Saturn burst onto the automotive scene more than five years ago with some revolutionary ideas: sell a reliable American-made car to
Toyota and
Honda devotees and sell it to them in a kind and gentle manner. Guess what? It is working.
But the product they created was anything but revolutionary. In-stead, Saturn cars were affordable, reliable appliances. Changes over the ensuing years have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and that continues to be the case in 1995.
Entering its third year, the
Saturn station wagon's exterior has not changed since its introduction. Far from homely, it's simply plain - despite a slight touch of sportiness.
Saturn aptly describes its wagon as a sedan with a backpack - a backpack that adds only 50 lb. to its weight. For the target audience, plain is OK. Sometimes, reliable and affordable transportation is more important than a snazzy appearance.
Despite the make's ordinary look, many Saturn owners remain passionate about their cars. After all, more than 30,000 of them from across the country showed up in Saturn's birthplace of Spring Hill, Tennessee, last June to attend Saturn's giant homecoming. Owners gushed with testimonials about their cars and their car-buying experiences.
One attendee related the tale of rear-ending another motorist who had hit a deer. The state trooper on the scene said it would be impossible to drive the badly damaged Saturn home, but the attendee did - and testified at the homecoming that the car was repaired with no differences in appearance or performance.
Part of the reason for that remarkable recovery is due to the fact that Saturn uses body panels made of sheet-molded compound, a plastic material that wards off dents. It is a great feature for a vehicle that spends a lot of time at the supermarket where parking-lot dents are the daily fare.
