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Click here to see the original window sticker, this is how the story all began!
These pictures are the first we took of the Saturn when we brought it home:
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THE COMPANY - When Saturn first arrived on the automobile scene, they said they wanted to start from scratch and do things right. They wanted to design a totally new type of car, build it a totally new way, and sell it a new way. They wanted the Saturn name to stand for quality, dependability, value, and total customer satisfaction. I believed in the Saturn goals and dream, but they reminded me too much of another car company many years ago which had many of the same goals - Tucker! I wasn't about to buy a car from some unknown company which would soon vanish. It was only when I discovered who was behind the Saturn name that I became confident that Saturn had the finances and clout to succeed in the automobile world.
THE TEST DRIVE - I really went to the dealership to look at the new LS series. I wasn't even looking at the old SL series, I didn't really want a car that small. I wanted a car with the Saturn quality, reliability, and non-rusting, non-denting body side panels. I test drove the LS car and was pretty impressed. It seemed like a really nice car. Then I test drove the SL car and the first time I went around a corner I thought WOW! I have never driven a car that was SO responsive. It's really been a lot of fun to drive so far.
THE COLOR CHOICES - For years I have admired Saturns
on the road and wanted one of my very own. When I finally got into
a Saturn dealership and wanted to buy one, they didn't have my color!
Here are the colors they had on the lot:
Fire Engine Red I didn't
want this color because it would remind me of the car my dad had when he
died.
I drove it for a short time and it was a real lemon.
Maroon
I think I remember this color and it was very nice, but we already had
a car with a similar color.
White
I think white cars look nice, but I wanted a color with more character
Silver
It looked nice, but I have the same problem with silver I have with white.
Besides, silver
looks too much like gray which seems colorless.
Navy Blue
I would have liked a blue Saturn, but this was almost black. I have
already owned a
black car. Besides, I was buying an SL2 and I wanted that to be very
evident to
everyone who saw my car (all other SL models have black bumpers).
Green/Gold Metallic This
was the color of the homecoming model, there were other features of this
model which I didn't like. The guages stand out in my memory, I think
they were white.
Gold
I had been admiring black vehicles with gold trim, I think they look really
nice. This Saturn is
gold with black trim, and I had been admiring them when I saw them on the
road. Up
until just a few years ago I had not seen golden cars. I am happy
with the color, but I
really wanted teal!
Would you like to look under the hood?
I REALLY LIKE my daytime running lights (DRLs). For many years, from 1996 to 1999, I was able to recognize Saturns from a half mile away because the DRLs were unique - they are spaced so close together. Now I think there are other car models which also have this feature. I read that one couple bought their new Saturn and then immediately disabled the DRLs because they found them annoying. I really can't relate.
MY NEW SATURN WAS ATTACKED AND SMASHED
BY A UFO!!
On May 18, 2000 Chicago was hit with some very severe thunderstorms.
To see more information on the storms, click
here.
My Saturn was parked in the lot at work. We experienced 85 mph winds, and something hit my car roof on the right side near the rear window. I don't know what hit my car (Unidentified Flying Object), they had cleared most of the debris from the parking lot before I discovered that my car was damaged.
Well, my rear window was totally gone......
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and the inside of the car was now filled with broken glass and leaves.....
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even the top of the dashboard!
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I used to look forward to severe thunderstorms in the Chicago area, but I'm not so sure that I'll greet them with quite as much enthusiasm in the future.
The body shop says they are going to fix my Saturn so I will never know the accident took place. We'll see.
Okay, here are the pictures of the repaired Saturn after being in the shop for 7 weeks, these are some of the first pictures taken using our new digital camera:
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They had to completely replace the roof, rear window, rear deck, speakers, and remove and replace the windshield in the process of installing the new roof. After the above pictures were taken, we had another heavy thunderstorm and there was a leak on the driver's side over the dashboard. The seat, floor, and floor mats were totally drenched. Besides the huge leak there were 6 other defects I told them to fix when I took the car back. They had it for two days and returned it, now I am waiting for another thunderstorm to see if it really is fixed. It turned out that one of the sunroof drainage tubes was blocked with metal filings.
Now we are a two Saturn family! To see our other Saturn, click here.
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