Just bought car of the year

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I just purchased a Saturn Aura. My dad bought a new Toyota Camry, but the Aura is nicer performing, quieter, and Patrick says it’s nicer (I think the backseat headphones convinced him). More later, gotta sign the paperwork.

One reason I came into Saturn? Someone from Saturn invited me into a dealership after reading my blog. That’s an interesting sales technique. Imagine a company that has a “invite a blogger” division that contacts bloggers. Oh, this isn’t a one-off, either. Saturn sponsored BlogHer last year. That sponsorship just turned into a sale. I do support businesses that support us.

Another factor? Matt Kelly, who works for PodTech, was at the Detroit Auto Show last week and said the Saturn was the best by a mile (here’s Matt’s reports on Saturn). It sure is better than the Honda Civic, which Maryam and I test drove lately too.

And I couldn’t be like Chris Pirillo and buy an Acura. Heheh.

Color? It’s black.

Technology? Not much, when compared to other cars, no nav system or anything like that. Why? I’m a cheap baaaahhhhssstttaaarrrddd.

UPDATE: Steve Powell, director of Colma Saturn, says my car actually has navigation built in through OnStar. Very cool.

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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67 thoughts on “Just bought car of the year”

  7. Dude, nav is the bomb. It removes a whole set of hassles and stress from getting places, and anything that de-stresses my life is worth the money. I can’t imagine buying a car without a nav system any more.

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  8. Dude, nav is the bomb. It removes a whole set of hassles and stress from getting places, and anything that de-stresses my life is worth the money. I can’t imagine buying a car without a nav system any more.

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  13. Very nice car, Saturn is really starting to shine, there’s more coming this year from them and the Aura is just the begining.

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  14. Very nice car, Saturn is really starting to shine, there’s more coming this year from them and the Aura is just the begining.

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  15. Sounds like a good choice. I’ve had my Saturn for 13 years…. I am way way way overdue. I will have to check the new one out. The last time around, I appreciated the fact that I could point to a model and ask for a price list. No 3-hour negotiation with the accounting manager 🙂

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  16. Sounds like a good choice. I’ve had my Saturn for 13 years…. I am way way way overdue. I will have to check the new one out. The last time around, I appreciated the fact that I could point to a model and ask for a price list. No 3-hour negotiation with the accounting manager 🙂

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  17. Not a Prius? 😮 Just bought one and love it! Super mileage, very comfortable, lots of fun. And navigation (which I’m finding is SUPER useful!)

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  18. Not a Prius? 😮 Just bought one and love it! Super mileage, very comfortable, lots of fun. And navigation (which I’m finding is SUPER useful!)

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  19. Pingback: Scoblemobile « Tuesdays with Maury

  24. Just when we found a very nice second-hand blue Ford Focus Wagon, you all once again change in a way, way too expensive for me to follow. And I thought ‘me’ could pretend to be like Scobleizer. 🙂

    Anyhow, we wish lots of great and safe family-fun times. And Who knows, with your built-in navigation system set to Saturn, you might just become an astronaut for real. 😉

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  25. Just when we found a very nice second-hand blue Ford Focus Wagon, you all once again change in a way, way too expensive for me to follow. And I thought ‘me’ could pretend to be like Scobleizer. 🙂

    Anyhow, we wish lots of great and safe family-fun times. And Who knows, with your built-in navigation system set to Saturn, you might just become an astronaut for real. 😉

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  30. LayZ: by 40+ journalists at Detroit Auto Show.

    sdv2n8: I rented a Mustang. Fun muscle car, but very impractical. Patrick hated being squished in the back seat (remember, every two weeks Patrick spends at least three hours in the back seat being shuttled between Petaluma and Half Moon Bay).

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  31. LayZ: by 40+ journalists at Detroit Auto Show.

    sdv2n8: I rented a Mustang. Fun muscle car, but very impractical. Patrick hated being squished in the back seat (remember, every two weeks Patrick spends at least three hours in the back seat being shuttled between Petaluma and Half Moon Bay).

