Nashville, Tenn. is known as Music City, U.S.A. The picturesque town is home to such attractions as the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ol' Opry, the Ryman Auditorium and countless bars and nightclubs complete with their own stage and country music act. If you're not a fan of country or jazz music, steer clear of Nashville. Stay too long in the city, and you could end up shopping for cowboy hats and cowboy boots, though cattle ranching is not all too common an occupation in Nashville or the surrounding areas.
Far more common than ranchers and cowboys in Tennessee are United Auto Workers from the Saturn Assembly plant. Saturn invited us to Nashville to see for ourselves their nearby headquarters and to drive some vehicles from their line of 1999 vehicles. Due to a one-night layover in Nashville, we were able to experience the flavor of one of America's truly unique cities. The flavor is country.
Every restaurant and gift shop in town plays some form of country music on their public announcement systems, and nine out of ten radio stations in the area cater to country music fans. Turn on the car's radio while travelling through Tennessee, and you're likely to find yourself in the middle of a broken romance or drunken barn dance, as chronicled by the likes of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson or Reba McIntyre.
Driving around the hills just outside of Nashville can be a horrifying experience to anyone whose eardrums are easily offended by obnoxious noise. That fact has less to do with the local taste in music than it does with the predominant motor vehicle driven by the people who live in the hills just outside of Nashville: Saturn cars.
One hill in particular is home to an extraordinary number of these cacophonic vehicles: it's called Spring Hill. Spring Hill houses the Saturn Welcome Center and manufacturing plant, which is the workplace for some 7,200 assembly workers - each of whom are eligible to purchase a Saturn vehicle at an employee discount, and many of whom stand by their product by doing just that.
As a result, Spring Hill is overrun with Saturn cars. Until last year, these cars were among the noisiest vehicles in production, in terms of decibels invading the interior of the car. Wind up the engine, and break out the Advil - a Saturn car could quickly induce a migraine. Saturn thoughtfully provided a circa-1991 sedan to drive for comparison to the new powertrain, and my head is still pounding. The good news is that 1999 represents a quantum leap over 1991.
Saturn was conceived as far back as 1982, when GM decided that they needed something in the small-car segment that would focus primarily on competing with the Japanese. The project was code named "Saturn," in reference to the Saturn rocket that launched American astronauts to the moon in our space race with the Soviet Union. The name stuck, and unfortunately, so did the explosive sound that rockets tend to create. Since the inception of Saturn, the company has been plagued with complaints about engine racket.
For 1999, Saturn's trademark noise has been dropped in favor of customer sanity. Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels have been reduced drastically, not by any aerodynamic wind-resistance scheme, but thanks to several mechanical improvements under the skin. Since the sedan's exterior is unchanged this year, save for two new colors, it's important to understand that Saturn's improvements are due entirely to mechanical engineering. Engineers didn't add soundproofing foam to the engine compartment; they improved the design of the parts.
First, the exhaust system was revised in the 1998 model year to include a larger-volume muffler and a redesigned resonator and down-pipe. The greater the volume in the exhaust system, the easier it is for the gases to expand and the less intrusive the exhaust note. Saturn claims that the midrange muffler noise has been significantly reduced from a year ago.
For the '99 model year, parts of the engine itself were changed. The front covers of both SOHC and DOHC engines were revised to reduce noise levels. The alternator's fan was moved inside its housing, making for an effective sound container. Pistons were improved by lengthening their connecting rods, and the piston skirts were shortened. The old four-counterweight crankshaft was given eight counterweights, which reduces vibration.
The timing chain, a credit to Saturn's commitment to keeping repair costs low (chains do not require replacement, as do the rubber belts used in most cars), now has an 8mm pitch, down from the larger 9.5mm pitch of a year ago. The result of all of these modifications? EPA estimated fuel economy is up an average of one mpg, and then there's the obvious. You guessed it: a lot less audible annoyances make their way into the cockpit.
Now that the company has been building cars for nearly a decade, they've toned down their motors in a concentrated effort to silence the critics. Finally, Saturn cars don't represent a huge compromise when compared to their small-car Japanese competitors. This we discovered while driving the competition back-to-back with Saturn cars in what Saturn calls "Drive the Difference."
