2 seconds for the front - drive Vue with CVT versus 11.1 with manual . The AWD V-6 was peg at 8.4 seconds , which machine and Driver swear in its first full Vue mental testing . Another socio-economic class scoop was electric power steering , with motor replacing power - sapping hydraulics .
Otherwise , Saturn ’s SUV closely match its rivals in dimensions , usefulness , and fuel saving . Consumer Guide ® retrieve that it " leans more in corners than Escape or CR - V and tends to olfactory organ - plow where most compact SUVs find nimble . " guidance was " shadowy on - center and does n’t conduct much route look . "
But drive was approximate a " solid point . Tires and dangling [ four - wheel independent ] do a serious caper of absorbing the defective bumps … " CG ’s overall assessment : " What Vue lacks in handle it more than makes up for in versatility , ride quality , and interior comfortableness . Even more attractive are its competitive pricing [ about $ 16,300-$22,600 ] and the gamey client - satisfaction ratings for Saturn ’s dealership experience and no - haggle price scheme . "
Vue baffle off to a good start , finding more than 75,000 buyers in calendar 2002 and nearly 82,000 in ' 03 . Though that was a modest exhibit by historical U.S.-industry standard , it was creditable in the far - more divers and ruthless fresh - century food market .
Most buyers preferred the AWD V-6 with its orthodox robotic transmission – a good matter , as the CVT was detain by teething difficulty to mid-2002 and was hard to get even then . Automotive News estimated that only 37 percent of Vue production was so weaponed . No matter . The V-6 increase its popularity for 2003 , when Saturn offer it with front - wheel private road , too . One other change that time of year was the fresh option of leather upholstery and het front rear end .
Calendar 2004 deliveries rose six percent to nearly 87,000 . Making sentience of that 2000 press vent , Vue switch over the 181 - bhp 3.0 - liter GM V-6 for a 250 - bhp 3.5 - litre Honda unit , basically the same engine used in Honda ’s pop Odyssey minivan .
Though the swap did wonders for Vue quickening and mechanical finesse , it was a tattle move for the world ’s prominent car maker . Awkward , too , as Saturn now had to betray , help , and warranty a contender ’s locomotive while invalidate mention that it was a competitor ’s engine .
But the Honda V-6 made a fine starting point for the Vue Red Line , the first in a design series of sporty Saturn submodels . get in at mid-2004 as a $ 1995 software package for V-6 versions , the Red Line also include a lower - riding firmed - up suspension with 18 - inch wheels and tires , plus specific trim at heart and out .
All ' 04 Vues received recalibrated steerage , chrome - ringed blank - face gauge , and useable satellite tuner ; AWDs added standard 17 - in wheels , a fresh option on mainstream front - drivers .
Saturn Sales Plunge, Company Restructures
Vue was a well-timed quinine water for total Saturn sales , which inched up some 20,000 in calendar ' 02 to outmatch 280,000 . But the car side was still slipping , and the 2003 total retreated to around 271,000 .
Though that partly contemplate the transition to a new small car , the real culprit was the L - Series : down 17 percent in ' 02 , then by 20 percentage more – to just 65,000 or so – despite facelifted ' 03s with standard mantle side airbags and detail chassis improvement .
Worse , as Consumer Guide ® take down in ' 03 : " A becoming mid - size car is now less of a time value because Saturn charges supererogatory for ABS and adhesive friction control , yet increase base prices … except on the manual - transmission system L200 … At least the L - Series has been a tepid seller , so term of a contract incentives and low funding rates may be available . "
They were indeed , as Saturn was advertize incentives hard than ever , including zero - percent funding with GM ’s market - priming " Keep America Rolling " promotion in the wake of 9/11 . Yet neither that nor later hook could spark buyer interest in the mid - size Saturn , and fiat plunged a whopping 70 percentage in calendar ' 04 to less than 19,500 .
All were L300s with received ABS / traction ascendency reinstated and no manual shift key offered . Not surprisingly , the unloved L - Series fade away during modeling - twelvemonth ' 05 , when only an unchanged V-6 sedan was available with far few option . Just over 5000 were sold .
Saturn by now had a capable newfangled leader in Jill Lajdziak . She reported both to G. Richard " Rick " Wagoner , named GM president and chief executive officer in 2001 , and to the notable " product czar " he quickly brought aboard , former Chrysler Corporation president Robert A. Lutz .
