Annoying the Australians

"Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available" (whoistheleader2) 10/25/2020 at 03:40 • Filed to: Dots, hour rule

0

35

I am up late doing boring school stuff. This was entirely avoidable but here I am. . .

So here's a Saturn Ion coupe I saw parked in an inappropriate spot a week ago or so. 

pip bip - choose Corrour > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 03:44

2

the only thing i dislike about that Saturn is the massive front overhang.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > pip bip - choose Corrour 10/25/2020 at 03:46

5

Soooo much driveway scrunching to be had.

oldmxer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 03:50

1

those are solid cars, I had one still going strong at 175k until the auto trans gave up, if it was manual might still be going

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > pip bip - choose Corrour 10/25/2020 at 03:51

0

So you like the assym metrical drivers side clamshell half door? Weird that it isn’t curb side.

Front overhand is indeed quite large. No worse of an approach angle than many modern cars though. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 10/25/2020 at 03:51

0

Well you're just describing a modern FWD car. Billy overhangs aplenty. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > oldmxer 10/25/2020 at 03:54

0

Yeah Satur ns from when GM kinda cared were great. And go to bed for goodness sake! Get some sleep!

pip bip - choose Corrour > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 04:08

1

perfect for when converted to RHD

:P

i’m guessing it was for easier loading for stuff or passengers, probably aimed at wom en who drive to shopping malls. so less of an issue than on street parking.

Jb boin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 04:12

1

What does this car have to do with Australia?

It’s looking annoying to every body !

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > pip bip - choose Corrour 10/25/2020 at 04:13

0

I wonder if there was ever one RHD? Now that I think about it, it’s a little weird you guys never got Saturn. They made some fun and distinctive cars. . . briefly.

It’s a very similar size as the door on the new Fiat 500e 3 door. It’s not exactly the most useful thing compared to a full door but when you want to load the backseat it makes it way easier. It opens at a slant so 8ts not like an extended cab pickup's more useful half doors. 

And loading groceries into the rear of a half door is actually really easy as you don’t have to walk around the door. You may be right. The rear seats are really more of a parcel shelf anyways.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 04:31

2

one GM brand down here was enough.

Alfalfa > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 04:46

1

I remember seeing the TV ads for these when they were new “The new Saturn 3 door coupe. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?”

And I always thought “well, because it’s kinda silly...”

They’re neat and seem useful to an extent, but not all that us eful.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > pip bip - choose Corrour 10/25/2020 at 06:11

2

We scored a lot of dumb shit under that one brand though. Fortunately, not a lot of dumb American shit...more the filtered best of...

pip bip - choose Corrour > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 06:23

0

coupes i don’t think so.

sedans and wagon were. 

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 06:37

3

Saturn was the only GM brand I’ve ever truly liked. They actually let Saturn do things themselves (hence why some early Saturns had their own engines that weren’t in other GM cars, if I remember right, as an example). They seem to last a lot longer than other GM stuff of the era...plus they looked kinda cool! I wouldn’ t mind any of the Saturn Coupes someday!

Svend > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 08:25

1

You had the Saturn Ion coupe, we had the U.K. equivalent I guess, the Bertone designed/tweaked, Vauxhall Astra coupe.

WilliamsSW > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/25/2020 at 08:50

2

Yep- I worked for GM at the time they came out, in a plant that made A.C. compressors. The only 2 GM cars that were able to *not* use our parts were Saturn and Corvette. Saturn was able to go its own way early on. Though their cars were just rebadged Opels later on - that's when you knew it was going to end. 

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 10:35

2

I worked at the dealership when these were new. Saturns of that period were either headed to an early grave due to cracked head, or oil consumption problems (mostly sohc),  but the other half were indestructable cockroaches that will outlive us all.  Just about any saturn still on the road is an excellent car. 

ranwhenparked > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 13:02

1

GM never officially did an RHD Ion, though I’d guess there were aftermarket companies that would do one, if you wanted it badly enough.

There was a factory RHD version of the original S-Series though, produced when GM decided to sell Saturns in Japan as a PR stunt to use in American marketing. They sold about 1,000 a year over 4 years, then pulled the plug. But, they kept building RHD models after that for sale to USPS rural mail carriers, and they were also technically available special order for anyone else who wanted one .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Alfalfa 10/25/2020 at 13:06

0

It is indeed silly but it's a great way to get coupe looks with better back seat accessibility. It makes sense to a point but is fundamentally a novelty. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jb boin 10/25/2020 at 13:11

0

It's a weird and obscure American car that isn't terribly desirable that I have bombarded the Australians with late at night for absolutely no reason. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 10/25/2020 at 13:33

0

HEY! . . . . well you do have a point. Lots of Saturns were heaps of junk and some of those heaps of junk were also cockroaches. They were revolutionary. . . briefly. . . then they became kind of weird looking $500 beaters for the next 20 years.

We did get the Vauxhall Astra two and four door hatch plus sedan as a Saturn. They are pretty uncommon, especially the two door hatch, but they are out there. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 13:35

0

That's not an Ion

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ranwhenparked 10/25/2020 at 13:36

0

I did not know that. Weird that they didn’t sell the S series in Australia too since they already invested in a RHD model. The original S series was at the very least revolutionary, but later Saturns got very meh as they started getting more and more rebadged Opels and Vauxhalls.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/25/2020 at 13:53

0

Then what is it? Didn't the Ions have the three door thing going on?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/25/2020 at 13:56

0

They really sliced up to the GM cockroach stereotype. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Svend 10/25/2020 at 13:59

0

No quirky door setup though. 

Svend > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 14:13

1

No, it’s just a coupe.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/25/2020 at 15:50

1

That’s an SC2. The Ion Coupe replaced that an d actually had the half-door on both sides.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > WilliamsSW 10/25/2020 at 16:44

1

Yeah, the early Saturns are the ones that interest me, of all GM’s brands, they are the ones that seemed to last the most (in terms of cars, from my experience) and were the most interesting (plastic body panels!)

That being said, as uninteresting as it would be to our Euro counterparts, it was always cool seeing the Opel-Saturns (like the Astra) as petrolheads knew they were sort of special, being Euro rebadges that were actually on our shores. Our neighbours had an Astra hatch, didn’t seem half bad! :)

WilliamsSW > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/25/2020 at 18:03

1

The Astra hatch is a really good looking car - I’ve always liked them. But it was a big red flag that Saturn went from doing something different to becoming same old same old GM products.

I bought a brand new 95 SC2.  Turquoise, AC, sunroof and an upgraded stereo were pretty much the only options I ordered.  Car weighed nothing and was a lot of fun to drive with a slick 5 speed.  Engine was noisy but happy to rev   Fun car.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/25/2020 at 18:45

0

Ah, okay. Thank you for the correction. 

Nauraushaun > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/26/2020 at 00:09

1

Super ugly in that American 90s sort of way :( Australia says no

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nauraushaun 10/26/2020 at 01:18

0

You are entitled to your opinion but I don't thi k they're that ugly. The taillights are, well, there's a lot going on and a lot of it. But the rest is quite nicely proportioned. 

oldmxer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/26/2020 at 13:31

0

i’m retired, I like to have the house when it’s quiet. today is my 66th birthday, it’s too cold and wet to get out of the house, and fix the flat on the car, the wife has the cleaning lady here, it’s too noisy to enjoy my breakfast that i had to cook myself, just a normal day. this is why the night thing!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > oldmxer 10/26/2020 at 13:42

0

Happy birthday! Sorry to hear it is wet and miserable but I’m sure it’ll get better. Flat tire sucks too.

Oppo is pretty quiet at night so you don’t get those conversations going.