1991 Saturn Sedan & Coupe | Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 25 бер 2023
- GM's Saturn division was a smash hit and with styling that still looks fresh today it's easy to see why.
Show 1006 | Original Airdate 11-01-1990
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John Davis is spot on with the comment that General Motors had trouble making small cars.
Roger Smith (CEO of GM) knew that...that's why he set up Saturn and allowed them to be autonomous from the rest of the company. Problem was that by the time the Saturns were ready for market GM had a new CEO (Stempel I think) who did NOT like the idea of a GM division acting separately from the rest of the mothership and started dismantling what made them special. That's what ultimately killed Saturn
they had and still have trouble making cars in general.... worst auto company ever
@@SantanKGhey1234 OKAY TROLL, kia and hyunDIE are far worse
I actually thought that the Chevy Cruze had the potential to finally be a good small car for GM. But after hearing about the reliability issues related to the 1.4 Turbo engine, I proved wrong.
The Chevette wasn't as bad as JD was making it out to be. The problem was it was barely competitive with newer FWD models in the late '70s and fully obsolete by the time it finally went out of production in 1987 only three years before this.
A red 1995 SC2 was the first new car I purchased after graduating college when I worked for GM in Michigan. I ordered mine and it was fully loaded (except it was a manual). With the GM employee discount, I think I paid $18K and remember you just paid sticker with no negotiations. It was a wonderful car albeit small inside. After seven years in Michigan and then Arizona, there was no rust anywhere -- of course the panels were plastic -- and the red paint still shined brilliantly like new. Great little car!
Too much. I paid for a new 1994. Tbird V8 $15600 on sale
bet those trailing arms and door sills where rusty
@@Super_Charged4life Working on replacing that trailing arm on my Saturn that spent 20+ years of Minnesota winter. No holes but absolutely rusty territory.
@@Super_Charged4life Door sill rusting issue was fixed by 1999 I think.
@@terrylloyd8107; That’s because the 1989-1997 T-Birds were just plain ole ugly.
The 55-57, 61-63 were my favorites. The 83-88 T-Birds were my favorite as well. They were brutally fast in NHRA/NASCAR.
The poor old Edsel can finally breath a sigh of relief because of the return of a ‘retro’ T-Bird in 2001. 🙄
These were good cars, something GM should have put more focus on. In typical GM fashion, they blew it, then Japan and Germany swooped in for the kill.
Germany, not quite. They made cars that excelled in the style, interior and handling department, but sometimes at the expense of reliability. Japan (Toyota and Honda) nailed the reliable commuter (and sometimes performance in Honda's case) car market.
@@damilolaakanni Depends on what’re buying VW Jetta/golf is a super reliable car
"...then Japan and Germany swooped in for the kill."
This sounds like GM had the lead while Japan and Germany were nipping at Saturn's heels. That was never the case with GM's small cars. GM even relied on Toyota to build the Nova/Prizm/Matrix while Opel (GM's German company) was buzzing along selling compacts outside of the US, even importing them as Saturns. Bottom line, Japan and Germany were not seriously threatened by Saturn.
GM let the only true Saturn (the S series) die. It was 10 years old when the awful Ion arrived. GM did what GM does.
Very true. I miss my Saturn Vue
Well, Japan anyway.
Crazy to actually see these cars new again! Lmao they were everywhere back then now its a rare sight. But they still exist which is cool. Who wouldve thought we'd all be here appreciating saturn! Lol we lowkey miss them! Same with Pontiac. And i love these retro reviews! So many cars back then actually had a manual trans.
I have had 4 and plan on getting an sw wagon soon. I love these cars.
@@aeoteroa818 hell yeah! Keep up the collection! Easy af to work on and no rust! Lol
These S Series cars were the only true in house built Saturn's, once the ION and L Series debuted it was a downhill slide from there, pretty soon they were basically rebadged Chevy's.
@@joecostantino3684 facts dude. Gm couldnt handle saturn making money that wasnt going toward CHEVY! lol fuckers
I learned to drive manual transmissions on one of these. When gas went stupid high, I loved my 38mpg. Underrated cars.
Those Saturn cars from the beginning til about 02 seemed to be pretty decent automobiles. My sister had one with 310k miles on it and never did anything but maintenance.
The 1.9L was actually a pretty reliable engine.
