more personality, better performance, and greater sex appeal. The reason Saturn is

such a success is the experience that surrounds buying and owning the car.

Saturn's prices are intended to be firm prices, eliminating the haggling and the

nagging sense that someone else paid less for the same car. The short model line means

there is little incentive for the salesperson to pressure customers to move up to a

more expensive model. Indeed, the Saturn sales approach in general is to avoid

high-pressure sales techniques.

The base prices are a little deceiving since the standard model lacks many basic

amenities. The advantage of a la carte pricing is that buyers looking for basic

transportation can find it. Buyers who want comforts such as an automatic

transmission, air conditioning, cruise control, power locks, windows and mirrors and

antilock brakes can expect to run the bill up.

The ownership experience seems to be a good one. The cars have shown good

reliability and have held their resale value well. The highly trained, selective

dealer network means that Saturn owners have the best chance of getting good service anywhere in the country.

As the ultimate protection against buyer's remorse, Saturn offers a

30-day/1500-mile no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee, a philosophy Saturn has extended to used cars for 1996.

A different kind of company indeed.