Thank you for sharing that. Yesterday, I traded in my old Volvo 960 for a brand-new ION. I then read this thread. 
According to the Saturn Moichandizing, the offset cluster gives a more unobstructed view of the road, and in theory, you don’t have to glance as far down to check your speed, taking your eyes off the road, glancing to the side, you still see the road in your peripheral vision
wheter it actually works, or is just sales BS remains to be seen… it certainly didn’t work in my case…
Clothahump, make sure you give yourself a lot of time to adjust to the offset cluster, don’t want you to test out the functionality of the Saturn spaceframe yourself, I already tested it out myself and it does work…
That was the first thing I noticed!! Repeatedly!!
Yeah, it’s going to take some getting used to.
You should definitely write to the maufacturers and say that you feel the offset contributed to the accident. Every piece of data is important.
Well, considering that GM has retired the Ion platform (2007/2008 is the last year for the Ion model) I’m not sure if it’d do any good, all the new Saturns appear to have the cluster relocated back behind the steering wheel, where it should be
the thing is, I was starting to get used to the offset cluster, and it was muscle memory that caused the accident
I like the polymer body panel/spaceframe design of the Ion, all the new Saturns use conventional sheetmetal over the spaceframe
That’s how it worked out for my wife and me. We both adjusted instantly to the cluster placement. It makes so much more sense than the old way.
Well, I returned the MediocreMobile Malibu rental, and I’m back in my zippy little Ion, still adjusting to the offset cluster, but it’s not as bad as the last time as I drove it (obviously, considering I didn’t hit anyone this time )
the Ion has the same 2.2L Ecotec Four as the MediocreMobile, but due to a much lighter body weight, and a manual transmission, the Ion feels at least twice to three times as powerful as the Malibu, which was a slug with barely enough power to get out of it’s own way
oh, and the repair is completely undetectable, you can’t even tell it was missing the front fender and drivers door skin, no shaking, no shimmying, it tracks dead-straight and carves corners with aplomb
I spoke with the bodyshop owner, discussing acceptable weld gaps and such (the official Saturn measurement is 3MM max), he said he doesn’t agree with the 3MM gap measurement, so he aligns the frame to 1-2MM
it’s entirely possible that the car is in better shape than off the showroom, it’s at least as good as stock
Glad to hear you’ve got your own car back. Much nicer having something that runs like you’re used to – renting that Mal-a-boo-boo was all swell, but it’s nice putting miles on something you like.
True, but I’m beginning to think either I, or the Ion is cursed…
Tonight, around 8 PM, an elderly driver almost turned into me, both our cars were first at the intersection, I was in the right-hand-turn lane, she was in the straight-across lane, she apparently decided she wanted to occupy the same physical location as me, while I was still there, the moron almost ran into my car, luckilly, I was able to zip off into my lane before her two remaining braincells gave her the warning message of CAR!
the little grandmotherly woman looked right at me, with a placid, clueless, almost bovine expression, a quick glare in her direction and a turn onto the main road kept my just-repaired Ion from suffering yet another collision…
sigh I must be cursed here…
Oh, and given all the things my Ion has been through in her short, but memorable lifespan, I feel she deserves a name…
I dub her…
PHOENIX!
reborn from the ashes of the collision, ready to faithfully give me many miles of fun, trouble-free driving pleasure!
Viva La Phoenix!
Something siimilar was my scariest almost wreck ever - I looked at this woman looking at me and calmly moving her car over right where mine was. Thankfully the driver on my left saw what was going on and sped up so I could get over. Thanks watchful driver!
Well, after some driving in the Ion, just for the heck of it tonight, I’m beginning to figure out my likes and dislikes, no vehicle is perfect, there’s always room for improvement…
Likes;
It’s just plain fun to drive, it’s zippy, it has decent handling (the Neon still had slightly better handling), and just has a lot of “presence”, it loves to run
It has a far better turning circle than the Neon, lock-to-lock I can maneuver in much tighter spaces
It has a nice, growly tone in the passenger compartment under hard acceleration, and this is the basic, mid-level Ion-2
the Ecotec 2.2 has a good amount of torque off the line, and pulls well in any gear
I’m actually starting to like the offset cluster, it’s in line with the sideview mirrors heightwise, and sits conveniently above the radio and HVAC controls, giving the Ion a much cleaner, more organized “center stack”
the offset cluster allows me to position the steering wheel for comfort, without compromising gauge visibility
Researching the fuel mileage numbers on a saturn vehicle fansite, Ion drivers have reported up to 40 MPG when driving conservatively, generally, combined mileage is typically in the mid-high 30’s (35-38ish), the closer to 40 I can get, the happier I’ll be
the number of high mileage Ions (200K+) on that fansite is heartening, the Ecotec powerplant seems to be a strong, long running motor
Dislikes;
If I drive it like I think I’m going to be driving it, aggresively up to the speed limit, I forsee my fuel mileage being unimpressive
the performance handling could be better, it’s a little “twitchy” in high speed corners, there’s a hairpin corner I go around coming home from work, very tight-radius turn, the Neon could take the turn at 50 MPH with no complaints, no howling tires, the rear of the car would slide out slightly, slowly, and controllably, solid, predictable handling, the Ion started to get twitchy at around 43 MPH, so I backed off due to unfamiliarity with it’s high-speed handling
the steering feel is somewhat dead, it’s not as dead as I thought it was during the test drive, but the Neon had better road feel through the steering wheel, there’s too much “damping” in the Ion’s Electric-Power-Assist system, wonder if pulling the fuse and going back to unassisted steering would increase roadfeel?
the headlight output and beam pattern is unsatisfactory, the first upgrade, Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, hopefully, they’ll add a bit of brightness, the stock headlamps are a tad too yellow, a clear sign of underdriven bulbs
overall, the Ion is a step up in every way from the Neon, but I do miss the “connectedness” with the road I felt with the Neon, the Neon was a simple, brutish car, but there was charm in it’s simplicity, the Ion is slightly more “polished”, but it feels a tad too refined for my tastes, all I need is four wheels, an engine, a seat, and steering wheel and I’m happy
…it goes without saying that my Dream Car, if money was no object, would be an Ariel Atom for nice clear days and nights, and a Dodge Viper for those times that I want an enclosed passenger compartment
something like a Caddilac is the antithesis of driving to me, I don’t want to be steering a couch around, for Og’s sake, I want to DRIVE