4 ms·

All Things Come to an End. Even My 2001 Saturn

7 points by samclemens 11y ago

Nr7 11y ago
In several European countries there are mandatory yearly checks for (old) cars and if your car doesn't pass you are not allowed to drive it until it's fixed. It would be interesting to see if the lack of checks in the US actually causes significantly more traffic accidents and/or more severe accidents.
- acranox 11y ago
  This car would fail its annual inspection in Massachusetts, USA. Of course, some shops don't do thorough inspections, but the law requires a working parking brake, and seat belts and mirrors, among other things.
- PhantomGremlin 11y ago
  I had cognitive dissonance trying to understand the POV of the author. No emergency brake? Bucking the driver's seatbelt into the passenger belt buckle? Seriously? The person does write novels, so maybe there's a little bit of hyperbole? Because I just can't grok driving without a functioning seat belt!
  - iamben 11y ago
    Yup, same here. I thought it actually read pretty recklessly. Nostalgia is one thing, nostalgia to the point of danger is another thing altogether.
- gambiting 11y ago
  As a matter of fact in the EU if the police stopped him without a working seatbelt or emergency brake the car could be impounded until he arranged to have it fixed. When I first heard that some US states do not have mandatory inspections every year I was shocked.
  - dubya 11y ago
    It's not even by state. Nashville, TN has inspections and emissions test, while Knoxville, TN has no requirements.
nkoren 11y ago
I'm still vaguely sentimental about my old Saturn, which died in 2002. Saturns had a reputation for being the safest cars of their day, and mine certainly proved that to me. My wife and I were driving on a fast stretch of highway east of Santa Fe -- where going less than 90mph would get you rear-ended -- when the tire blew out. The car began to drift and then started pinwheeling against a guardrail, disassembling itself almost gracefully. A few seconds later we was resting in the median. The front and rear of the car were mostly gone, but the passenger cabin was fully intact. We were completely unharmed and mostly unruffled. My first words were something to the effect of "nice car". I'll always be grateful to the Saturn engineers who saved our lives that day. Thanks, guys!
- wefarrell 11y ago
  I owned my tiny 2001 sc1 for only a month before I had my accident. There were wet leaves on the road and a Honda Pilot coming the other way lost control and swerved into my side of the road, hitting me head on. I don't know if I'll ever experience anything as terrifying as that massive hunk of SUV thrusting itself directly at me with nothing but the front of this little Saturn protecting me. Before the impact I was sure that I was going to be severely injured and possibly even killed. Aside from the scrapes on my wrist from the airbag deploying I had no injuries whatsoever. The first responders insisted I would have back pains later but they never came. Meanwhile the driver of the Honda Pilot (which had twice the mass of my saturn) was unconscious. When driving it's easy to forget that you're surrounding by massive metal objects moving at incredible speeds that can instantly kill you. In my case they did not, thanks to the people who made my Saturn.
tempestn 11y ago
Seriously though, if your car is missing three hubcaps, remove the fourth! Huge appearance upgrade for free.
jlubawy 11y ago
I've still got my 2004 Toyota Matrix (first car) which just hit >100,000 miles this year, nothing compared to other stories out there I'm sure, but impressive for the little amount of trouble it's caused me. One thing that scares me about getting a new car is that this one has kept me so safe, and been so reliable for 10+ years, can another car do that for me?
alblue 11y ago
I have a 2002 Prius Hybrid which is still running fine after 120,000 miles - though I did need to replace the battery earlier this year when one of the cells leaked (internally). Not exactly a cheap change but has probably given it another five years life.
jkmcf 11y ago
I'm not sentimental about my 1995 Saturn, winner of the most uncomfortable seats award, but my 2000 Maxima w/ 230k miles was still running great when I donated it to the Humane Society a year ago.

7 points by samclemens 11y ago

Nr7 11y ago

In several European countries there are mandatory yearly checks for (old) cars and if your car doesn't pass you are not allowed to drive it until it's fixed. It would be interesting to see if the lack of checks in the US actually causes significantly more traffic accidents and/or more severe accidents.

acranox 11y ago
This car would fail its annual inspection in Massachusetts, USA. Of course, some shops don't do thorough inspections, but the law requires a working parking brake, and seat belts and mirrors, among other things.
PhantomGremlin 11y ago
I had cognitive dissonance trying to understand the POV of the author. No emergency brake? Bucking the driver's seatbelt into the passenger belt buckle? Seriously? The person does write novels, so maybe there's a little bit of hyperbole? Because I just can't grok driving without a functioning seat belt!
- iamben 11y ago
  Yup, same here. I thought it actually read pretty recklessly. Nostalgia is one thing, nostalgia to the point of danger is another thing altogether.
gambiting 11y ago
As a matter of fact in the EU if the police stopped him without a working seatbelt or emergency brake the car could be impounded until he arranged to have it fixed. When I first heard that some US states do not have mandatory inspections every year I was shocked.
- dubya 11y ago
  It's not even by state. Nashville, TN has inspections and emissions test, while Knoxville, TN has no requirements.

nkoren 11y ago

I'm still vaguely sentimental about my old Saturn, which died in 2002. Saturns had a reputation for being the safest cars of their day, and mine certainly proved that to me. My wife and I were driving on a fast stretch of highway east of Santa Fe -- where going less than 90mph would get you rear-ended -- when the tire blew out. The car began to drift and then started pinwheeling against a guardrail, disassembling itself almost gracefully. A few seconds later we was resting in the median. The front and rear of the car were mostly gone, but the passenger cabin was fully intact. We were completely unharmed and mostly unruffled. My first words were something to the effect of "nice car". I'll always be grateful to the Saturn engineers who saved our lives that day. Thanks, guys!

wefarrell 11y ago
I owned my tiny 2001 sc1 for only a month before I had my accident. There were wet leaves on the road and a Honda Pilot coming the other way lost control and swerved into my side of the road, hitting me head on. I don't know if I'll ever experience anything as terrifying as that massive hunk of SUV thrusting itself directly at me with nothing but the front of this little Saturn protecting me. Before the impact I was sure that I was going to be severely injured and possibly even killed. Aside from the scrapes on my wrist from the airbag deploying I had no injuries whatsoever. The first responders insisted I would have back pains later but they never came. Meanwhile the driver of the Honda Pilot (which had twice the mass of my saturn) was unconscious. When driving it's easy to forget that you're surrounding by massive metal objects moving at incredible speeds that can instantly kill you. In my case they did not, thanks to the people who made my Saturn.

tempestn 11y ago

Seriously though, if your car is missing three hubcaps, remove the fourth! Huge appearance upgrade for free.

jlubawy 11y ago

I've still got my 2004 Toyota Matrix (first car) which just hit >100,000 miles this year, nothing compared to other stories out there I'm sure, but impressive for the little amount of trouble it's caused me. One thing that scares me about getting a new car is that this one has kept me so safe, and been so reliable for 10+ years, can another car do that for me?

alblue 11y ago

I have a 2002 Prius Hybrid which is still running fine after 120,000 miles - though I did need to replace the battery earlier this year when one of the cells leaked (internally). Not exactly a cheap change but has probably given it another five years life.

jkmcf 11y ago

I'm not sentimental about my 1995 Saturn, winner of the most uncomfortable seats award, but my 2000 Maxima w/ 230k miles was still running great when I donated it to the Humane Society a year ago.