# GM is shutting down Saturn **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220 "2009-10-01T10:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/21 "2009-10-02T04:09:59Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I suspect the only reason GM keeps Buick around is that it is popular in China. Seriously? I really am asking seriously as someone who’s Father In Law was with GM in Singapore and drove a Holden, so I didn’t know Buick was well known there. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/22 "2009-10-02T04:29:36Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Don’t forget Buick which fits in there somewhere. I still don’t understand why Pontiac and Saturn are eliminated before Buick. I mean…I personally see far more new Pontaics and Saturns driving around, but maybe it’s just this part of the country? I guess they probably sell well in Florida, what with all the old people? Or in the mid-west, where there’s room to have a large car? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/23 "2009-10-02T05:07:22Z")
God dammit. First Pluto, now this? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/24 "2009-10-02T05:23:44Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Seriously? I really am asking seriously as someone who’s Father In Law was with GM in Singapore and drove a Holden, so I didn’t know Buick was well known there. [In China, Buick bucks the trend](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12801549/ns/nightly_news_with_brian_williams/) GM brand is No. 1 car seller in China, thanks to smart marketing Now, that story is a few years old, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that Buick was still strong there. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/25 "2009-10-02T14:10:37Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > God dammit. First Pluto, now this? The real trouble will be when production targets aren’t met by Uranus. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/26 "2009-10-02T14:17:52Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I raised the question before: the Saturn ASTRA is an Opel built car, ade in the Opel factory in Belgium. The company that is buying Opel is now trying to close all of the Opel plants outside Germany (tey made a deal with the German government). Does this mean the Astra owner is screwed? Gettig parts may become a huge problem, and resale value will drop like a rock. > I am pretty sad, because I have always owned Saturns-they were very good cars for me (never had a problem with them). > [@Telemark](#): > > Cars sold in the US have to have a reasonable stockpile of parts available to avoid this problem. I’m fairly sure it’s federal law, but a quick search didn’t turn up a reference. Any help out there? > > My 1997 Saturn SW2 was a good car, but not a great car. I’ve had a few better cars in my day but I was happy with my purchase. Drove it for 130,000 miles but it had some issues. The Magnuson-Moss Act protects the consumer in relation to the vehicle warranty. You go out can buy a new Saturn Astra right now and it will have a 5 year 100,000 transferable powertrain warranty. Plus the 3 year 36,000 bumper to bumper. GM has said that Saturn can be serviced at any GM dealership if/when the saturn dealership network folds. > [@crazyjoe](#): > > Yes, when it first formed, saturn had cars that no one else at GM had. SL1, SL2, SC1, SC2, and a mid-sized car they produced for a while. > > Now, the models are as follows: > Saturn Aura = Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Malibu > **Saturn Vue = Pontiac Torrent, Chevrolet Equinox** > Saturn Outlook = GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave > Saturn Sky = Pontiac Solstice > Saturn Astra = Opel Astra > > They basically took the place of the now-defunct Oldsmobile, cars slightly more high-end than Chevy/Pontiac, but lower-end than Caddilac. The current Saturn VUE is actually closer to the Opel Antara. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/27 "2009-10-02T15:32:22Z")
So what are they going to do with all of the moons? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/28 "2009-10-02T15:35:57Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > So what are they going to do with all of the moons? Uranus should be able to take them all. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/29 "2009-10-02T15:50:19Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I still don’t understand why Pontiac and Saturn are eliminated before Buick. I mean…I personally see far more new Pontaics and Saturns driving around, but maybe it’s just this part of the country? I guess they probably sell well in Florida, what with all the old people? Or in the mid-west, where there’s room to have a large car? If my memory serves, Buick also has excellent customer satisfaction in the U.S. Sorry, no cite. Frankly, I’d rather see Saturn remain. I rented an Opel Astra twice in Europe and absolutely loved it! It was quick, tight, somewhat heavy steering (as it should be). Just a really sweet little car. Too bad Opel (have they been sold?) couldn’t buy Saturn and use it as a foot into the American market. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/30 "2009-10-02T16:10:03Z")
If Magna and Sberbank manage to pull off the purchase of Opel, maybe they will. I keep seeing the Magna/Sberbank buyout presented as a done deal, but then later there’s always some kind of uncertainty, so I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/31 "2009-10-02T18:41:02Z")
> [@Keweenaw](#): > > The current Saturn VUE is actually closer to the Opel Antara. Then so are the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent. the point is that they are all badge engineered and have no “uniqueness” to them at all, unlike the original saturns which had the plastic body panels, etc. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/32 "2009-10-02T18:53:23Z")
So is Saturn returning their rings now that the engagement is off? I own two Saturns (1993 & 1999) so this is bad news. I’ve already started going to a local mechanic for repairs, which actually is a bit more convenient than the dealership. They’re still running fine (at 150K and 90K) and getting over 30 mpg. We haven’t thought about replacing them yet; we couldn’t get anything better, even factoring in the additional expense of repairs of our current cars. But Saturn got screwed by GM, who resented the brand and who decided to go with SUVs. After Roger Smith left, no one cared enough to do what was needed to keep it a success. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220/33 "2009-10-02T19:44:24Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Sigh… The deal with Penske fell through. Another one bites the dust. Pretty soon well be down to 1 electric go-cart powered by Ed Begley Jr’s own sense of self-satisfaction. That bites. I love my Saturn. It’s one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gm-is-shutting-down-saturn/512220.md?page=1)