Saturn : 2000s
Sept. 26, 2000: Saturn announces that head curtain air bags are available as an option on 2001 model year L-Series sedan and wagon and S-Series sedan, wagon and coupe. The new air bag technology is designed to decrease the severity of head and neck injuries in side-impact collisions.
Oct. 6, 2000: Saturn unveils the 2002 Saturn VUE sports utility vehicle at the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami.
March 27, 2002: Saturn unveils the ION sedan and coupe at the New York Auto Show. It replaces the Saturn S-Series beginning in summer 2002.
Aug. 15, 2002: J.D. Power and Associates rates Saturn #1 in their 2002 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study. Saturn also holds the top spot in J.D. Power’s 2002 Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, marking the first time a non-luxury automaker held the top spot in both CSI and SSI in the same year.
April 8, 2003: Saturn announced that a new series of performance-tuned vehicles will carry the designation of "Red Line." The first two vehicles in the series are the 2004 VUE Red Line, a sporty version of Saturn’s compact SUV; and the 2004 ION Red Line, a specially modified ION quad coupe.
Dec. 4, 2003: Saturn unveils the Relay, a crossover sport van that will join the lineup in 2004. It is Saturn’s first vehicle that will seat more than five passengers, and blends the styling cues of an SUV with the functionality of a mid-van.
Dec. 29, 2003: Gary Cowger announces expansion plans for Saturn in remarks at the Los Angeles Auto Show. He states, "Drawing from four different global architectures, Saturn will double its portfolio from three to six products by 2007, including a small sports car and a big brother to the VUE. This shows how serious we are about the future of this brand."
March 1, 2004: General Motors announced that Saturn would add a sports car to its vehicle line-up in early 2006. The product will be built at its Wilmington, Del., manufacturing facility, which had been the production site of the Saturn L-Series.
Aug. 26, 2004: General Motors announced plans to invest $200 million into its Fairfax, Kan., manufacturing site for production of an all-new Saturn midsize car, scheduled to begin production in the second half of 2006 as a 2007 model.
Jan. 9, 2005: At the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Saturn unveils the SKY, a small, rear-wheel-drive roadster that signals the new design direction of the division’s future portfolio. The brand also shows the AURA concept, which indicates how Saturn’s future styling character could be translated to a midsize sedan.
Aug. 2, 2005: At the Traverse City Management Briefing Seminars, Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak announces that the brand’s 2007 model year midsize crossover vehicle will carry the name "OUTLOOK." Lajdziak also confirmed that the brand’s 2007 midsize production sedan will take its name from the Aura concept, unveiled earlier in the year at the NAIAS.
Jan. 8, 2006: Saturn unveils the 2007 VUE Green Line hybrid at the North American International Auto Show. The brand announces that the hybrid version of the already popular compact SUV will be available in Summer 2006, and will start at a base price under $23,000. It will also get about 20 percent better fuel economy than its four-cylinder counterpart.
April 12, 2006: In an unprecedented announcement, Saturn unveils four new vehicles on stage at the New York International Auto Show. For the first time, the brand took the wraps off of three new 2007 production vehicles: the AURA midsize sports sedan, OUTLOOK large crossover utility, the turbocharged SKY Red Line roadster. Joining them on stage was the PREVUE concept, a compact three-door utility that showed how the brand’s new design direction could be extended into other future models.
January 7, 2007: The 2007 Saturn AURA claims the highly coveted North American Car of the Year title, beating out the Toyota Camry and Honda Fit.
2007: Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak, receives the Spirit of Leadership Award from the Women’s Automotive Association International for "significant accomplishments within her profession, community, and family."
2007: Saturn debuts the redesigned 2008 VUE, an aggressive, performance-tuned Red Line Model, and an all new Green Line Hybrid model.
January, 2008: Saturn introduces the VUE Green Line 2-mode Hybrid at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
January, 2008: Unveiling itself at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, Saturn unveils its emission-free Flextreme Plug-in Concept Car.
2008: Saturn unveils the ASTRA. The introduction of the ASTRA also marks the beginning of a partnership between Saturn and Europe’s Opel.
2008: The 8-passenger OUTLOOK wins “Best” honors.
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