Saturn SC2
Saturn SC2 is the short name from the sports coupe level of the first division of Saturn vehicles produced at the beginning of the 90s. The introduction of the S Series by General Motors was a marketing stratagem to diminish the impact of the Japanese imports on the American market. With the success reputed by Saturn SC2, Japan and Taiwan actually started selling these vehicles on their internal markets, which only proves that the reputation GM got for the Saturn S Series was not void of content. Though no spectacular adjustments were made to the Saturn SC2 in time, the year 1999 saw the biggest of upgrades.
Saturn SC2 got a little lateral door often called the suicide door on the side of the driver. For the coupe design, this additional feature was a big change as it was a sure innovation in the production of sports cars. This kind of door had only been used in the manufacturing of extended cab pickup trucks before. Saturn SC2 was produced with little modifications afterwards until 2003 when General Motors replaced the S Series and launched their new sports car, Saturn Ion. The production of this latter model also came to a halt in 2007 as well when GM chose a new market approach.
Saturn SC2 was also remarkable by the manual transmission that triggered a very efficient fuel consume. At the time when it was launched, the Saturn SC2 engine required one gallon of fuel for forty miles according to the highway tests performed for the car. This first engine was rated at only 124 horsepower, but in 1995 improvements were made to the initial SC model: thus, the producer added a lower front bumper and a trunk lid reflector, not to mention that the interior was also redesigned. It was the second generation of Saturn SC2 that saw changes in exterior concept that now focused on rather curve lines.
According to reviews Saturn SC2 was not very different from Saturn SC1, the latter only got black outside mirrors while the SC2 variant had them colored. Saturn SC2 came with standard fog lamps, anti-break lock was optional and it also had some kind of traction control. Then, in terms of manual transmission, Saturn SC2 and SC1 were identical, and the same similarity was preserved in the dashboard look, daytime running lights and even wheelbase. Improvements were tributary to the Saturn sedan and station wagon designs.