"What doomed this company that GM created to run differently was that GM ran it like GM."-Nolan Sykes, Donut Media.
I had a 1993 Saturn SL2 when I was in HS, so the car was only about 12 years old then. I really enjoyed it, was a fun safe first car for sure.
A typical case of GM getting something right, then killing it off. I have friends who were devoted to Saturn... easy buying, friendly dealers, and simple to understand vehicles.
GM getting it right? More like a mixed bag. Saturn Ion was notorious for its clunky styling and cost cutting. Google GM ignition switch recall. People DIED from this issue. Saturn regained its footing just in time to get its brand killed off.
@@houseofno Saturn had it right with the cars they designed themselves, these original coupes and sedans. Everything else Saturn ever "made" was just another rebadged GM product. The Ion was just a rebadged Cobalt and it replaced the S series coupe/sedan. That was pretty much the nail in the coffin for Saturn IMO
My aunt had a '93 SL2 and was thrilled with it. Saturn dealers were second only to Lexus in customer satisfaction ratings. But instead of Saturnizing the rest of GM, they ended up GMizing Saturn.
@@houseofno”saturn” ions were not Saturns at all
@@radiofreemongoliaofficial Not buying that. If the VIN number and the car title say it's a Saturn Ion, that's good enough for me.
1992 SL2 with the performance button!! 256,000 at the time of death! RIP.
I'd still like to find a 1994 SL2 with tan interior in good condition. That was my favorite year of those cars. Loved the original dash layout in the black plastic with the tan cloth seats... I had a 1992 with the tan dash. Still one of my favorite cars that I've owned.
Someone at my job has a s series coupe I swear it looks so futuristic/cartoonish next to all the modern cars. 💯
Paid $300 bucks for my 2000 saturn my freshman year of college and that little car took so much more abuse than it should. Still running today for my friends cousin. Love these little turds.
My niece bought one of those new in 1991! Hers was silver sedan with the twin cam 16 valve engine, drove the hell out of it! In fact she put over 200 thousand miles on it before giving it to my brother her father, then my brother put another 50-60 thousand miles on it before getting rid of it! And when he got rid of it! It was still running and the body wasn’t in bad shape, being most of it plastic!
RIP Saturn (1991-2010) 😢🪦
I have always loved the coupe's design. It looks like a baby Firebird!!
I love my Saturns. I’ve owned 6 of the S Series cars, one of which i currently own is a 1995 SC1, soon to be swapped with the twin cam. I also own and love my 2004 Vue Redline. Fantastic cars, I have more fun in my Saturns than I did in my Integras and Civics.
LOVE that you're going old-school again!!!! As much as I love these early Saturns, the thing I LOVED so much about this road test is John Davis' comparison between the Fleetwood & the Chevette at the beginning (0:15). I love it because it underscores how I feel about larger American cars versus smaller ones. All my life, I have given Detroit A LOT of crap about the lack of build quality & reliability in their cars, but you will NEVER hear me complain about their full-size cars......because they truly WERE the cars that Detroit excelled at building. I have always felt that GM, Ford, & Chrysler took very much a NIMBY (Not In MY Backyard!!!!!!!) approach to building their smaller vehicles once the imports started to come on strongly & were more focused on BEATING them than they were on providing worthy alternatives to them. As a result, build quality, reliability, etc. suffered & turned the American public off of American cars for decades to come.
I bought a 5 speed 94 sw2 back in like 2010. I gutted it and it ran a 16.4 @ 83. Loved that thing.
why? 😂
The front bumper reminds me of the TGV trains from France.
Yes!
Thank you for sharing another GM road test. I loved the Oldsmobile styling comment. It is true. You see what Oldsmobile Firenza would have become. You can appreciate Saturn for what it was, but at the same time it was a symbol of GM's troubles back then. Saturn upset the other GM brands big time. Some say they could have invested this money in repairing and strengthening the other brands. There is some truth to that. Saturn started off correctly. Then Saturn became just a GM brand. After this they had an Opel Vectra that was sold as a Saturn L Series. The Saturn Vue that was the Opel/Vauxhall Antara, The Saturn Outlook that later gave its parts and styling to the GMC Acadia. The Saturn Relay minivan was the same van that Chevrolet, Buick, and Pontiac were selling after Oldsmobile Silhouette was dropped. The second generation sedan and coupe became the ION and were very unattractive. The midsized Saturn sedan the Aura looked like an Oldsmobile also. I recall the rumors GM was thinking about folding Saturn into Oldsmobile and selling the Oldsmobiles as a companion of cars that were upscale to the Saturns. That we know did not happen. Then they sold the Opel Astra as the Saturn Astra. The Saturn Sky was the same as the Opel GT and Pontiac Solstice. For a while there Saturn was becoming Opel in North America. Just wow when you think back. Thank you for the video.
