The Saturn

In the 1980s, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and other foreign makers found success with small, fuel efficient cars. GM, finding itself short on small cars, introduced two new brands dedicated solely to the compacts. The first, Geo, founded in 1988, sold cars from Japanese companies, license built by GM. The second, Saturn, founded in 1990, used a dedicated design called the "Z-body", a 1.9 liter engine custom developed for the car, and a space frame design with plastic body panels. The division of GM had considerable autonomy, and emphasized quality - it was billed as "a different kind of car company."

While Geo didn't survive the 1990s, the Saturn - offered in sedan, coupe, and wagon guises - was very successful in the 1990s.