Its amazing how life sometimes imitates art. Take Roald Dahl's children's book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," for example. According to the story, candy maker Willy Wonka opened the doors of his mysterious and intriguing plant for a sneak peak at how his workers dream up new types of candy and create the world's best chocolate. The privilege to venture deep inside the walls of the famed chocolate factory was limited to five lucky children who found golden tickets tucked inside the wrappers of Wonka chocolate bars. Inside the plant, Mr. Wonka took this small group of folks on an adventure they wouldn't soon forget. A few weeks ago I had the privilege to attend the Saturn Brand Advocate Board Meeting in Detroit. As I thought about how I wanted to write about my very own Saturn adventure, the story of 'Charlie' kept coming back to me over and over again. Our journey even included a ride in a glass elevator...

Saturn's Ion Red Line quad coupe raced into the record book at the Bonneville Salt Flats on October 17, 2003, establishing a new mark in the G/Blown Fuel Altered class at 212.684 mph.

Shown above are the body, suspension, and chassis specifications for Saturn's 1991 sedans (SL, SL1, SL2) and coupe (SC). They were all built off of Saturn's so-called "Z" platform, which was essentially a compact front-wheel-drive steel spaceframe chassis.

Sometimes its fun to pause for a moment at take a look back at how much things cost years ago. Take for instance Saturn's 1991 lineup, when base SL sedan was sold for less than $8000! The SL2, shown above, could be purchased for just over $10,000. Note the simplicity of the option sheet, along with the available anti-lock braking system (ABS) and unavailable airbags.

Saturn Corporation was the first North American auto manufacturer to utilize aerial advertising when the Saturn Lightship made its debut in the summer of 2001. The Saturn Lightship, a 165-foot, 6,335-pound A150 blimp, traveled across the United States supporting a variety of events and promotions held to promote the launch of the company's first sport utility vehicle, the Saturn Vue.

In Saturn's early days, the company's brochures were always a little bit different from your "typical" vehicle brochures. In addition to showcasing that model year's new features, Saturn used the pages of its brochures to tell a story about what made its cars different. You'll notice how none of the brochures below even show a car on their covers.

The price for each Saturn vehicle was determined by the independent decisions of three stakeholders: Saturn Corporation, the Retailer, and the Customer.

Saturn's Consultative Sales Process was developed for Sales Consultants to work with customers focusing on their wants and needs in order to help in the decision to purchase a vehicle.