Cars like the ugly 2000 LS model that was a misshapen Opel Vectra, and the hiddeous ION helped kill Saturn.
GM neglected the brand and by the time Saturn had a decent line of cars (Aura, Astra, Sky, and Vue) it was too late.
When you think about it, Saturn was the late and not at all great Roger Smith's dream to compete with Toyota and Honda via a separate brand because the Chevy was too expensive given its contracts with the loathsome and destructive UAW. Saturn was a separate corporation with a better UAW contract.
Chevrolet should have been all GM needed to fight Japanese competition considering that Chevys, Hondas, and Toyotas all fought for the same customers.
GM has been a mess for decades and the demise of Saturn is just another piece of GM to go down the drain.
Saturns are overpriced.
I knew Penske would walk away…He is not stupid.
iQuack, good post.
I still didn't buy a Saturn over a Honda in the very early 90's. They still weren't quality vehicles but the dealer service and experience was great.
When I was car shopping in 2003, I REALLY wanted to like the Saturn ION and test drove several of them. They weren't bad cars–good engines, etc., but the goofy hacked up exterior style and the child's playroom interior fittings were turnoffs. Braking and handling were OK. And the Saturn 5-speed automatic transmission used at the ION's introduction was better than Mazda's unresponsive 4-speed A/T that was in the all-new Mazda 6 with the 4 cylinder engine.
When I told a few friends that I might buy an ION, they just rolled their eyes and I got the point. Ended up with an early (August, '03) 2004 Honda Accord which has been excellent. But I did TRY to like the ill-fated ION as best I could.
Cars like the ugly 2000 LS model that was a misshapen Opel Vectra, and the hiddeous ION helped kill Saturn.
GM neglected the brand and by the time Saturn had a decent line of cars (Aura, Astra, Sky, and Vue) it was too late.
When you think about it, Saturn was the late and not at all great Roger Smith's dream to compete with Toyota and Honda via a separate brand because the Chevy was too expensive given its contracts with the loathsome and destructive UAW. Saturn was a separate corporation with a better UAW contract.
Chevrolet should have been all GM needed to fight Japanese competition considering that Chevys, Hondas, and Toyotas all fought for the same customers.
GM has been a mess for decades and the demise of Saturn is just another piece of GM to go down the drain.
Saturns are overpriced.
I knew Penske would walk away…He is not stupid.
iQuack, good post.
I still didn't buy a Saturn over a Honda in the very early 90's. They still weren't quality vehicles but the dealer service and experience was great.
When I was car shopping in 2003, I REALLY wanted to like the Saturn ION and test drove several of them. They weren't bad cars–good engines, etc., but the goofy hacked up exterior style and the child's playroom interior fittings were turnoffs. Braking and handling were OK. And the Saturn 5-speed automatic transmission used at the ION's introduction was better than Mazda's unresponsive 4-speed A/T that was in the all-new Mazda 6 with the 4 cylinder engine.
When I told a few friends that I might buy an ION, they just rolled their eyes and I got the point. Ended up with an early (August, '03) 2004 Honda Accord which has been excellent. But I did TRY to like the ill-fated ION as best I could.