The Loss of A Gorgeous Giant Planet
yeah, I’m actually talking about cars... The loss of the Saturn is a loss of safety, financial savings... and sanity
Janet Kuypers editorial, 02/18/09
Oh boy. I can’t believe I’m going to write something about cars (like I know anything about cars), but I have to. I just heard on CNN during my lunch break that GM is planning on killing the Saturn line by 2011.
Okay, I suck at this car talk, but here goes...
I bought a Saturn 1992 Medium Red SL1, their low-end car, after only their second year of production. I studied the car before I made the decision to purchase the car, and found that as a sedan (I wanted a 4-door car with a trunk), it was by far the safest car in my price range. I went to the dealership with my mind made up. Nick, the car salesman, even asked me if I would like to test-drive the car I decided to purchase. Well okay, I suppose I should do that... I did, and thought it was a little small in legroom (I am a really tall woman), and decided I could cope for the safety. The car dealer didn’t have to lift a finger to make the sale to me.
That car survived assorted break-ins in Chicago when I didn’t have garage parking (when people stole the insurance card repeatedly out of my glove box), and survived outdoor winters in Illinois too. It ran fine, and even was my car for a drive around the country in 1997 and 1998. While driving through the Mohave Desert, “certain kinds of clay and dirt, when driven on repeatedly, start receding in grooves that resemble the waves of ocean water on the sand below” (from the book