I love this Saturn, beatuifuls these cars, wagons is my favorites
Saturn was supposed to fold into Oldsmobile before the decision in 00' to kill Olds
True. The money spent on Saturn could have fixed problems at the other GM divisions.
@@liddlebopeep Indeed true...
I currently daily a 1995 SL1. Had it almost two years now and have put just shy of 30k miles on it. One of the best cars I’ve owned so far in my life
I miss my light blue 1995 Saturn SL1. Ended up selling it with 273k on it. Nothing was wrong with it.
I still miss my '93 SW1. at one time my wife's family had nine different Saturns with three of them being return buyers. Now They're all driving Toyotas and Hondas with one Subaru and one Hyundai. GM really dropped the ball when they killed of the brand.
I had a '95 SL1 that I bought used in '98. I loved that car! Drove it for 7 years before I sold it to my then-partner's daughter. She drove it for another 4 years, but by that time it was 14 years old and had 170,000 miles on it when it quit.
This is great to see! I worked at Saturn marketing from 1996 to 2005 in product planning mostly. As Technology Planner, I stayed and helped decide on which features the cars should have, forecast and pricing for those features. GM should have kept just Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Saturn, killed GMC, Buick, Pontiac. For China, they could have rebadged Saturns as Buicks.
That probably was a fun job. What type of degree do you need to get that kind of job.?
Eventually GM will just be down to 2 main brands for their vehicles like over at the Ford Motor Company with just Ford and Lincoln.
GMC is a cash cow to GM… why would you kill it?
That sounds like a really interesting job. They should have kept Saturn to stay competitive in the small car market. Instead they stopped trying and had to close some large vehicle plants. (Janesville)
@@Aaron.Crow512 I studied mechanical engineering and because I'm a car fanatic and knew quite a bit about tech, I got the job. Later, I earned my MBA in the evenings. Basically, do engineering and MBA and try to become a Product Manager.
I remember the Saturn cars had plastic panels that are resistant to dents.
For a few years. Then sun exposure made them brittle so they would break instead of flex. Good concept, poor execution.
@@Noah_E But they're easier to replace than repainting body panels would be.
@@Noah_E I've had 4 Saturns all shit boxes and I've had this happen 0 times. I've never noticed brittle doors fenders or bumpers. I've flexed the shit out of my doors. They break when you hit stuff and often you can just replace the plastic skin instead of a whole panel.
@@Noah_E I've recently seen a black Saturn ion with the plastic panels look like someone who had spray paint the exterior plastic panel pieces and did a crummy job.
I had a 94 Sedan and those features worked great I remember a Buick backing into me I had no dent or damage it was a tough little car I missed it was nice for what it was and had nice features.
The coupe looks good& they could have made both these better to a Japanese style equivalent. Nice to see these cars
I worked at a Saturn dealer for 5 years and got to see the transition from these great, little, all in house built S-series cars to the cookie cutter GM platforms that replaced them. The S-series was far too inexpensive for all the tech it had and that’s what ultimately started the down turn. Then came the influx of GM global products. The L-series and Vue absolutely destroyed Saturn’s reputation and the early Ions were so noisy and awkward. Then they tried turning them in to a Luxury-ish brand. That was the final nail in the coffin. It’s a shame too. I’ve never seen a brand more committed to their customers or their employees.
We loved our 01 SL2, 04 Ion and 05 Vue. All 5 speed manuals.
I don’t think the Vue was the issue. They did quite well in sales. Plus the Vue was GM’s first unibody compact CUV, on the Theta Platform. 04-07 Vue had Honda 3.5L V-6 and 5AT. Made these very quick and smoother than the original Opel 3.0L 54 degree V-6 with 181 hp. The 03-07 Ion was more the downfall of Saturn. Not horrible cars, but was not a true S Series replacement either.
