Hey, I Helped Design the First Saturn!
I'll never forget the phone call I got in 1994, from a lady in Spring Hill, Tennessee, who I think said she was Vice President of Public Relations. She asked, "Does your license plate really say "NASA MAN"?! After I confirmed that it did, she told me how Saturn got its name....
"GM ran a company-wide contest to name the new company and car, and a fellow named Philip Garcia, in a Chevrolet design studio won… with the explanation, 'We used Saturn (the moon rocket) to beat the Russians to the moon and we should use Saturn to beat the Japanese in the automobile business!'"
My beautiful 1994 Saturn SW-2 wagon still runs great and its original green finish looks flawless parked beside my gorgeous 2008 gold Saturn VUE. I'll be trading my VUE for a high-tech Plug-in VUE in a few years, but will always keep my beloved SW-2! My SW-2 has hand-painted (not tape) pin stripes on both sides, that include a Saturn planet, complete with rings, at the end of each one. Maybe this car should be placed in a museum when I no longer need it!
My new VUE's tag is "NASA CAR" & my SW-2's tag remains "NASA MAN" -- I've spent my life in the U.S. space program, including the moon shot in the 1960's, so my much-loved Saturns are effectively moving commemorations of an exciting career.