Lajdziak enjoyed rather less exemption than her predecessor , however . Bit by spot , Saturn was turn a loss its independence , a chemise play up by the wrong death of former president Skip LeFauve in January 2003 . As Automotive News observed at the meter , " LeFauve ’s Saturn organization [ now ] look noticeably different . decisiveness - devising is often comport higher in the GM organization , and Saturn work more like a standard GM partition with traditional GM practices . "
But tightening Saturn ’s orbit was necessary in illumination of a worsening financial crisis that would have GM on the verge of failure by 2006 . With Oldsmobile already being phase out as a convalescence criterion , Business Week question whether shin Saturn might soon be dumped , too . " That is out of the question , " Lutz told the cartridge clip in mid-2003 .
Three years afterward , Lutz unwrap an wholly unexampled secret plan plan for Saturn . From here on , most of the brand ’s core ware would be rebadged version of select Opel models designed and engineered at GM ’s German subsidiary . The aim was to save money and get out new mathematical product more rapidly through the closest ever collaboration among GM ’s world-wide business units .
The pattern , Lutz said , was the British Vauxhall branch , which had been building and selling retrimmed Opels for years . Saturn might advise Opel on design tailoring for the American market , but conception was no longer a part of its brief . Even Spring Hill was increasingly go out as just another plant supplying all GM cause , not just Saturn .
A touchable early sign of Saturn ’s shifting status was the 2003 Ion , the belated successor to the subcompact S - Series . This was the first in a planned global fellowship of GM humble railway car on the new front - drive Delta platform conceived largely by Opel . Ion styling was Saturn ’s own , however , and plastic was once again used for the front fenders and out door skins , though the privileged social organization was a schematic steel unibody .
A simple twist - shaft of light axle replace the S - Series ' tri - link rearward suspension to keep price down . Antilock brake shifted to the options inclination , but now included traction control . Curtain side airbags were newly useable , a plus for Saturn ’s condom - apt patronage and for the belittled - car airfield .
Saturn Ion
The Saturn Ion bowed with the all - aluminum " Ecotec " four - piston chamber tuned for 145 bhp , a whopping 40 bhp up from the previous individual - cam base engine . saloon launch first with trim levels prosaically named 1 , 2 and 3 , plus an extra - cost five - focal ratio automatic transmission as another course plus .
The two - door Saturn render in spring ' 03 as the " Quad Coupe . " Sporting rear access doors on both sides , it get in 2 and 3 versions with roughly the same features as like - named sedan . The wheelbase of all Ions move up an inch over the S - Series span , while overall length stretch 6.4 in more on sedans , 4.5 inch on coupes .
With that and a two - inch rise in overall meridian , Ion claim form - lead interior and cargo distance . A bold deviation – controversial , too – was a key dashtop gauge clump cant toward the number one wood . Only Toyota ’s subcompact Echo dared something like it .
Also brave was cause coupes available with the CVT as well as the torque - convertor reflex . strange , too , was the standardised ceiling - track clipping uncommitted through Saturn dealers in colour and patterns to meld and tally with paint and interior interior decoration .
As Saturn ’s most affordable car and the permutation for its top - marketer , the Ion was vital for close - terminus success . Saturn plan to peddle 160,000 a year , yet barely budge the sales needle from the S - Series ' last calendar twelvemonth : about 114,000 through the end of ' 03 .
Reviewers were critical on many count , none more than Car and Driver , which enounce Ion " probably the most disappointing all - new American car in a decade … Its figure cultivation , advanced safety system and value for money are telling " – foundation prices ran around $ 11,600-$16,000 . " But uncomfortable seats , funky ergonomics , cut - charge per unit materials and scurvy - quality railway locomotive sound transport the substance , ' You should have drop more if you wanted a genuine railway car ' . "
Consumer Guide ® was more charitable , noting that established Saturn virtue made up for the Ion ’s various vices . But batch of shopper thought otherwise . Within seven month , Ion inventory had ballooned to 100 days versus the desire 60 - daytime supply . In all , it was a put off and worrisome debut .
To its citation , Saturn go right to work on fixes . DoI gained visibly better - quality materials for 2004 and again for ' 05 , when an early face lift give most ion a wide-eyed oblong radiator grille and more exterior chrome , an endeavour to add visual class .
Adding visceral collection at mid-2004 was a racy Ion Red Line coupe with a supercharged 2.0 - liter Ecotec pumping out 205 eager horses . The $ 21,000 list price included mandatory five - speed manual of arms , a tauter abatement on 17 - inch wheels and performance tires , rearward disc pasture brake , big - long pillow front keister , snazzy leather / cloth upholstery , and the obligatory " go quicker " body supplement , though Saturn sagely left a bulky rear spoiler to the option card .
This Ion aimed at the fast - growing youth market for tune up - up , glammed - up " sport covenant . " It was mostly on target : nimble , middle - catching , and noisy but ready . Car and Driver clocked 0 - 60 mph at a lively 6.1 seconds versus a grave 8.4 for the lowly 140 - bhp manual coupe .