I had a 1995 SL2. (twin cam) The engines were oil burners.
I love my Saturns currently have a a 96 SW2 auto and SL2 5spd. Never owned a 1st gen would really love to some day 🙂
These were great cars. There was a good long stretch of time when used Saturns were unambiguously the best first car for someone, since they sold for half of a Toyota or Honda in comparable condition. You could get a mint Saturn for under $1k. Only downside is they ALL burn oil due to a design fault with the piston oil ring drain back, so you have to check it frequently and keep it topped up. Most owners didn't do this. Combined with super low prices making them easy to total, they're almost all gone now. I think a completely mint SC2 would be a pretty decent Radwood car. These also did really well in Lemons racing for a while - not ultra competitive in pace but very reliable for endurance racing.
Still one of the best looking 90's car. I wanted a gold 5 speed SW2 so bad as a kid. I have a 2002 SL2 that hasn't given me any problems.
Saturn coupe was a good car. Maybe not as good as a Civic but not bad for an American small car.
I got 40 mpg in mine.
Quite a big difference in mpg, when considering both engines are 1,9L
Ive never had the chance to see either of them in real live, but Ive always liked them.
Gearing was a big factor in that, the TwinCam versions had fairly low and close gear ratios to make it feel quicker while the Single Cam was geared for fuel economy.
At 70mph in the TwinCam the engine spins 3000rpm (I'm not sure what the Single Cam turns) however in my experience driving an average of 60mph commuting those cars will easily do 33MPG (higher if you baby it), the lowest I've ever gotten in my Saturn was 29.
My dad almost bought a 1999 Saturn SL. He was going on talking about how durable the body plastics were and you could hit it with a sledgehammer and hardly any damage would occur. He test drove a champagne gold colored SL, and I thought the ride was terrible. The engine was very whiney and the automatic transmission had long gearing. Fuel economy mostly. Well... he ended up buying a 2000 Ford Taurus SE, first year model of the bigger headlights. That turned out to be a crappy car in the long run LOL
Saturn was revolutionary GM’s attempt at factory owned no haggle one priced dealership too bad didn’t work…
Had a 99 Saturn SL2 and a 2000 Saturn SL2 and a 2006 saturn Vue
Greetings from southern Ontario Canada I still have my Saturn sport utility vehicle thanks for sharing this video
I hired in at Saturn in 91, and I brought my dad down from Michigan in 92 and let him tour the plant.
He said "This is a good idea,but give it time and GM will f**k it up".
Which they did
GM really had something with Saturn and the owners were generally big fans of the first Gen products because they were just honest, good little cars. But of course it’s GM, and everything they touch turns to turds; the Ion was crap then they tried importing way too expensive Opels that were poorly equipped.
I had a ‘93 SC2. Red, grey leather interior. I loved that car. It was a really great car.
The hype around the launch of Saturn was similar to what we see around Tesla today....
i always liked the 2-doors with the pop-up headlights
i think this is one of the earliest appearances of the hottie that demonstrates the interior features
4:16 John: THOUGH THE SPEEDO AND TACH LOOK A BIT TOO SIMILAR! LOL
Alway a complaint about the fricken gauges lol
I had a second gen 1997 SL1. Most reliable car I've ever owned, and I wish I'd have kept it.
I’m going right now to the dealership and pick up a brand new Saturn !
Those Saturn coupes were cool
If you don't mind the loud road noises and some rough riding (mostly from aging), those Saturn coupes really handle well for a cheap car. The engine's got some pep too.
That guy looked startled by the auto seat belt lol at 4:54
Those early Saturn's especially were very good. So, of course, GM had to diminish Saturn little-by-little over time until it had to be killed. GM has ruined so many things over the years.
All American car companies had extreme difficulty transitioning to "econoboxes" but man, GM hit a grand slam with the Saturn S-series. These cars still KILL IT when it comes to pennies per mile of operation. 😊😊😊
95 SL2 310k. Still going strong
currently have a black 92 sc with 77k miles sitting in the garage and looks as good as it did new. the window sticker mrsp is $13,185 only options are cruise control and ac
No one can tell that my saturn has been in multiple crashes it still looks new after all these years!
