The General says, "if you can't beat them..."

Maybe it is just because I wasn’t paying attention before, but it seems like there are more body doubles in Detroit than in Hollywood. Check these two:

The disappoint here is that the General tried to give Saturn its own unique aesthetic since the begining. Sure, some models were less refined than we would like (weird shut lines, or following an out-dated trend) but they were unique. Remember that Saturn two door with it’s bold accent line cuting around the body? Remember the Ion’s funky roof line?

Sadly, the General has declared individuality at Saturn dead. No more plastic body panels, no more unique styling (for now).

This is the best looking Saturn since the origional. You are right though, too bad the origionality was sacraficed.

Look at this bad boy:

Unique form and detailing all in 1991

Yo, thanks for posting those originals. Today these things look a little dinky, but they were fresh in '91. I particularly like the wraparound rear window. That adds a very unique flair to the design. The detailing is very nice in the lower part of the car. There is a line that starts at the front, incorporates a side turn signal, then turns into a molding across the doors, finally it sweeps up into the rear bumper. Nice and simple.

totally tiny looking. It would be cool to give one of those designs a modern proportion. 90’s retro?

Saturn might top my list of greatest overhyped disappointments.

Fresh for 1991?! Try 1981!
Here’s the patent drawing from 1982, and the concept car that went with a decade later:

I have two points:

  1. Design: That Saturn coupe also has a weird hood surface. It slopes up at the sides slightly. I always thought that was unique.

  2. Saturn is a disappointment because it was all hype. The cars were just as crap as anything else the General made at the time, but by hyping certain key marketing jingoisms, they managed to sell Cavaliers without a rebate. That is an amazing feat. The keys were “american” and this “we’ll be there for you” dealer thing.