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  34. The Saturn Aura was voted 2007 Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show just one week ago by a panelist of 49 independent full-time auto jounalists…so don’t just take my word or Robert’s for it…also, in 60 days, Saturn is coming out with a hybrid version of the car…it also uses E85, an 85% ethanol blend of fuel for a “greener” ride…

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  35. The Saturn Aura was voted 2007 Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show just one week ago by a panelist of 49 independent full-time auto jounalists…so don’t just take my word or Robert’s for it…also, in 60 days, Saturn is coming out with a hybrid version of the car…it also uses E85, an 85% ethanol blend of fuel for a “greener” ride…

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  36. Inviting you to the Saturn dealership was a clever bit of ‘influencing the influecers’. Bit like the way Google grew in the early days.

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  37. Inviting you to the Saturn dealership was a clever bit of ‘influencing the influecers’. Bit like the way Google grew in the early days.

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  38. Rather nice looking car and it looks rather much like the smaller Opel Vectra that we get here so it seems to be a Saturn in name only which is probably a good idea :).

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  39. Rather nice looking car and it looks rather much like the smaller Opel Vectra that we get here so it seems to be a Saturn in name only which is probably a good idea :).

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  44. Garth-more than likely you are correct about it being an Opel Vectra underneath…but car companies have been doing that for years…the Mercury and Lincoln brands are in essence Ford’s, i.e. the Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, and with Audi/VW more or less the same company, it’s hard to tell where one brand starts and the other stops…How is the Opel Vectra regarded overseas in Europe?

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  45. Garth-more than likely you are correct about it being an Opel Vectra underneath…but car companies have been doing that for years…the Mercury and Lincoln brands are in essence Ford’s, i.e. the Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, and with Audi/VW more or less the same company, it’s hard to tell where one brand starts and the other stops…How is the Opel Vectra regarded overseas in Europe?

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  46. Mark: there are a lot of obnoxious looking European cars too. Care to go there?

    And “always?”

    There’s a LOT of really nice looking American cars. Corvette, for instance. Thunderbird. And I like the way my Saturn looks, albeit a bit on the boring side. But, then, I don’t need to impress anyone on the street with my car.

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  47. Mark: there are a lot of obnoxious looking European cars too. Care to go there?

    And “always?”

    There’s a LOT of really nice looking American cars. Corvette, for instance. Thunderbird. And I like the way my Saturn looks, albeit a bit on the boring side. But, then, I don’t need to impress anyone on the street with my car.

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  48. Sure, you’re all jazzed about your new car right now (as was I when I bought my new 25K Saturn in 2001).

    All I can say is, give it a few years and see if you’re still in love with your car. I think that is a true test of how “nice” your car is. Something tells me that in 3-4 years Ms. Scoble will still like her car a lot more than you’ll like yours. Give it some time.

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  49. Sure, you’re all jazzed about your new car right now (as was I when I bought my new 25K Saturn in 2001).

    All I can say is, give it a few years and see if you’re still in love with your car. I think that is a true test of how “nice” your car is. Something tells me that in 3-4 years Ms. Scoble will still like her car a lot more than you’ll like yours. Give it some time.

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  50. Congrats on the new purchase (I think). I wouldn’t have bought it but that doesn’t matter now does it. I do like the looks of the new Saturn since it looks more European.

    I know you will keep us posted on every thing you notice about the car, both good and bad. 😉

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  51. Congrats on the new purchase (I think). I wouldn’t have bought it but that doesn’t matter now does it. I do like the looks of the new Saturn since it looks more European.

    I know you will keep us posted on every thing you notice about the car, both good and bad. 😉

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  54. Jason: by the way, my first Saturn was the car I was in when a lady hit me and I was tipped upside down. I walked away with hardly a scratch. So, I was very happy with my first Saturn purchase.

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  55. Jason: by the way, my first Saturn was the car I was in when a lady hit me and I was tipped upside down. I walked away with hardly a scratch. So, I was very happy with my first Saturn purchase.

