I had a lot of experience with Saturns, I owned an SL1, one friend had an SL1 which he traded in for a VUE, and another friend had an SC2. I had a chance to drive all of them on long road trips.
I absolutely loved them, I only sold my SL1 because I didn’t need a car. I wonder if they’d gone into EV and/or hybrid vehicles if they’d survived.
They went defunct in 2010 and I rarely see any on the road. An occasional Sky every once in a while, but that’s it. They don’t seem to age well.
I think they are boring cars for people that think Corollas are just too radically designed for them. For people that think cars are only for transportation, and don’t see a difference between a car and a bus. “They get me where I want to go. and that’s all I care about.”
But they were reliable as heck.
I’ve owned a few. And currently own a 2007 Ion. Last winter I replaced the cylinder head on it. Wasn’t too bad of a job, surprisingly. The Ecotec engine is bad-ass.
I wasn’t ever in a position to buy a new (or used) car when they went defunct. My most enduring memory of them these days is the 1999 commercial of the kid playing a sousaphone when his mom pulls up in a “3-door coupe” and he uses the third door to put the instrument away. Dunno why that sticks with me.
I bought one in 1999 because I was still a fairly new car owner and I liked the idea of a non-haggle, high-service dealership.
I would rate the car as a C-minus. Felt like a cheap plastic car, lots of road noise. The transmission crapped out after 8 years or so. The upholstery and ceiling liner started falling apart at the 9 year mark.
It was OK for what it was, but I was glad to get rid of it. There is nothing about the “different kind of car company” that made it worthwhile. The Saturn is the car that finally set me off American cars for good. I only buy Japanese now.
That sousaphone commercial is pretty cool. I’d forgotten it.
The people I knew who owned them seemed to like them, but they apparently didn’t buy enough of them to keep the company in business.
Test drove a couple in 1995 because a coworker (and friend) was absolutely in love with hers. I thought they felt cheap and “plasticky” somehow.
I almost bought a Ford Probe and ended up in an Acura Integra. So my taste and judgement in cars at that age were somewhat suspect 
I owned a 1995 SL1 from 2000-2014. It was actually a college graduation present; I didn’t buy it myself, but it probably is the sort of car I would have bought at that time in my life. Which is to say it was an inexpensive, basic transportation car.
The positives – it was pretty reliable. And it got amazing fuel economy. On cool days when I didn’t need the air conditioner I was able to get 40 mpg on the highway.
Negatives – echoing what @Mighty_Mouse said about the interiors feeling “plasticy”, the “fit and finish” didn’t seem as good as its Japanese competitors. Parts of the interior would make annoying rattles. The engine was kinda noisy and acceleration was leisurely (although I test drove an SW2 with the twin cam engine; it was noticeably more powerful). My biggest annoyance was that after I moved to California it kept failing the state’s biannual smog check, which was what finally motivated me to replace it (with a 2009 Corolla).
I never owned one, but my daughter has had two. Both were pieces of crap. To be fair, both were used vehicles. Still!
I had a 94 SL1. Great car and I kept it for 18 years. Had to sell it when it rusted out and couldn’t pass inspection.
Bought a second one around 2000 or so. I’d still be driving it if a tree hadn’t fallen on it.
It was everything a car should be: dependable, economical, and the only car I owned that was fun to drive. The '94 was also a good-looking car – distinctive and sharp. I was disappointed when they moved away from it.
I had two of them and loved them both. Drove each one to 200K+ miles. (I lived in the country then and worked in town.) If they still made them, I’d have bought another one.
Drove Mom’s 2000-something for a few years after we took away her license. Piece of crap. The only reason I drove it instead of my truck was that refilling/servicing my truck A/C was going to cost cash I didn’t have and the A/C in the Ion worked.
Which is deeply ironic because Saturn was formed specifically to prove that an American car company could successfully compete with the Japanese by making cars that were as good or better. Many analysts considered the whole Saturn initiative to be Roger Smith’s personal vanity project and that it was very poorly conceived from a business standpoint – the article below is typical of such criticism. However, a great many Saturn owners apparently really loved their cars. But ultimately the whole failed experiment cost GM an enormous amount of money and left them in a much weaker competitive position.
As for personal experiences, the only experiences I’ve had with Saturn was when my mechanic occasionally had one available as a loaner. I don’t recall what model it was but my impression of it was that it was a functional but cheap shitbox. The only good thing about it was that it was transportation while my own car was in the shop.
Interesting article. When I bought the Saturn, I’d first gone to the Honda dealer looking for a Civic, but they treated me like dirt, I was in my early 20s but still.
I carpooled with a coworker who had a couple of them. They were riddled with mystery fit and fair rattles and noises everywhere, the days, the trunk, under the seats, there was no where without rattle and buzz
I got an SL2 in 1992, and it was a great car. It looked good enough that the teen age kid next door was impressed. The buying experience was great also.
Then, uin 1996, when my wife was driving it, a guy ran a red light and plowed right into the driver’s side door. That car was built well - she spent an hour in the emergency room being checked over and could leave. My insurance guy said it was the worst damage he had ever seen that someone walked away from.
So I of course bought another on. That year the styling wasn’t nearly as cool and the dealer, a different one, was bleah. It did last 16 years and over 150,000 miles though.
GM did kill it, and made it just like any other car. And it was cursed - Tom Peters featured it in a book, and any company he used as a good example crashed and burned soon afterwards.
I bought an SW2 in the early 90s. It was a very serviceable car, only had one major repair over the 7-8 years I owned it. Some buzzing, but no more or less than my Honda or Subaru. Not great in the snow, but I didn’t have the best snow tires on it. Extremely practical car for me.
Not the greatest power or handling, but I wasn’t really looking for that in a car. I’ve had two Subarus since then, both Outback wagons, because I needed the clearance and AWD, but the Saturn started my love of small wagons.
We bought a 2002 5 speed manual SL1 used, when the gas in the wife’s Jeep was killing us on her commute of over 130 miles a day. The gas savings made the payment and we came out ahead. We still have the car and it’s great for long trips where it still gets 35+ MPG and the plastic body looks exactly the same today as it did then. It’s very basic, but has always gotten us from A to B.