Saturn S series Details, Photos and Videos

The Saturn S-series was a family of compact cars from the Saturn automobile company of General Motors. Saturn pioneered the brand-wide "no haggle" sales technique.

The automobile platform, the Z-body, was developed entirely in-house at Saturn, and it shared very little with the rest of the General Motors model line. It implemented a spaceframe design, which had been used on some Pontiacs during the 1980s. This meant that the side panels did not carry load and could be made of plastic instead of metal. These polymer panels were dent-resistant, something that remained a selling point for Saturn until just a few years before the Saturn brand was discontinued.

The S series was sold from the fall of 1990 for the 1991 model year through the end of the 2002 model year. Significant design updates were made in 1996, 1997, and 2000 for all cars. Although nearly every year of the S-series's existence brought some minor changes to the architecture of the car, each model kept the same basic body styling throughout its history.

The S-series debuted in model year 1991 with the Sport Coupe (SC) and Sedan Level (SL) models. The SC was only available with the DOHC (Dual OverHead Cam) engine whereas the SLs had an option for the SOHC (Single OverHead Cam) engine (SL1) or the DOHC (SL2).

For the 1993 model year, the SC gained an SOHC option (SC1) in addition to the existing DOHC option (SC2, renamed from SC). The SL and SC families were joined by the SW (Station Wagon) models, in both SW1 and SW2 flavors.

The S series all used either the SOHC LK0/L24 or the DOHC LL0 version of the completely original, designed in-house Saturn 1.9L engine. SL1s, SC1s and SW1s were only offered with the MP2 manual transmission and the MP6 automatic, while SL2, SC2 and SW2 models came with either the MP3 manual or MP7 automatic. The only difference in each case is the selection of gear ratios, with the SOHC-associated transmissions being geared taller for more efficiency, and the DOHC-associated transmissions having shorter, more closely spaced ratios for performance. As a result, it's not uncommon for enthusiast-owners to swap a tall-geared MP2 manual into a car equipped with a DOHC engine for better fuel economy on the highway.

Aside from the engine and transmission, the level 2 models also included 15-inch instead of 14-inch wheels, a correspondingly larger tire size, EVO steering , a rear swaybar, the option of rear disc brakes (standard on the 1991-1992 SC), color-matched bumpers and door handles, and more interior options such as power locks, power windows, rear defroster, and a sunroof (SC2 only). Aside from the wheel size, it was almost impossible to tell a 1 from a 2 externally, except for the SC2s which had pop-up headlamps thru MY 1996.

Taiwan and Japan were the only two Asian countries to import Saturns. From 1992 to 1996, the first- and second-generation sedans plus the first-generation coupes were sold in Taiwan. From 1997 to 2001, the second-generation versions were sold in right-hand drive in Japan, and some Toyota Netz dealerships, and former Isuzu dealerships did offer Saturn products until 2001. At the time of the Japanese launch, the Japanese economy was in a sharp decline after the Japanese asset price bubble had collapsed during the early 1990s.

Canada imported all available Saturn models from 1992 onward.

A change beginning with the 1999 model year gave the SC a small suicide door on the driver's side to improve rear-seat access. This type of door had previously been used in extended cab pickup trucks, but was an innovation in coupe design.

The level 1 S-series equipped with a manual transmission were among the most fuel-efficient cars available in the United States when they were produced, reaching 40 miles per US gallon (5.9 L/100 km; 48 mpg‑imp) in EPA highway tests at the time (this would likely translate to 36 miles per US gallon (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg‑imp) under current methodologies).

The S-series was replaced by the larger, single-model Saturn ION for the 2003 model year, which was unable to match the S-series sales numbers, efficiency, or reliability before the end of the ION's production at the end of 2007.

Even in 2019, S-series cars are sought after not just by collectors, but as a good first car or student's car because of their low cost, longevity, fuel mileage, and ease of maintenance and repair. There also exists a vibrant Saturn S-series owner support network as found in sites like SaturnFans, Sixth Sphere, Saturn Series and on the "Saturn S-Series" Facebook group.

The first generation SL was constructed for model years 1991 through 1995, with the first Saturn to leave the assembly line in the Spring Hill, Tennessee factory was on July 30, 1990, the same day that then-CEO of GM, Roger Bonham Smith, retired. It was maroon with a tan interior.

From 1991 to 1992, the Saturn SL-series Sedan trim levels consisted of the SL, the SL1, and the SL2.

The base SL model featured the MP2 manual transmission only, and it had manual steering. The SL1 trim level featured the option of the same MP2, or the MP6 automatic transmission. Both were offered only with the SOHC 1.9L I4 "LKO" engine that produced 85 hp (63 kW), which was rated at 27 mpg (8.7L/100 km/32 mpg) City, 34 mpg (6.9L/100 km; 41 mpg) Highway. The SL2 trim level featured the MP3 manual transmission, or the MP7 automatic transmission, both exclusively with the DOHC 1.9L I4 LL0 engine that was rated at 124 hp (92 kW), 24 mpg (9.8L/100 km; 29 mpg) City, 34 mpg (6.9L/100 km; 41 mpg) Highway.

For the 1993 model year, a station wagon variant of the SL with SW1 and SW2 trim levels was added to the model lineup.

For the 1995 model year, the seatbelts were changed from the power passive restraint type to the conventional 3-point type. The interior of the vehicle was redesigned with a new dashboard and the addition of a front passenger's airbag. The center console was updated as well, adding previously absent cup holders. Also for 1995, the SOHC (LK0) engine was given MPFI to create the 100 hp (75 kW) L24 engine.

The S series also had a 12.8 US gallons (48L; 11 imp gal.) fuel tank, which means that both the SL and the SW models had both gotten around 384 miles (618 km) on a single tank based on an average of 32 mpg (7.4L/100 km; 38 mpg) Owners of the SL1 model would usually report real-world fuel mileage of about 38-41 mpg (6.2-5.7L/100 km; 46-29 mpg) on the Highway with the manual transmission.

The first generation Saturn SC coupes were made from 1990 to 1996. The first generation Saturn SC coupes were originally just only available in one trim level which was the SC.

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