Turning up the Red Line ’s wick for 2006 was a little - promoted $ 1375 Competition Package . This delivered a modified - slip differential to get max power to the pavement , dashboard light to guide gear - swapping , plus a turbo - boost caliber , fog lamp , and unequalled alloy wheels . The Red Line was n’t the sort of car Saturn customer were used to , but that was the percentage point . After so many yr of sensible shoe , it was a refreshing bolt of enthusiasm .
Red Line was n’t , however , a tonic for Ion sales agreement , which slipped in calendar 2004 and again in ' 05 , land at just under 101,000 despite the availability of a 170 - bhp 2.4 - liter Ecotec for Ion 3s . grease one’s palms a Saturn might still be a first - class experience , but even the beautified ion seemed second - pace against many import - sword foes .
Worse , model - yr ' 05 brought intramural competition in Chevrolet ’s Delta - free-base Cobalt , which had no trouble luring buyer with its mainstream styling and superior fit and close . It was an odd situation for a company base on small railway car , especially as Saturn seemed diffident of what to do about it .
In April 2006 , Automotive News reported that Saturn was scrapping a planned Ion replacement and was looking for another GM car to take over after mannequin - class ' 07 . difficulty was , this substitute could n’t get to grocery store until model - yr ' 08 , leaving Saturn dealers with the prospect of sustain no entry - level car to sell for eight or nine months , an eternity in auto retailing .
2004, 2005, 2006 Saturn Cars
Another in a serial of blows to Saturn ’s pride came in 2004 , when GM decide to quarrel the still - troublesome CVT selection for both the Ion compact and Vue SUV . This , too , seemed strange , as Audi , Ford , Honda , and Nissan all had vehicle with CVTs that worked like a charm . But possibly it was n’t so strange . GM had made many mistakes since Saturn ’s birth , and it was n’t the company it used to be .
A first - ever minivan should have clear up Saturn ’s sale scene substantially , but proved another miscalculation . A triumph of marketing style over merchandise means , the raw - for-2005 Relay was basically a rehash of an eight - year - previous GM pattern that had always lagged the class leaders and was no more competitive as a " crossover sport van " with SUV - flavored styling .
It even lack Saturn ’s hallmark plastic body panels , and had little to recommend it over near cousins Chevrolet Uplander , Pontiac Montana SV6 , and a first - ever Buick minivan , the Terraza . Buyers see through the 1980s - trend cloning and mostly stayed away from all four models . electrical relay , though , was particularly disappointing in Light Within of Saturn ’s still - strong consumer range of a function , draw and quarter a petty more than 17,000 orders from late 2004 through the ending of ' 05 .
Reflecting the ho - hum response to both Relay and Ion , overall Saturn sales fell a precipitous 21.8 percent in calendar 2004 to just over 212,000 . The ' 05 total was just 640 units higher . The one sort of bright speckle was Vue , which inch up to some 87,000 in ' 04 , then to well-nigh 92,000 in ' 05 .
Like Ion , Vue catch unwanted in - firm competition : the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent built on a stretched Theta political program with unlike engines . At least tidy size and the available Honda V-6 helped Vue resist aside from that twosome , as well as a boom ruck of class rivals . A small 2006 facelift and interior sprucing helped keep it looking fresh .
Serving the cause of fresher melody was the Vue Green Line , General Motors ' first mainstream vehicle with a gloomy - emission , high - gasoline mileage gasoline / electric hybrid powertrain . An early 2007 add-on , it employed a 2.4 - liter Ecotec four and a nickel - alloy - hydride stamp battery pack feed 10 kilowatts to an electrical motor / generator . A four - upper torque - converter automatic transmission channeled a maximal 170 net H.P. to the front cycle .
Like Honda ’s Integrated Motor Assist organisation , the Vue ’s intercrossed drive used the motor / battery pack to give the gasoline engine a squawk when want . The motor would charge the battery ingroup in coasting or braking , so no plug - in charging was expect as on the pure - electric EV1 . Also like most other hybrids , the locomotive would mechanically shut off on do to a stop to save gas , then re-start on applying the gun .
Projected EPA fuel economy of 27 mpg city and 32 highway was mighty compelling at a time when gas had shoot above $ 3 a gallon and looked to go higher still . Saturn eyeball a $ 23,000 start cost , around $ 4000 less than Ford ’s class - sure-enough Escape Hybrid and a thumping $ 10,000 below the new Toyota Highlander Hybrid .
Saturn Sky and Saturn Green Line
The environmental - minded Vue Green Line arrived in summertime 2006 , promising to get much - needed showroom dealings . So , too , did three more newcomers that made the 2007 line the broadest in Saturn ’s short history . Though those role model also await chronicle ’s finding of fact , they looked to give Saturn the private-enterprise reach it had so long been denied .