Saturn Coupe , Rianne Murtaugh's car in Lethal Weapon 3
GM & Saturn never got the credit they deserved for creating import like compact and subcompact sedans, coupes and wagons. My favorite Saturn is the first generation L-Series, particularly the L300. GM hit the Accord & Camry in the stomach with the 1997 Malibu & Cutlass but the newer L300 kicked the Accord & Camry in the nutts. That L300 was a sleeper it was as quick as an SHO automatic and very smooth. The engine has a very pronounced seductive exhaust note too.
Saturns (real saturns not later rebranded chevy's) were decent cars. Far from perfect, but they were inexpensive, easy to work on and so simple that there wasn't much to break. I had one that lasted over 500k miles. First engine swapped out at 300k, still ran just bunt more oil than fuel. Second engine had those issues fixed and averaged 49mpg highway and low 40's in every day life. It was lightweight so the 120hp motor was able to move it around fine. Far from fast, but with a 5 speed it was a fun car to drive.
Affordable and decent gas mileage and decent little cars! Which gm shouldn't have never occurred the brand at all
Had a 95 SL1 for 15 years bought it used in 04. Fortunately by then they had done away with the TBI units in the SOHC engines and it had Multi Port FI like the DOHC models so had 100 hp instead of 85, still not a race car but better nonetheless, and also it had regular seat belts and not those God awful automatic ones that everyone hated. Had very few issues with it over the years, just the standard stuff although they do have a Reverse Slam issue (well known) and of course they burn oil and mine was no exception. The slam eventually leads to the input shaft nut backing out and loss of 2nd Gear as well as Reverse. $80 kit off ebay fixed that and did not need to remove the transmission from the car which was very convenient. One thing I do need to point out regarding roominess inside, the front seat occupants have plenty of room yes but the rear do not, leg room back there can be almost non existant particularly if someone tall is in front.
Saturn was quite possibly the best product idea that GM had at the time, it’s a shame that the other GM makes had too much hostility towards the brand.
I actually now think that the APV minivans would have been a better product for the Saturn brand, and the other males should have had a better powered, more conventional design.
The put in pop up headlights like an Accord from five years ago
I had the four door version. Nice little car.
That Fleetwood though😅
These things were indestructible with a manual transmission. I still see an occasional one on the road. I can't say the same for other US compacts of the era.
Moderno até hoje!
My first car was the only 08 Saturn that didn't have a body twin in the united states... And I still miss that car almost a decade later.
The little SC2 with the dual-cam engine and a five-speed transmission was actually a neat little, cheap, fun havin' car.
And of you stare at the sun for a quick moment and then squint really hard as you glance at an SC2, you might mistake one for an Eclipse/Laser.
GM should have focused more on the Saturn line. It had good cars.
The wife had a 1996 SC2 in what I think was called "black gold" paint. It was very lightweight, handled and rode well and the car looked really good with its slant-nose look and "hips" in the back. She still fondly recalls the paint as a standout. But the engine was its Achille's Heel: We went through two engines in that car. The first absolutely guzzled oil until a cylinder went dark after which the engine was replaced by Saturn. That one did barely better and, by the time we traded it in 2005 for her Mazda 6, it too was running on 3 cylinders and needed the throttle on the floor to maintain 100kph on the way to the dealer to pick up the new car. Nice little car let down by crappy powertrain engineering.
Oil consumption was probably the biggest problem with these engines and they never really fixed it throughout the production run. I've had 2 Saturns and both burned oil (1 burned about a quart every 300mi) but otherwise ran perfectly. I ended up rebuilding the engine and installed pistons that contained the revolutionary feature of oil drainback holes...(whoever engineered the original pistons in these engines needs slapped) and ever since then it's been perfect. I've since put well over 50,000mi on that engine and its been flawless ever since, no more oil consumption or any issues.
I never realized but the sedan does look like a mini Cutlass Supreme
A relative had a new 1995 Saturn SL sedan!😁
I actually like that blue interior
John's sentiment at the end sums up why Saturn failed. "They may not be superior overall to the best in import subcompacts..." and that's why they didn't succeed. The entire purpose of Saturn was to take on and beat them. The Saturn brand was rather pointless from the start since they were so rough around the edges. This coming from someone who really likes the first and second gen S-series cars and the brand's friendly, wholesome image.