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  56. Yeah, the early Saturns (mid 90’s to 2000 or so) were pretty reliable and safe cars from what I hear. That’s what I based my purchased on. However, the model Saturn I bought (2001 L300 Sedan) has since been shelved entirely it was such a poorly made car. I suspect Saturn won ‘car of the year’ with the Aura because of a lot of lessons learned from the previous L-series models.

    I won’t ever buy another Saturn; not merely because of all the issues I had with mine, but because of how poorly I’ve been treated by them when they know very well how many problems there were with the car they sold me. Instead of “we’re sorry…we know we screwed up, what can we do to make it up to you?” I’ve pretty much been told, “sorry…your warranty is up…tough luck” when the issues I was seeing weren’t even ‘wear and tear’ issues. It was just because of poor quality. I get half the life out of my tires I should get. I had big problems the coolant leaks *days* after having it in for a service. During none of these times did I ever receive a shred of apology or empathy from a Saturn employee. Not once. They just smiled as they took hundreds of my dollars to correct their problems.

    I do hope for your sake that the Aura is much better than the L300 – in fact I think the Aura is what has replaced the L300 as far as their sedans go. Otherwise you have a lot of trips to the dealership for costly repairs ahead of you. I look forward to hearing about your experience with a Saturn (good or bad).

    btw, her payment for the beemer is about $700/mo ?

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  57. Yeah, the early Saturns (mid 90’s to 2000 or so) were pretty reliable and safe cars from what I hear. That’s what I based my purchased on. However, the model Saturn I bought (2001 L300 Sedan) has since been shelved entirely it was such a poorly made car. I suspect Saturn won ‘car of the year’ with the Aura because of a lot of lessons learned from the previous L-series models.

    I won’t ever buy another Saturn; not merely because of all the issues I had with mine, but because of how poorly I’ve been treated by them when they know very well how many problems there were with the car they sold me. Instead of “we’re sorry…we know we screwed up, what can we do to make it up to you?” I’ve pretty much been told, “sorry…your warranty is up…tough luck” when the issues I was seeing weren’t even ‘wear and tear’ issues. It was just because of poor quality. I get half the life out of my tires I should get. I had big problems the coolant leaks *days* after having it in for a service. During none of these times did I ever receive a shred of apology or empathy from a Saturn employee. Not once. They just smiled as they took hundreds of my dollars to correct their problems.

    I do hope for your sake that the Aura is much better than the L300 – in fact I think the Aura is what has replaced the L300 as far as their sedans go. Otherwise you have a lot of trips to the dealership for costly repairs ahead of you. I look forward to hearing about your experience with a Saturn (good or bad).

    btw, her payment for the beemer is about $700/mo ?

    Like

  62. So, not only do you ‘buy’ her gifts, but you actually put her in charge of handling your financial affairs. So monthly she has to bleed for you. 😦

    Why does she have to work so hard for you? Maybe, all she really wants is one small gift; your love?

    Then again, I only heard her voice once, organizing a meeting of nerds. 🙂 I know you mean well. So who I am to mess with your head?

    EOT

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  63. So, not only do you ‘buy’ her gifts, but you actually put her in charge of handling your financial affairs. So monthly she has to bleed for you. 😦

    Why does she have to work so hard for you? Maybe, all she really wants is one small gift; your love?

    Then again, I only heard her voice once, organizing a meeting of nerds. 🙂 I know you mean well. So who I am to mess with your head?

    EOT

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  64. @16 To be clear, it was named North American Car of the Year. and the judges were only from the US and Canada. But, farbeit from you to be provincial, right?

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  65. @16 To be clear, it was named North American Car of the Year. and the judges were only from the US and Canada. But, farbeit from you to be provincial, right?

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  66. Who doesn’t love classic cars? Seems everybody does and hollywood has jumped on the bandwagon too. You see them in just about every movie and TV show now.

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  67. Who doesn’t love classic cars? Seems everybody does and hollywood has jumped on the bandwagon too. You see them in just about every movie and TV show now.

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