At "Drive the Difference" product promotions and invitational programs (sponsored by Saturn retailers nationwide), you'll see the Honda Civic EX, Toyota Corolla LE and Nissan Sentra GXE sedans go head-to-head with the Saturn SL2. Saturn thoughtfully assembled for us a "Drive the Difference" obstacle course, allowing us to make up our own minds about how their cars handle against the competition. Thanks to this makeshift comparison test, the Saturn SL's strengths and weaknesses became instantly apparent.
After driving the course, we understand why Saturn feels they compare well against the world's best-selling small cars. First, the SL2 feels more powerful than the others. Its 1.9-liter four-cylinder motor gives the car 124 horsepower @ 5600 rpm and 122 foot-pounds of torque @ 4800 rpm. In fact, the SL2 has more horsepower than the Sentra or Corolla, and it weighs less than any of the three competitors.
Saturn highlighted its strengths with a controlled brake test which proved that ABS really does work: on slick surfaces, the brakes won't lock up, allowing the driver to continue to steer the car even during a slide. However, each competitor also offers antilock brakes (standard on the Civic EX), so here the SL2 has no real advantage.
One perfectly good advantage is with the traction control system, included with Saturn's ABS option. The traction control is not simply a brake system; it utilizes throttle control as well, cutting power when wheel slip is detected. The system was highlighted by conducting standing starts on wet plastic. The result? While the competitors spun their tires, the SL2 felt poised, idling its way over the slippery surface.
Through the slalom, the SL2 behaved solidly, thanks in part to front and rear stabilizer bars. We were also impressed with the steering system, which is speed-sensitive and provides excellent feedback around tight curves. In this mini-comparison, the Corolla walked away the loser due to numb steering and an abundance of lateral motion.
Straightaway acceleration is close between each of these cars, but the small road course offered too short a distance to compare acceleration. It did give us the opportunity to compare the engine sound under hard acceleration, however, and while the SL2 is no mute, it compares favorably with each Japanese competitor. In fact, noise is no longer a source of complaint.
But Saturn still has its glaring weak points. The SL2's interior treatment is fourth-rate when compared to the assembled Japanese competition. The Civic wins for ergonomics in this comparison, with the Toyota taking second place and the Sentra third. The SL2's flaws are apparent in both layout and materials. All controls are placed vertically on the center console, and the overall appearance is haphazard at best. Thankfully, our sources tell us that the dash is due for a much-needed redesign with the 2000 model year.
Styling is subjective, however, we really like how the Civic looks compared to the others. The Saturn holds its own with a distinctive shape that carries more personality than either the Corolla or Sentra. Saturn's other strengths include excellent scores for initial quality, best-in-class resale value, and the expected low cost of ownership. Plastic dent- and rust-resistant quarter panels, doors and front fascia keep Saturn cars looking newer longer, which gives them the long-term resale advantage. And the cost of parts is kept low thanks to the company's efficient parts distribution system and dedication to keeping the customer happy.
The true test in this segment, however, often comes down to initial price. In this comparison, the SL2 optioned out at $192 more than the Corolla, $408 more than the Sentra, and $110 less than the Civic. The dilemma? Saturn's no-haggle sales system. True, the SL2 offered leather seats, traction control and fog lights that can not be found on the Japanese cars, but the Japanese advantage may well be the free-market system itself: shop around, and the cost of one of these imports can easily drop by $1,000. Add in the occasional customer incentives, and the Sentra's price alone can drop by over $3,000. That's tough competition for a small-car manufacturer, no matter how improved the product.
After a pleasant drive around the rolling Tennessee countryside, during which an entire conversation was carried on at normal speaking levels, we must say that the new SL2 is indeed improved. The seats are comfortable, performance is better than average, and the car is actually fun to drive. The SL2 offers real value compared to similar import models, and the dealership experience at Saturn is always first-rate.
But don't take our word for it. Drive the difference yourself, and then shop around. Oh, and if you happen to find yourself anywhere near Nashville, tune the radio to WGFX 104.5 and crank up the rock-'n'-roll.
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