![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
history....
Feb. 18th, 2009 10:00 amThe not so long history of Saturn...
This brand came on the scene in 1991, I can recall seeing the first one at a display at a local charity event bike ride. I had my first opportunity to drive one in 1995 as my sister had a sedan and I accompanied her and her husband when we drove to visit my niece in Northern California. In 1998 I leased my first Saturn, as I was going through a divorce and needed a reliable car. I had that sedan for only 18 months when I 'traded' up to a 2000 Saturn Coupe which was taken on many a road trip including a 2 week marathon drive from California to Maine and back. My next was a Saturn Vue, 2004, which I bought. I still own this Saturn. Unfortunately Saturn may become part of history. Part of the GM restructuring includes the death of Saturn in 2012.
That is too bad, as this car made history in many ways. It was the first to use plastic body panels in large numbers. It was a joint effort between labor (U.A.W.) and GM. It was manufactured outside Detroit, in a
new plant in Tennessee. It had a loyal owner base, and the 'homecoming' was a big event when thousands of Saturns returned to the factory for a bbq and reunion. The dealers were different, no pressure, a fixed price,
a higher level of service. Owners clinics were a common sight in the service department, as they taught people to do their own maintenance.
I'm sad to see the brand and spirit go away. It should have been the model of how a car company should be run, but instead is becomes the victim of a corporate culture that is reluctant to change.
This brand came on the scene in 1991, I can recall seeing the first one at a display at a local charity event bike ride. I had my first opportunity to drive one in 1995 as my sister had a sedan and I accompanied her and her husband when we drove to visit my niece in Northern California. In 1998 I leased my first Saturn, as I was going through a divorce and needed a reliable car. I had that sedan for only 18 months when I 'traded' up to a 2000 Saturn Coupe which was taken on many a road trip including a 2 week marathon drive from California to Maine and back. My next was a Saturn Vue, 2004, which I bought. I still own this Saturn. Unfortunately Saturn may become part of history. Part of the GM restructuring includes the death of Saturn in 2012.
That is too bad, as this car made history in many ways. It was the first to use plastic body panels in large numbers. It was a joint effort between labor (U.A.W.) and GM. It was manufactured outside Detroit, in a
new plant in Tennessee. It had a loyal owner base, and the 'homecoming' was a big event when thousands of Saturns returned to the factory for a bbq and reunion. The dealers were different, no pressure, a fixed price,
a higher level of service. Owners clinics were a common sight in the service department, as they taught people to do their own maintenance.
I'm sad to see the brand and spirit go away. It should have been the model of how a car company should be run, but instead is becomes the victim of a corporate culture that is reluctant to change.
