Saturn S-Series
The Saturn S-Series is a family of compact cars from the Saturn automobile company of General Motors. With this car, Saturn pioneered their brand-wide "no-haggle" sales technique.
Its automobile platform, the Z-body, developed in-house at Saturn and sharing little with other General Motors platforms, used a spaceframe design. Pioneered on the Pontiac Fiero during the 1980s, the spaceframe used non-load-carrying plastic side panels. These polymer panels were dent-resistant, something that remained Saturn's unique selling proposition until a few years before the brand was discontinued.
The S-Series was marketed in three generations from the fall of 1990 for the 1991 model year through the end of the 2002 model year. The model changes took place for the 1997 and 2000 model years.
History
The S-Series debuted for the 1991 model year with the Sport Coupe and Sedan Level models. The SC was only available with the DOHC engine whereas the SLs had an option for the SOHC engine or the DOHC.For the 1993 model year, the SC gained an SOHC option in addition to the existing DOHC option. The SL & SC families were joined by the SW 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, color-matched bumpers and door handles, and more interior options such as power locks, power windows, rear defroster, & a sunroof. Aside from the wheel size, it was almost impossible to tell a 1 from a 2 externally, except for the SC2s which had retractable headlamps throughout the 1996 model year.
A redesign beginning with the 1999 model year gave the SC a small suicide door on the driver's side to improve rear-seat access, which Saturn claimed was the world's first three-door coupe. This type of door had previously been used in extended cab pickup trucks, but was an innovation in coupe design. Examples of this solution for coupes were the 1997 Pontiac Rageous and Mercury MC4 concept cars with similar doors. In late 1999, Mazda unveiled a concept car for the future RX-8 with such doors, the production version of which entered production simultaneously with the Ion, with doors on both sides.
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 in EPA highway tests at the time.
The S-Series was replaced by the Saturn ION for the 2003 model year.
Export markets
and Japan were the only two Asian countries to import Saturns. From June 1992 to 1996, the first- and second-generation sedans plus the first-generation coupes were sold in Taiwan. Taiwan was selected as a way to test the car's competitiveness in what was a small, level market, with most international players present and with no significant domestic brands. From 1997 to 2001, the second-generation versions were sold in right-hand drive in Japan. Some Toyota Netz dealerships and former Isuzu dealerships also offered Saturn products until 2001.Canada imported all available Saturn models from 1992 onward.
First generation (1991)
First generation SL
The first generation SL was constructed for the 1991 to 1995 model years, with the first Saturn rolling off the assembly line in the Spring Hill, Tennessee factory 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 5-speed manual transmission only, and it had manual steering. On the exterior, the car featured unique hubcaps different from the SL1 and came equipped with only a driver's side exterior mirror. On the inside, the SL featured a standard AM/FM radio with no cassette player and lower-grade cloth material on the seats. Some factory options such as power windows, power locks, or cruise control were not available on the SL but air conditioning and an AM/FM/cassette radio were available on the option sheet. The SL1 trim level added power steering, a passenger mirror, different hubcaps for the 14-inch wheels, an AM/FM cassette player, and softer cloth material on the seats. It featured as standard equipment the same MP2 manual or the MP6 4-speed automatic transmission could be had as an option. The SL1 could be optioned with power windows, power locks, power mirror, cruise control, and air conditioning. Both were offered only with the SOHC 1.9L I4 "LK0" engine that produced, which was rated at 27 mpg City, 34 mpg Highway. The SL2 trim level featured the MP3 5-speed manual transmission, or the MP7 4-speed automatic transmission, both exclusively with the DOHC 1.9L I4 LL0 engine that was rated at, 24 mpg City, 34 mpg Highway. The SL2 also brought body-color bumpers, 15-inch steel wheels, and higher spec cloth on the seats. SL2's could be optioned with power windows, locks, mirror, cruise control, air conditioning, sunroof, and leather seats. Anti-lock brakes were available as an option as well, which brought along rear disc brakes.
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 engine was given MPFI to create the L24 engine.
The S-Series had a fuel tank, which means that both cars got around on a single tank based on average of. Owners of the base model typically report real-world fuel mileage of about 38–41 mpg-US on the highway with the manual transmission.
First generation SW
For the 1993 model year, a station wagon variant of the SL was added to the model lineup. This was offered in SW1 and SW2 trim levels. The station wagon used the same doors as the sedan, but the bodywork behind the C-pillar and the roof differed.First generation SC
The first generation Saturn SC coupes were made from 1990 until 1996. The first generation Saturn SC coupes were originally only available in one trim level which was the SC.The 1990–1992 Saturn SC featured a DOHC 1.9-liter LL0 inline-four engine that was rated at. For the 1993 model year, the original regular SC coupe model was renamed as the SC2 and a new SC1 trim level was introduced. For the 1994 model year, the SC1 and the SC2 had both gotten revised power door locks and a recalibrated automatic transmission. The first generation SC2 had received a minor refresh in 1995 in which the lower front bumper and the vehicle's taillights were both updated. For the 1995 model year, both the SC1 and the SC2 had gotten a redesigned interior with a new redesigned dashboard with a front passenger's airbag.
The first generation SC1 coupe featured a SOHC 1.9-liter LK0 inline-four engine that was rated at. The SC1's engine was later upgraded to the L24 engine for the 1995 model year.
The first generation Saturn SC1 coupes shared the same fixed headlight front fascia as the SL sedans and the SW station wagons, rather than the pop-up headlight design used on the SC2 and the original SC. The SC1 also lacked a rear trunk lid reflector and a rear stabilizer bar.
SL3
For the 1994 model year, a highest-trim "SL3" model was reportedly being considered. Saturn owner's manuals from this period made mention of the SL3 - it would have featured an SC front end on an SL2 body, with all options as standard.Second generation (1996)
Second generation SL and SW
The second generation SL sedans and SW station wagons were made from 1996 to 1999. They both featured a completely redesigned exterior. The interior was mostly the same as on the first generation vehicles, while mechanically they went largely untouched. The redesigned second generation S-Series went on sale in 1995 for the 1996 model year.A few minor changes were made for the 1998 model year S-Series vehicles. Due to multiple complaints about the noise coming from the vehicle's trip odometer that had been in all of the Saturn S-Series since 1995, had replaced with a new type of trip odometer in an effort to correct the problem. For the 1998 model year, a new cluster with a digital trip odometer had been introduced. Rear disc-brakes were no longer available as an option on the S-Series due to high costs for them as well as very little improvement in braking performance over the conventional rear drum-brakes setup.
Beginning with all of the Saturn S-Series vehicles that were made in late 1999 had received improvements to both the SOHC and the DOHC engines in the S-Series. These changes included revised pistons, new connecting rods, and new crankshaft counterweights in the engine as well. The Twin Cam cylinder head had now featured a new roller-rocker setup with hydraulic tappets and roller cams replacing the conventional bucket lifter setup of the previous engine in the S-Series.
Also introduced for the 1999 model year S-Series vehicles that were sold in California was a different type of exhaust manifold that housed an upstream catalytic converter, and it also had provisions for an air-injection reaction system. These vehicles were made to meet the all-new CARB ULEV standards for the 1999 model year.
To make additional use of the right-hand drive dashboard developed, there was also the 1999–2001 Saturn SWP "Postal" station wagon, intended to be marketed to rural route mail carriers. Only sold as a right-hand drive station wagon, 450 examples were built in 1999.