The whole situation just simply doesn't sound right. It just seems the whole thing has been mismanaged since it was initially done.

*They created a car that did wonders at capturing import buyers, then they starved it for a decade.

*The create a new small car chassis, give Saturn the 1st version of it, then cover it in quirky styling, cheap materials, and an interior that IMHO is one of the worse styled interiors on the market.

*They know a huge probem with Saturn has been that it's customers grow out of them, yet the only other GM division with cars that had vehicles that could completely fill the bill, and whose cars still had a bit of life to them (Oldsmobile) was simply removed from the face of the planet.

*The Saturn L under it's skin is a car Opel is selling in Europe, yet for all the money GM-North America spent redoing the car for production here, while OK looking, is inferior to the car it's based on in quality, materials, & in just my opinion, design.

*The division has never made money, yet GM is ready to pump billions more into it.

GM-NA should gather a group of Opel people here, give them a factory or 2, stick them with the Saturn people, give them a budget and a mandate to make Opels here of the same quality as in Germany for Saturn (similar in concept to what is happening with another car division), then back off. What made Saturn an initial success was that GM kept a hands off policy (which probally also prompted GM to ignore it in the 90s) and Saturn developed it's own identity.

 

Just a little info for ya. I work in the service dept at the Saturn dealership in Sioux Falls SD. Were selling the sh*t out of the Ions! I didn't think they would go over that well but we've sold quite a few. I do like the centered insturment panel. It takes a little getting used to but its actually kinda nice. I actually wouldnt mind driving an L car. They're roomy and they ride pretty good. The v6's got some snap too!

 

Guion, I agree. They should stick some SAAB guys in with the Chevy guys, too. That 9-3 sport is a damn nice looking car and it, unlike GMNA cars, comes with a turbo which GM needs to incorporate into their Delta lineup if they want to be successful in entering into the sport-compact area aside from their amazing 1320' Summit Racing car.

 

While the poorly designed cloth interior in the Ions make the car look cheap but the leather seats in the Ion Quad-Coupe look way more up scale and especially the white-faced gauges on the Quadcoupe-3. I personally like te Ion's Center IP because its different.

A fully loaded Ion QC with leather, sunroof, abs, side airbags, power everything, CVT, 16 alloy inch wheels, Cd, and etc sells for under $19,000 and this is before your choice of either a $2,000 rebate or 0% financing for 5 years. Saturn dealers are even giving an additional $500 rebate over and above the norm too.

 

Memo to Saturn:

CHANGE OR DIE!

 

Check out these picks of the Quad-coupe's gray and black leather interior @ http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/sho...00&ppuser=5977

The more I see it the more I like it

 

The steering wheel looks like something out of a bumper car.

 

This may have already been adressed in a previous post but I have one question. What was the reason for putting the gauges in the center? It just seems to me like it would distract the driver.

 

I agree that the Ion steering wheel does look like it belongs in a bumber-car but since you dont have to look through it to see the gauges it works. I think the ion interior looks best in the gray and black leather and the dark color doesnt make the bump-car steering wheel stand out as much as the tan interior.

All things considered I think the ion Quad-coupe is one of the best cars out for around $18,000 (before rebates) and the rear access doors are a great feature.
In the next couple week Im going to order a loaded Red QC to be delivered in about 6-8 weeks to use as my daily driver and keep my 94 Z28 as my weekend racer.

Saturn has its issues but Im willing to look over most of them and focus on the real strengths of the brand and their great service.

The fact the Ion are still made in the USA doesnt hurt either.

 

So they get away with the stupid steering wheel because they totally screwed the pooch on the gauge placement?!? I can't think of a single successful application, automotive or otherwise, where it was considered a good idea to take essential information and place it outside of one's line of sight. One would think that Saturn would have learned from the skewering that Toyota took over the Echo's same mistake.

So's the Corolla and Civic

 

My thoughts exactly!

 

Some Toyotas and Civics are assembled in the US with Japanese, Chinese, and American parts but the profits from those cars get funneled back to Japan and not the US.

I actually like the Center IP in the Ion and especially this one tricked out in Carbon fiber http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/att...?postid=202025

The complaints about the center gauges in the Ion usually come from people who havent driven the car. Even most racing tachs are placed on the right hand side of the dash near the center , which ironically happens to be the same place where the Ion gauges are

 

I gotta admit, that's a good looking version of the dashboard. But the overal design of the interior feels cheap.

I know I'm wrong in this, because we are talking about 2 entirely different markets and price levels here, but like Chuck, I really like the Saab 9-3's interior, and because it's structurally the same car sold here under a Chevy, Saturn or Pontiac banner, it should have the same feel of quality, which looking at the interior of a Ion, it doesn't.

 

Three things that you will see unbelievably quickly (AS IN IMMEDIATELY!), on the Ion.

1) Revised exterior

2) Revised interior

3) IP moved to left side

You can bet on it.

 

Those improvements would most likely not show up until the 2006 model year which could be introduced early in April 2005 as an 06 at the soonest.

The Saab 9-3 is a real nice car but since its priced between $26,000-33,000 its really in a completely different league and should have better interior for that price. http://www.carsdirect.com/build/opti...&restore=false