Vue Wave?

[aztimm]

Hello,

A few weeks ago, while riding with a friend in his Saturn Vue, someone passed us, beeped her horn and started waving excitedly. After she got passed we noticed that she was driving another Saturn Vue.

I just purchased my own Saturn Vue this past weekend (AWD V6, 2003), and was wondering if there is any protocol on this.

Several years ago, a friend loaned me her Jeep Wrangler for a day. I started driving, and people started waving at me. I had no idea what was going on, but waved back. Turns out there's a Jeep 'wave'....

If there isn't a wave or other hello signal for the Vue, maybe there should be.


Tim Murphy

[canuck_vue]

I don't know...

Whenever I try to make contact with another vue, i am rudely ignored!...it's kinda wierd, like they think they're the only ones with a vue...

I was one of the first in my city to have one, now there are lots...i'll keep waving, but i've only had 1 wave back...

-srf

[silvervoo]

I've been wanting there to be a "vue wave" so I guess the logical solution is to help start one. From now on everyone, if you are in a vue and you see another vue, WAVE!

It doesn't have to be a big "excited to see you" kind of wave, just a little tip of the hand will do (if you've seen wrangler or motorcycle drivers exchange waves, that's what I'm talking about).

I think if everyone on this board starts waving, it might just be enough to catch on everywhere!

[MacAppleScotty]

I think that people driving Saturns have the right to wave to each other. I have a '94 SC2 and from the day that I bought it, I have waved at other Saturns. Many of my friends think that I'm nuts . . . and I just show them my Saturn shirt that says, "Unless you own one, you wouldn't understand." I do think that at least a firnedly smile should be exchanged between fellow Saturn drivers. I firmly believe in the original (and better) motto of "A Different Kind of Company/ A Different Kind of Car" The idea of the "Saturn Family" should be held high. Saturn means more than just a car to me. NOW - I know that some people are going to read this and think "BARF! This guy is sooooo full of it, he has tohave brown eyes!" But, the truth of the matter is - I mean every word of what I just wrote. I can't wait until I can finally afford to buy my new '04 VUE. I figured that a new Saturn is in-line for me after 10 wonderful years. (Yes, like any car I've had a few little problems, but I've lived)

Cheers.

[bk63]

I think some people take this "Saturn Family" thing too seriously. When you are fighting with the dealer because they had your car the past 4 or 5 days and their only loaner car is out to somebody else that "saturn family" thing goes right out the door. I've never even had another VUE passing by look at me.

[mr weather]

The Jeep wave thing has been around for years and is deeply imbedded within that CULTure. I've only waved at a few VUE owners particularly the ones with AWD V6's. The owners around here don't seem to be as friendly as the ones I see whenever I visit my folks in Windsor, Ontario. Down there everyone waved!

[jay10603]

I'm part of the Saturn "WAVE"! Waving is really nice. I grew up in a rural part of Tennessee where it seemed many drivers waved at passing cars. No, it didn't matter if you knew the driver or not.

It was one of the things that amazed my parents about living in TN. We are "damn Yankees" (people who moved from the north and stayed). My parents moved from Indiana to TN when I was about 10 (about 1980) when my father's job moved. The waving thing just made us feel like part of the community.

Still, when I visit where my parents live in rural Tennessee, many people still wave or at least lift several fingers off the steeering wheel as you pass. It is just nice.

I agree, lets wave at each other! What does it hurt?

[Hobbes]

I used to wave at other people driving Saturns (when I had my SL2). After a while, when there were a lot more Saturns on the road, it all kind of died down. Now, though, I'm trying to wave at least at all VUE drivers I see. Some even beat me to it!

On to a distantly related topic...

When Saturn went from letter-and-number designations to names on their cars, it killed the exclusiveness of the Saturn name. The foreign luxury car manufacturers use the letter-and-number naming convention so that people will focus on the BRAND of the car instead of the model. Thus, it is often enough just to say that you have a BMW or Mercedes, rather than get into the actual model designation such as 325i or 530SEL. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. HAVE to make good cars because a bad model could tarnish the reputation of the whole brand since the focus in on the brand instead of the model. Someone buying a Lexus expects quality no matter what model he chooses.

Now, instead of one big Saturn family, it has splintered into ION, L300, and VUE (plus the older S and L series.) It used to be enough to say "I drive a Saturn." This brought to mind things that the Saturn name stood for (quality workmanship, Spring Hill, plastic panels, the Homecoming, etc.) However, we must now qualify that we have a Saturn VUE, ION, or L300, etc. When Saturn brings out the minivan with all steel panels, that will dilute the uniquness of the Saturn name even further.

