 Hi folks, I'm Simon and this is my 1993 Saturn SC2. I stumbled across my Saturn by a strange twist of fate at a garage just a few yards from where I live. I was driving past the same garage I drive past every day in my old Alfa Romeo 164 when suddenly I caught sight of it out of the corner of my eye. I jammed on my brakes, looked and looked again, not quite believing what I was seeing. Sitting in a corner of the garage forecourt was I thought was a silver Saturn coupe. I quickly parked the Alfa outside my house and walked back round to the garage for a closer look. Sure enough my eyes hadn't been deceiving me and I found myself standing in front of a 1st generation Saturn SC2.
I had been into American cars since my childhood and had attended loads of shows, yet I had never seen a Saturn in the UK before. I first became aware of Saturns when I visited the USA for the first time in 1997. I was so intrigued and captivated by these unusual American compact cars that I spent the rest of the holiday Saturn spotting! I couldn't believe that I'd found such a beautiful rare American car so close to home at a garage that usually sells boring Vauxhalls! I was in the market for a compact and economical American car to use as a daily driver and the Saturn fitted the bill perfectly. I was quite smitten and returned to the garage the next day with a friend to give my find a proper examination and test drive.
 The salesman at the garage said he didn't normally touch US imports and knew nothing about it. He said he just wanted rid and was going to send it straight off to be auctioned. The poor old Saturn had been neglected. The front brake discs were warped, the wiring had been tampered with and was in a complete mess, and the interior was full of cigarette ash. There was even cigarette ash and ends in amongst the gear linkages where the previous owner couldn't be bothered to empty his ashtray: When it was full he simply threw it to one side and flicked his ash down the hole. To cap it all, the driver's side door was jammed shut when I bought it due to a faulty door latch!
Despite its faults the Saturn drove like a dream. I was impressed by its' responsive engine, slick manual gearbox, well weighted steering and surefooted handling. I knew it was the car for me! I told the salesman the car needed a lot of work and made him a low offer, which he accepted.
From what I can gather from my detective work so far, my SC2 was imported into the UK in 1998 by a Welshman who lived/worked in California. It was bought second-hand by him from "Saturn Of Sunnyvale" in California in 1997. He took it back to Wales with him when he left the States a year later. At some point he moved to my part of the country (near Portsmouth, Hampshire), where in February 2003 he part-exchanged the Saturn for a Vauxhall Omega at my local garage.
 My 1993 SC2 is finished in Saturn Silver with a Graphite Grey dashboard and leather seats. The wheels are original equipment four-hole Teardrop alloys with a machined and lacquered finish. She has anti-lock brakes, air conditioning (of course!), cruise control, a five speed manual gearbox, and an electric sunroof.
Under the hood is a 1.9 litre four-cylinder twin cam engine rated at 124bhp. 124 horses might not sound like much, but as the SC2 only weighs 1078kg (2375lbs) 0-60 in 8.6 seconds is possible. The 35mpg fuel economy this engine provides is very welcome to me as I do 16,000 miles a year and my wages are, shall we say, very modest!
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Saturn was conceived as a subsidiary company of General Motors, as opposed to being just another GM brand. As such, the first generation of Saturn cars were totally unique from the ground up, sharing no components with any other GM cars or foreign manufacturers.
The SC2 is part of the S-series of cars, which were launched late in 1990 for the 1991 model year and were the first Saturns. The S-series range was made up of the SL1 and SL2 saloons, the SC1 and SC2 coupes, and the SW1 and SW2 station wagons. The "1" and "2" denoted if the car was single or twin-cam. All models had a 1.9 litre engine in either twin or single cam form. This engine was unique to Saturn.
All Saturns feature polymer body panels. All external panels are polymer except the roof, boot, and bonnet. These polymer panels are very strong and dent resistant, and they don't corrode (unlike fibreglass). They are also very light, benefiting performance and economy.
Simon Green
AKA - "Saturn Simon"
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