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What a pity that the Saturn brand has gone the way of Pontiac and Oldsmobile, no longer available to new car buyers, which means that used car shoppers have their pick of multiple orphaned vehicles. Among the most important of these was the Saturn Sky, a two seat roadster that singlehandedly elevated the brand.

The Saturn Sky was first rolled out in 2006 as a 2007 model, following on the heels of the similar Pontiac Solstice. But the Saturn had its own look and body panels, distinguishing features which made the Sky unique and allowed General Motors to charge a premium price over the Pontiac. In addition the Opel GT, the third model in this roadster line up was built alongside the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice in Delaware for export to Europe.

For the next three model years, the Saturn Sky was the main draw in Saturn dealer showrooms, often the first car visitors would set their eyes upon when entering the dealership. Auto designer Franz von Holzhausen was the craftsman behind the three GM roadsters, also credited with having a hand with the Volkswagen New Beetle, Mazda, and later with Tesla Motors.

So what made the Saturn Sky so special? For one thing, it was a welcome break from the bland styling of the Saturn brand. Though the SC and SL got Saturn off to a good start in the design department, subsequent models lacked the appeal or energy to inspire car shoppers to visit Saturn dealerships. The L Series and Relay were prime examples of this lackluster design thrust, ho hum cars that never made it beyond their useful product life cycle.

The Saturn Sky was compact, needing nothing more than a pair of four cylinder engines to propel occupants. The standard 2.4L Ecotec I4 offered an adequate 173 horsepower and 166 lb.-feet of torque, but for more power drivers could choose the Saturn Sky Red Line edition which offered a 2.0L I4 featuring turbocharged direct injection and yielding a whopping 260 horsepower and correspond 260 lb.-ft of torque. That special edition moved the Saturn Sky from zero to sixty in just 5.5 seconds...amazing!

Both engine choices could be paired with either a five-speed Aisin AR manual of a GM five-speed automatic transmission. Yes, off the line the 2.0L mated with the manual provided maximum driver thrills.

Though the Saturn Sky had only three years to prove itself, GM saw to it that a number of improvements including adding StabiliTrak to the limited slip differential, AM/FM/CD/MP3 sound system, and XM satellite radio were made.

Of course, the soft top is what the Saturn Sky is all about, enough to offset what some consider to be fairly uncomfortable seats. Excellent steering, nimble handling, limited storage, oddly placed storage between the seats, aluminum alloy wheels, and Bluetooth connectivity were just some of the highlights found in the final year Sky.

Alas, Saturn is dead and with it hopes that the Saturn Sky would soldier on. The car never made money for GM with some reporting that the automaker lost as much as $10,000 per unit. Though that figure cannot be verified, it does underscore that a terrific car can be costly to produce with those costs impossible to recoup unless prices are raised through the roof.