“A New Kind of Car Company,” so boasted GM’s newest division, Saturn, back in 1990. It was also one of GM’s shortest-lived companies, only making it about twenty years before the great carcalypse of 2009 sealed its fate. Today’s find, a 1996 Saturn SL2, courtesy of Curvette, is an example we have rarely covered here on BF, so let’s take a look at it and see if Saturn’s claim of being a different kind of car company rings true. Shoreline, Washington, is where you’ll find this plastic-slabbed compact, and it’s available here on craigslist for $4,995.
“It coulda been a contenda,” and for a while, Saturn was. The brand distanced itself from GM, was sold at a fixed price – no dickering, used plastic body panels (light weight and ease of replacement), and it even had its own powerplant – not shared with other GM divisions. The initial S-Series sold extremely well, but then things started to trail off. In ’96, the first-gen S-series was replaced with the second-gen, such as our subject car, and some of that Saturn-unique look was lost, leaving us with a generic-looking compact with cross-eyed daytime running lights. Still, Saturn moved 279K units in ’96 with 185K being SL1s or SL2s – pretty darn good! Other models followed, such as the L-series, ION, and of course, the Sky roadster. Early-2000s labor-relations problems steered Saturn back into the mainstream GM fold, and the General’s 2008 bankruptcy forced a game of musical chairs that excluded the Saturn brand. A deal to offload the brand to Roger Penske was pulled together, but problems sourcing engines put the kibosh on any Saturn future. Model year 2009 saw the last of Saturn production – an unfortunate turn of events. I liked the Aura and thought it would be a big sales success, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Our 60 K-mile subject is certainly clean; it appears to have been gently used and stored/parked properly. The listing doesn’t go into any detail, so the images have to do the talking. The surprising thing for me is that I can’t recall the last time I saw one of these out and about. Sure, it’s 30 years old, but I haven’t spied a much newer Saturn in as long a time; I think a Vue was my last sighting, and that was quite a while ago. Styling is always subjective, but I’d put this Saturn’s bearing in the innocuous and inconspicuous category.
A 100 net HP, 1.9 liter, four-cylinder “Saturn” engine powers this sedan, and it drives the front wheels via a four-speed automatic transaxle. The seller claims, “RUNS EXCELLENT,” that’s nice to know; unfortunately, the engine compartment picture was taken too far away, and details are not observable.
The interior images, also lacking closeups, reveal a clean beige, leather-upholstered environment. I questioned the leather claim, but it was, in fact, an option on SL2 models. If you review the several provided interior images and string them together, it paints a pretty good picture of an overall interior in sound condition and needing nothing.
Well, there you have it. I’m not sure what the likely market for a car like this is, and I don’t have a feel for the price; these just don’t trade very often. Some dead-brands-rolling do well, and others, not so much so. Regardless, there’s usually a beehind for every seat, and I imagine this Saturn will find one. OK, that’s all I got.
Nice find. In todays economy this is indeed a pretty good car with decent gas mileage and a lot of life left in it. They are asking ALL the money for it but try finding something in that price range with that kind of miles – you’d be hard pressed! I would drive it for a few years to save some cash if need be.
These were nice cars which fell victim to GM’s marketing and brand identity collapse Over time, GM stripped these unique elements, forcing Saturn to share parts and designs with other GM brands, which diluted its appeal. The were going to be sold off to Nissan at one point via the Penske Automotive Group but that deal went south.
Anyway – still a nice car for under $5000