If the Maybach is such a high-class, no- expense-spared car, how come its grille is from a Lincoln Town Car?  In my view there is nothing new or terribly spectacular about the Maybach. I see it only as a hopped-up S-class. I mean, even the dashboard is nearly identical. It’s just a big image-and-marketing thing. Florian Ackermann, Berlin, Germany Your “review” of the Saturn Ion 3 (January 2003) was more of a “Let’s Trash Saturn” party. I’m not surprised, since the congenital sickos at your magazine never have given Saturn a chance from day one. I’ve driven the Ion. Granted, it does have some buzzy engine noise, but I have also driven Civics and Focuses. Let me tell you that the Ion is worlds better than either: safer than the Civic, not to mention more durable and substantial-feeling, and lacks the recalls of the Focus—no wheels fall off the Ion.

My guess as to why you don’t like the Ion is this: All of you are too old-fashioned and closed-minded to accept something as different as the Ion. Don’t bash Saturn or GM because they are willing to take a risk and do something drastically different from the rest of the pack because you’re too old-fashioned to see the value in such things as the centrally mounted instrument cluster. It’s a great idea—the driver does not have to take his eyes off the road as much as he does with a conventional cluster. Yes, I am a Saturn owner (in fact, Town two). Lumberton, North Carolina.