How Bad Are American Cars: Take This Saturn, Please

If you need to ask why people don't buy American cars still all you need to do is read a few lines from Edmund's Inside Line review of the 2007 Saturn Aura XR. Here are some snippets:

The real issue with the interior isn't with the rocking driver seat with its annoying tucks in the upholstery, or the little buttons on the center stack, or the amber gauges that are illegible in sunlight. No, the big issue with the interior proved to be the clamshell plastic covering over the steering column that kept popping off.
"Not 10 seconds into my time in the driver seat, as I cranked the wheel to go up the first parking ramp, did the steering wheel begin to grind away on the shroud covering the column. After a few more corners, the incessant scratching suddenly stopped — right after the shroud dislodged itself.

At 5,308 miles it happened again, but this time to Managing Editor Donna DeRosa. At the service scheduled for the 5,900-mile mark, we had the trim panel replaced. We also complained of a persistent whir, but were told by the service representatives at Saturn of Santa Monica that every Aura on the lot had the same whir.

At 6,113 miles, the Aura did its steering shroud thing again. So we had to take it back to the dealership — again. The sunroof also squeaked, the right shift paddle shifter would stick and the steering pump was making a terrible noise. The sunroof was improperly installed and poorly lubricated, so it was an easy fix. The shift paddle had to be replaced and the fix (well, sort of) for the power steering noise was a new hose as indicated by a technical service bulletin (TSB).

A clunk near the end of the steering wheel's rotation to full lock emanated from somewhere deep in the belly of the steering system. Senior Editor Erin Riches noticed it: "When making large steering inputs at low speeds in the parking lot, there's both an audible and tactile clunking and shuddering from the steering column. This happens about two-thirds of the time, and it's not the result of wrenching the wheel to full lock."
It's pretty hard to justify the 33 days our Aura spent out of service during its time with us. Even our 1984 Ferrari 308 GTB was only out of service for 25 days and it was built before some of our staffers.
...Saturn Aura which, when it wasn't in the shop, was frequently the last one picked.