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Originally Posted by Shawnee123
What do you guys think about Saturn?
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Saturn never made a profit. Saturn could sell every car made. But to make a profit, Saturn needed a second assembly line. GM said they could not have that second assembly line until they made a profit. Catch-22.
So Saturn sold out to GM about a decade ago. Saturn had to accept cars designed by GM corporate. That included moving production to GM assembly plants such as in Delaware to share assembly with other GM products. It is another GM car just like Chevy.
Astra is not on Consumer Reports recommended list. However it does have one redeeming quality. It has a 70 horsepower per liter engine meaning that the engine probably does not come from GM North America.
Saturn's reliability (by brand) is one of the lowest with Land Rover, Chrysler, and Cadillac. Those reliability numbers are contrary to popular myth. Do you want the image - or reliable transportation? The only Saturn considered reasonable is the Outlook.
Note the difference between those with perception verses real world experience. Above is what we know when divorced from emotion and spin. What we don't know is what will happen to Saturn (and your Saturn dealer) in the future. Saturn will continue to buy their products from GM's manufacturing plants because Saturn had to surrender independence to survive. Saturn had to let GM control its product line and who actually makes the cars. It’s still the same GM assembly plants that also make other unreliable GM cars. We still don't know what will happen to Saturn - and its dealers.
Best cars for value: Honda Accord, Civic and hybrid, Fit, Hyundai Elantra and Sonata, Toyota Corolla, Prius, and Camray Hybrid. It’s not just the sticker price. These are the cars that also cost less after five years of paying for everything.
In a list of best value, not one Saturn makes the list. Of 300 vehicles, Consumer Reports recommended 55. Of the 12 in Astra's category, Astra was near the bottom alongside Chrysler's PT Cruiser, Chevy HHR, and Dodge Caliber. Even the Pontiac Vibe got a better rating.
Whereas the Astra is too new to make the list, other Saturns of various years including Ion, Vue, Outlook, Relay, and Sky made the list of used cars to avoid. And still some will recommend Saturn products? On what? Image? Promise?
Listed were manufacturers to talk to. No matter how large that sticker price may appear, those are cars that traditionally cost you less money and headaches.
What will happen to your Saturn dealer once Saturn is sold off to become some other automaker? The obvious choices are well proven by history AND because those automakers continued to innovate.
Let's see. The GM service rep arrives at a dealer to reimburse for defects in new GM cars. Tire pressure measures off by 2 PSI. The entire warranty was voided on that trivial problem. What happens to your Saturn warranties? GM dealers get stuck with the costs. So your dealer will do everything necessary to avoid honoring that warranty. Just another fact that does not exist where cars earned their reputation - are not recommended on perception and emotion.