Taking a new approach to the whole small car thing was probably a good idea. Having to start a whole new division, and all the costs that resulted, was probably not. Billions invested, while Oldsmobile slowly strangled to death. And to think that Hummer was still to come.
Was 18 and in the military at the time. Wanted a 95 Sl1. They ran my credit. I had none. Left empty handed. I was pretty bummed. Saturn would have commercials about helping first time car owners.
Had a 94 manual sedan and loved it. It don’t feel that slow though. No problems with it. Had a couple
Others ones as the years progressed. No problems with them either. The interior redesign wasn’t good. This could have been a great brand but seems it was mismanaged and/or forgotten about. Which is a shame. Not anti GM but seems this happens with them a lot in recent decades 🤦🏻♂️
GM always kills off cars as soon as they get them figured out. I want the Chevette at the beginning of the video!
I had a 1984 Chevette and it lasted me 229,000 miles
Still driving a 2007 Ion 2 five speed. Has 47,555 on it original. Looks good except for the clear coat is peeling on the hood.
I want the sedan In grey or silver ❤❤
They were hard for me to enter and exit compared to the competition. Once inside it wasn't bad.
As a GM product, the original Saturn cars were excellent, but compared to the best rival compacts on the market at the time, they were pretty mediocre.....still, "mediocre" was more than anyone really expected from GM at the time.
My first brand new car, great decision!
I had a 1996 Saturn SW1 (the station wagon) with the SOHC engine and 5-speed manual. Port fuel injection though. It was OK, but not Toyota or Honda level.
Ya they didn't rust into oblivion within 2 years like a Toyota or Honda
@@Welcometofacsistube it’s all about how often you rinse the salt off in wintertime how long metal on your car lasts. Take care of it it will take care of you. If you do what ammo-nyc does on UA-cam, your car will never rust. All about the care and maintenance.
I Remember the Saturn TV commercials. A pilot loading up Saturn parts (I think it was a seat) in an airplane and fly to the Alaskan Tundra, land in a lake. Drop off the part, and fly home. 😂
Is it true that Saturn used Honda engines?
They must have been better built because I see more Saturn cars of that era than I do of other GM cars
I had a white SL2 with the full aero kit and i thought it was a s3xy car. It really was slick looking but the rear end would always kick out in the snow and i lost her to a slippery curve..lol
Saturns burned oil because of lousy quality control. I tore down my 94 SL2. The cylinders were honed with a broken tool at the factory that left spiral scratches in all the cylinders. Not a single measurement on any of the valves, lifters, or any other part was within published factory specifications. The crankshaft seal barely touched the crankshaft, leaking within a few thousand miles. They ran rough because of leakage from faulty vacuum components, even when they and all tubing was replaced. The heads had a tendency to crack, and I had to pull six camshaft sets before I found one that had lobes all ground to the proper height. Not so great.
My ex-girlfriend on this car in the 5-speed manual sport coupe version. She drove like a bat out of hell in it but it was fun.😊
Beating the crap out of it. I approve.
It's so weird to me (born after these were new) to see them so shiny and clean, all Saturns in my mind have zero clear-coat left and missing hubcaps and a headliner held up by tacks or just gone entriely.
85hp on the base engine…my god. 😂
Also: the speedo and tech “look too similar”?! AutoWeek are outright maniacs when it comes to gauges.
Hi motorweek
1991: After 20 years of trying, GM finally perfects the Kleenex car. Use once and throw away.
0:24 you can just tell the level of distain he has for the Chevette, rightfully so
Hoje só faltaria o motor turbo e um cambio melhor...
I saw the first Saturn sedan cars in mid 1991 I thought it was a important Oldsmobile sedan car then I saw the Saturn SC coupe it was cool looking then I thought the convertible model was coming out in late 1993 but it was a concept then the wagon came out in 1993 also in 1996 it had a radical redesigned along with the couple and wagon but still no convertible.
Sensacional 👍👍👍
4:23 is what we are all here for
Saturns were great little cars ( I love the three door coupe) until GM screwed up with the ION and when they got it right again they killed off Saturn. 😢😢
Que da hora 👍😁😁 amigão
My brother had one of these in the late 90s as his first car. If he wasn't such a fuckup, it would have likely been my first car. They are very much of their time and I seldom see them on the road today.