My brother and I rode in a Saturn SL2

[Father Of Giants]

It was the 1st gen. Well it was the worst car I've been in in recent memory, my brother and I are 6'2" or maybe 6'1". I couldn't even fit in the back seat, my brother couldn't fit in the front.

I had to sit sideways, seat belt on my sternum, the entire time and have my legs spaced out in order to fit in the car.

Why in god's name where these things made? We'll they are CHEAP to maintain even with all OEM parts and are very easy to work on so I'll give it that.

I'm wondering if I truly have begun to turn into a giant...

(How did I botch the title? )

[CSchmidt]

My daughter is 5'3, 100#. We bought an SL2 for her in high school for under $3000. The size fit her well. It survived high school parking lot dings (plastic body), got 30+ mpg, and ran for 70K miles over 3 years. The transmission started a delayed shift into reverse. For $35 I got an rebuilt valve body. I removed the air box, then the top of the tranny was right there. About 8 screws and the valve body was right on top. Overall a very simple car, for good and bad. We sold it for 90% of what we paid for it after driving it 70K miles.

Was it a luxury car, no. Basic transportation is all, but that is what she needed. A friend had a similar car and was broadsided by a car at 40 mph. All 3 in the Saturn were fine.

I would rather be in a Mercedes, but this fit what she needed for a while. I am a believer in buying a car for what you need. If you have a family of 6' + folks, I had a Ford-e-150 conversion van that had gobs of leg and head room, twice a Mercedes. Maybe that is a better option.

Good luck!

Chuck

[CDTurbo001]

I like the little stuff. I contend it actually serves a more legitimate purpose than the majority of crossovers today - lose the economy of a sedan/wagon but come up short of the cargo and towing capability of a full-size vehicle, with the driving dynamics of an MRAP.

[renaissanceman]

I drove 200k in two Saturn SL2 sedans over the last 12 years, and I loved those cars. I saved for 2 summers as a 15/16 year old kid and bought a '99 SL2 in 2005 with 61K on the clock for $3750. That car was killed by a BMW that turned in front of me. The second (1998 SL2) I bought in 2007 with 82k for $2750 and drove it for 10 years and 155k miles with about $1000 total in upkeep costs. It was passed on to a family member and is still driving along happily at 240k.

Great cars. 35-38mpg consistently even with pisswater California gasoline.

[sloride]

Originally Posted by renaissanceman

I drove 200k in two Saturn SL2 sedans over the last 12 years, and I loved those cars. I saved for 2 summers as a 15/16 year old kid and bought a '99 SL2 in 2005 with 61K on the clock for $3750. That car was killed by a BMW that turned in front of me. The second (1998 SL2) I bought in 2007 with 82k for $2750 and drove it for 10 years and 155k miles with about $1000 total in upkeep costs. It was passed on to a family member and is still driving along happily at 240k.

Great cars. 35-38mpg consistently even with pisswater California gasoline.

I wonder how much the government regulations had to do with it's demise. Nice simple point a to point b transportation. Cannot have that, must have 84 airbags,lane detection,drowsy driver alerts, GPS monitors for future $$ grab etc.etc.

[Diseasel300]

My neighbor drives an '01 SC2. Recently he was injured and couldn't drive it since it's a 5-speed, so he asked me to drive it on occasion to keep the fuel from going stale. I'm 6'1 myself and it was not an easy car to fit into, seriously lacking in front legroom (I drove a Civic for years and it was fine). The car actually drove well with good power and handled decent enough, especially for an economy car. The only thing I really hated about it was the gear shifter. It felt like massaging a bowl of jello. HORRIBLE feeling!

[tbomachines]

They were great basic little cars. Still see a lot of them running around too, as they tended to be pretty reliable. The SC is actually a decent chassis and saw some racing success back in the day. I'm 6 feet and never had an issue getting into an SL, even the first gen. As cheap durable transportation, they're pretty good!

[tjts1]

Originally Posted by sloride

I wonder how much the government regulations had to do with it's demise. Nice simple point a to point b transportation. Cannot have that, must have 84 airbags,lane detection,drowsy driver alerts, GPS monitors for future $$ grab etc.etc.

You can try to blame the government for every one of your problems until the cows come home. It doesn't change the fact that Saturns were uncompetitive pieces of **** when new, and they're ancient pieces of **** now. the Honda Civic was outselling the Saturn 25 years ago and it's outselling just about everything else today. Are you going to blame the government for that too?

[tbomachines]

Originally Posted by tjts1

You can try to blame the government for every one of your problems until the cows come home. It doesn't change the fact that Saturns were uncompetitive pieces of **** when new, and they're ancient pieces of **** now. the Honda Civic was outselling the Saturn 25 years ago and it's outselling just about everything else today. Are you going to blame the government for that too?

The Saturn S series sold about the same or more in the US in the mid 90s...wikipedia has us sales for the civic and total for Saturn, with Saturn only serving us and canada. Ymmv.

[sixto]

Originally Posted by CSchmidt

I had a Ford-e-150 conversion van that had gobs of leg and head room, twice a Mercedes.

Engine placement compromises front passenger legroom despite cabin volume. Well, maybe it’s okay if you only have a right leg :/ I understand Nissan full size vans are more accommodating. These days, you can get a W140 for less than a good van and W140 front seats adjust back a looong way.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

[Father Of Giants]

Well to be fair the SL2 I rode in was a big pile.
Muffler fell off, so the cabin noise was just horrendous, it's louder than my SDL with no muffler, it also smelled of gasoline, front windshield cracked, ALL fluids in need of changing. I told her and she got upset with me.

Funny thing is back when I was in high school autotech, we had an SC2, I actually like that car. I guess the condition of it put me off.

[tbomachines]

Originally Posted by Father Of Giants

Well to be fair the SL2 I rode in was a big pile.
Muffler fell off, so the cabin noise was just horrendous, it's louder than my SDL with no muffler, it also smelled of gasoline, front windshield cracked, ALL fluids in need of changing. I told her and she got upset with me.

Funny thing is back when I was in high school autotech, we had an SC2, I actually like that car. I guess the condition of it put me off.

Id probably say the same about your sdl if it were in that condition.

[Father Of Giants]

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Id probably say the same about your sdl if it were in that condition.

Don't worry it's own it's way there

[torsionbar]

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Id probably say the same about your sdl if it were in that condition.

Was thinking the same thing. Sounds like the experience was shaped more by the poor condition of the vehicle, than by its design. The most delicious beer in the world will be offensive and foul if left out to warm and go flat.

[Junkman]

A 97 Saturn SC1 came with my wife from CA. The Saturn always ran and only required basic maintenance. We gave it to a friend who overheated it at almost 300,000 mi. Shoulda bought a thermostat.

I hated driving that car but loved not working on it.