Personally, I bought my VUE (instead of a different SUV) because of two things: the plastic panels and the Saturn retailer network. If they ever take away the plastic panels, that will only leave the dealer on my list, which may not be enough to persuade me to buy another Saturn. Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed both my Saturns! It's just that the "different kind of car / company" slogan does not seem to be holding true for the future.

Saturn, listen up: I like being different!

Thanks for reading all that.

[tominsky]

I think it should be more of a sympathy wave! More like, "Ohh, I'm so sorry that you also bought a VUE, and ohh, it's a VTi, now I'm really sorry!"

Let's hope my opinion changes soon. Just got my VUE back from having the VTi transmission kit installed to stop all that grinding sound. So far so good. It's so quite, no longer sounds like a 20 year old car that never had an oil change!

[aztimm]

Thanks for all the replies, never expected so many in just a day. I haven't yet seen another Vue since I've had mine (a whole 4 days now), but if I see one, I'll wave to them.

As for issues with the vehicle itself, it seems none are exactly perfect. I've always been a GM person, and although you may need to work on getting things fixed, they overall turn out good.

[bk63]

Originally posted by tominsky
I think it should be more of a sympathy wave! More like, "Ohh, I'm so sorry that you also bought a VUE, and ohh, it's a VTi, now I'm really sorry!"

Let's hope my opinion changes soon. Just got my VUE back from having the VTi transmission kit installed to stop all that grinding sound. So far so good. It's so quite, no longer sounds like a 20 year old car that never had an oil change!

HAAAAAA man that's funny, but I do know how you feel. Can you tell me what they put on the invoice for that work? I'm wondering if I need the same thing.

[silvervoo]

tominsky and bk63, where do you guys live? You need more than a wave you need a HUG

[Gerry Proctor]

The "wave" is a culture thing so I suppose that depending on how well defined the culture is would drive whether a wave would be understood or returned. You see the wave in motorcycle riders (Harley riders do the angular point to the road while most other bikers just do a hand slightly up on the left bar) because the bike culture is and always has been unique from most of the four-wheeled public. Corvette owners have the wave tradition but it isn't universally understood or acknowledged. It's not like it's required for registration or something. We don't get upset if a wave isn't returned since we just assume that the driver owns a Corvette but isn't part of the culture or doesn't know about the wave. I'm sure Porsche and other unique cars have their wave culture too.

Now as far as Saturns being part of a culture...I don't know about that. I see quite a few VUEs and I've never waved at another or been waved to so in my opinion, no.

[silvervoo]

Originally posted by Gerry Proctor
The "wave" is a culture thing so I suppose that depending on how well defined the culture is would drive whether a wave would be understood or returned.
...
Now as far as Saturns being part of a culture...I don't know about that. I see quite a few VUEs and I've never waved at another or been waved to so in my opinion, no.

Personally I feel there is a VUE culture. As others have said, Saturn has more varied models now so the Saturn culture is much more diverse, but I do feel that I have something in common with most vue owners, something a little more than just the fact we bought the same model Saturn. Just consider the fact that this site and this forum get so much traffic. A lot of these people have things in common and most of them get along pretty well.

There may not be many people waving now, but a wave has to start somewhere, and from now on I'm going to wave at every vue I see.
And next time I'm in San Antonio I'm going to wave at you too

[tominsky]

I'm in Montreal and can use all the hugs I can get!!

BK63- I'll bring in my paper work tomorrow and let you know what they did. It might be in french so I'll do my best to translate it.

[Gerry Proctor]

Originally posted by silvervoo
...And next time I'm in San Antonio I'm going to wave at you too

And I'd wave back...if I'm in the VUE at the time.

I wonder if this comes up in the bellybutton cars like on the Civic forums? Really doubt it.

[tracylee]

The last time I passed by a VUE at an intersection, the driver and I wave. We did have another couple wave at us once. I don't remember where we were. There aren't many here in town, usually, I'm travelling in the same direction and they don't notice me, or I see them from the window at work. I could wave, but no one would see!

I'll keep it in mind from now on and try to get it going around here!

[OhioVueBoy]

I've had lights flashed at me, waved, been yelled at at stoplights, and had a women get out of her car and knock on my window to ask me what I was driving.
~D.J.~

[bk63]

Yeah right. That's stretchin it a bit.

[tracylee]

Originally posted by OhioVueBoy
I've had lights flashed at me, waved, been yelled at at stoplights, and had a women get out of her car and knock on my window to ask me what I was driving.
~D.J.~

Last time that happened to me, I thought people were admiring the funky paint job my boyfriend had done on my '73 Datsun (it had waves and airbrushed wind-surfers). It turns out I'd just forgotten to turn my lights on after dark .