"Maybe we were led to expect too much." Even on the first page of the first test of GM's all-new Saturn in our November 1990 issue, the sense of disappointment was palpable. For years, we'd been told Saturn would be a wondercar built in a factory of the future, something that would show the world Detroit could build a better small car than the Japanese for less money. GM boss Roger B.
The Saturn name was first attached to the project in July 1982, and although the logo later created for the division was an abstraction of the planet and its rings, the name was originally a reference to the Saturn V rocket, which had helped America beat Russia to the moon. In the context of an American automaker that had been losing market share to the Japanese, it was an obvious metaphor.
To be fair, the first Saturns, particularly in the SL2 sedan and SC2 coupe versions powered by the 124-hp, 122-lb-ft twin-cam engine, were not bad cars. We praised their performance, handling, and poised ride, the latter of which was a cut above those of Japanese rivals. But rear headroom in the sedan was surprisingly tight, and the long-stroke 1.
"I don't know who is the father of Saturn around here," Smith had said when he announced the founding of Saturn Corporation in January 1985."I think all of us are promoting it and pushing it. I've been hot for it, but I'm not going to tell you that I started it, because that wouldn't be true." Without Smith, though, Saturn would have just remained an idea.