First on the scene was Sky , a unfeigned two - tush mutant roadster with an even high merriment factor than the Ion Red Line . Starting sales agreement in spring 2006 , it was an upscale version of the rearward - effort Pontiac Solstice that had launched in later 2005 with a long wait leaning . Sky caused the same clamor , edict pour in before the first one left the Wilmington , Del. , plant that had been refurbished after finish up with the L - Series .
Sky wear down a Saturn look on an all - steel body that was four inches longer than the Pontiac ’s but with the same general look . It also rollick a spiffier cockpit and a $ 23,000 base cost , about $ 3000 upstream of its sib . That was owed to no - price antilock brakes , air conditioning , cruise control and exponent window / threshold whorl , all options for Solstice .
Sky also had its own suspension tuning for the plusher drive Saturn thought its customers would prefer . Otherwise , it was the same appealing package : theme 177 - bhp 2.4 - liter Ecotec four , manual or optional automatic five - focal ratio transmittance , all - disc brakes , 18 - in rolling stock certificate , a manual - folding cloth top with het rearward window , and an alternative sheet show throttle - moorage differential , leather upholstery , planet radio , rear spoiler , and chrome steering wheel .
Released in fall was a performance - minded Sky Red Line . A counterpart to the Solstice GXP , it pack the same novel supercharged 2.0 - cubic decimeter Ecotec with 260 bhp . That was the highest specific output in GM history , abetted by direct fuel injection , a first for a North American GM car .
Naturally , Sky Red Line had specific styling touches inwardly and out , include a deeper front fascia with with child brake - cooling ducts . even or Red Line , Sky was an exciting symbolization of a hoped - for Saturn renaissance .
But the real money is always in mass - market product like midsize sedan chair , so a lot was ride on the 2007 Aura . Scheduled for release in August 2006 , it be the new Bob Lutz strategy for Saturn , being a nigh sexual relation of the European - bred Opel / Vauxhall Vectra , but built at GM ’s Kansas City plant life .
On paper – and in the showroom – Aura looked light years ahead of the former L - Series , with sharply honed styling , solid engineering , and most of the features buyers craved . It bowed in two versions , each a front - wheel - drive V-6 . The submission - degree XE married an atomic number 26 - block 224 - bhp 3.5 - liter pushrod engine to a four - speed reflex transmission . The uplevel XR boasted an all - aluminum twincam 3.6 sending 252 bhp through a new six - amphetamine GM robotic .
Variable - valve time enhanced efficiency on both V-6s , and was a claimed first for the " River Cam in block " 3.5 . Headlining a long stock - equipment roster were front torso and curtain side airbags , four - wheel antilock phonograph record brakes , traction control , tilt / scope steering wheel , and GM OnStar assistance with a yr ’s gratis table service . XR added 18 - in wheels to supersede 17 , GM ’s Stabilitrak antiskid organisation , remote engine starting , extra interior amenities , and a little more brightwork .
Due later in the ' 07 model year was a Green Line Aura , GM ’s first intercrossed - power passenger car , using the basic Vue Green Line powertrain . With all this , Aura seemed poised to be the sale success the L - Series was not .
No less of import to the earnings outlook was the capably named 2007 Outlook , a large crossover SUV . Saturn was entering new soil here , but badly call for a presence in the booming grocery store for new - eld family wagons with carlike comfort and route personal manner .
importantly , Outlook bring out the unibody Lambda platform that had been design expressly for crossover fomite and that would soon serve other GM marques . Wheelbase was a generous 118.9 in , nearly a match for the big motortruck - based Ford Expedition and more than sufficient to appropriate for the three - row seating room most all shoppers demand .
Like most every class rival , Outlook offered a option of front - drive or AWD in a four - door packet with rider - car amenities , plus various accommodations for seven or eight . A lone powertrain mated GM ’s Modern six - stop number automatic with a 3.6 - litre V-6 , essentially the Aura locomotive engine tune up for 217 bhp and more low - goal torque . With a full slating of received safety aids and useful choice like power liftgate , remote starting , and rear - obstacle - detection organisation , Outlook loomed as another big Saturn sale booster upon its schedule early 2007 saleroom debut .
Set to trace Outlook is a new - genesis 2008 Vue , likely with bold new styling patterned after the Opel - designed PreVue conception presented in April 2006 . That and a fill - in for Ion will dispatch a noteworthy product enlargement for a make that seemed to be at death ’s threshold just a few year earlier . Even so , Saturn is hardly of the woods yet , because General Motors itself must still hack through a forest of intimidating challenges . But assuming everything wreak out , Saturn may at last be correct for a truly shining , successful , and permanent time to come – even if it is no longer " a unlike kind of machine company . "
