Saturn dead
 

Saturn dead:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33107120/ns/business-autos/

No surprise there. With GM loosing control of Opel, who builds most if not all of Saturn's cars, their supply of new vehicles is uncertain at best. Penske would only be buying a name, and not a very good name at that.

I thought this was going to be about the planet. I was sad when I thought the planet had died. Not at all about the car company.

Damnit!! That is the last time I rip off all my clothes and run through the streets screaming "WE'RE DOOMED, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!" based on a thread title.

Wow, some people really love their cars.

Shoulda killed it off years ago. That division has lost money every year since it's inception.

shoulda called it neo geo.






























oh that was taken? :lol

the saturn car company? no loss. if anything GM GAINED something by axing them.

I always hated those awful cars.

1 of them...Astra

RIP Saturn...the best company I've ever worked for...1994-2001.

And the Aura.

Both good cars, ironically enough.

and both opel/vauxhals iirc. Doesnt mean they cant tuck em under the chevy lineup. Id be more upset about the solstice and sky roadsters. I really cant imagine them not rebadging those at least

Same here

Maybe the G8, solstice and sky can be reborn as a Buick (since thats one of the few lines that seemed to make the cut?!?!)

I won't miss them.

I like the little Saturn Sky Turbo...cool looking little car.

i have a really hard time seeing the sky as a buick. g8 could work though, maybe take a page from caddy's v line and toss on a supercharger, then they could call it grand national.

Sorry, Opel seems to design almost all of them and builds some of them.

Vue = Opel Antara
Sky = Opel GT
Aura = Opel Vectra
Astra = Opel Astra

The Outlook is the only one that isn't also an Opel.

The Sky is a US design that was sent to Europe, not the other way around, and the Vue is a Daewoo design. Only the Astra and Aura are Opel designs.

The Sky is the Pontiac Soltice
The Vue is the Pontiac Torrent
The Aura is the Pontiac G6.
The Outlook is the GMC Acadia

I'm not sure if the Saturn models were designed by GM or Opel but either way those cars are redundant and we don't need them.

No it's not, it's an Opel Vectra...totally different car.

Come on, people...

It has a different engine, different sheet metal, and different interior but other than that its a G6 platform.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/au...aturnaura.html

I don't know that I'd be happy with any modern interpretation of the Grand National.
Those are some big shoes to fill even in the best of times.

And as for the Sky/Solstice, I really like those.
Pretty much the only sexy car to wear the Saturn badge... umm.. EVER?

Granted, it's getting off the topic of Saturn, but I'm really pissed that there won't be another year of the Solstice Coupe. One of those in GXP form sounds like such fun.

Yeah, it's amazing that GM designs such a cool car, and then kills both of the divisions that make it.

Let's hope it is resurrected as a Chevy.

GM has a history of doing that... a couple of examples:

The GNX - The ultimate form of the already outrageous Grand National. Made only in 1987, because they killed the whole turbo Regal concept after that run.

The 96 Impala SS - It already had power, style, and the attention of tuners like Callaway...and they finally gave it a console shifter! But nope... it had to go.

There are probably a good few more, but those two spring to mind.

Anyone see the new SHO?? Twins and a New design...I kinda like it.

The Aura was built on GM's Global Epsilon platform. It originated in Europe, but was redone in the states. I wouldn't call it the Vectra.

The Astra OTOH, is pretty much untouched from its European Opel Astra.

The Outlook is a rebadged Acadia.

The Vue is made by GM's Korean division Daewoo.

Sky is a Solstice rebadged.

Saturn lost its drive after 1998 when GM started to take it over.

Even though Saturn lost money each year, the money it lost was low in comparison to say GM's Cobalt or Ford's Focus. There is no OEM in the U.S that can engineer and manufacture a car under 15k and make a profit, without the aid of larger upscale vehicles. If you look at the Japanese cars, the cheap ones are predominantly made in foreign countries, whereas their trucks and midsize sedans here.


Saturn gave GM many many leading edge processes when it came to the dealership, service and parts aspect of the buisness. Saturn was the first to offer "Certified Used Cars", now used almost entirely by each OEM. Their Service Parts Operations and plant part on-time was the best in the industry in the 1990s. Their lean manufacturing and the use of the lost foam technology helped GM produce the variants of the 2.2 and 2.4L ECOTec.

Shoulda kept Olds.......the Aurora, Intrigue, and Alero were decent cars

saturn who? lol

good idea , went to pot.

Yeah kind of like the Impala SS...it just isn't the same as the one from the 90's...which may a good thing but some people really liked them.

The Solstice Coupe I like quite a bit and hate to see it go and yes a GXP version would probably be sweet.


*edit* Well right after I posted this I see you mentioned the Impala SS in your next post...oh well. :lol:

I had a 2001 alero and it didn't go 40,000 miles before the electrical system gave out just after my crappy warranty expired. TOTAL POS with horrible gas mileage.

:td:

I drove an Intrigue for the last few years, what a lemon. That car always had somehing wrong with it, and nothing you could chalk up to wear and tear. I regret ever buying it.

Saturn:

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/up...-aura-xe-2.jpg

Opel:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07...pel-vectra.jpg

^^^...Yes the Vectra is GM's Global Epsilon platform. Opel used it first.

Yeah. I've seen all of them over here in Germany as their opel counterparts. Look identical except the badging.

For those that still think the Astra was an American build, go get a first year Saturn Astra. Still has European Radio, European turn signals and parking indicators.

We call them lesbians.

Well the local Saturn/Saab/Isuzu shop down the street has closed its doors. I guess that the guy who parked out there 5 times a week, with "Saturn won't fix this car" painted on the side in house paint, will have to find somewhere else to spend his nights.