My first car was a Saturn, they performed that same trick in the salesroom as well. They didn't keep that trend up forever though, in the late 2000s my father went to go purchase another Saturn, and he was reeling up to give it a kick before the salesman had to hurriedly tell him they didn't make them like that anymore.
replyThat was probably by the time they had become a glorified Opel rebadge shop. I was probably going to buy another Saturn and I might have settled for an Ion, but the Astra was, to borrow from Dan Neil, "hewn from solid blocks of mediocrity." So now I drive Hondas again.
replyYeah, the problem with Saturn was the general level of QA of GM cars of that era. I could make the "check engine" light come on by pressing the accelerator with a small amount of force in my SL2. And it didn't handle very well.
replyThey did have a tendency to shatter in the norther climates though during cold weather.
replyMany of those Saturns in Canada driving around with cracked body panels from stray rocks or errant doors in parking lots.