Gm To Build Midsize Saturn In Delaware

General Motors moved to satisfy dealers who clamored for a larger Saturn, announcing Tuesday that a midsize model will be built at a Chevrolet plant in Delaware.

It will be the first Saturn built outside its innovative assembly line at Spring Hill, Tenn., which cultivated an image of down-home workers who crafted a car as a team.

The new Saturn, code-named Innovate, is to hit showrooms in 1999, and analysts say they doubt consumers will care where it is built.

General Motors Corp. said the car to be built at Wilmington, Del., will be based on the Opel Vectra that GM makes and sells in Europe.

It reflects the growing trend among major automakers to reduce costs by making different models from fewer “platforms” - shared chassis, engines, drivetrains and other major parts.

Like the smaller sedan, coupe and wagon, the Innovate will feature Saturn’s trademark plastic body panels.

But can a Saturn made in Delaware and based on a German car lay claim to the Saturn mystique? Saturn spokesman Jim Farmer insisted it will not be an Opel in Saturn clothing.

“You’ll know it’s a Saturn,” he said. “The product will be uniquely Saturn with all the Saturn styling designs and cues. It will be manufactured the Saturn way at a Saturn plant by Saturn team members.”

For its six years of existence, GM’s small-car subsidiary has made much of its Spring Hill plant, where assembly workers are deeply involved in the decision-making process.

In 1994, Saturn held a highly publicized “family reunion” in Spring Hill for Saturn owners. Thousands showed up.

The plant operates under a unique, non-expiring United Auto Workers contract separate from GM’s national pact. The Delaware plant will continue to operate under the national agreement, but UAW spokesman Reg McGhee said that like all local versions of the contract it will have “some variance.”

Farmer said the Saturn process will not change.

“We will instill the same type of partnership at the new plant as we do at Spring Hill. I don’t think you need a contract to do creative things with your partners.”

The 6-year-old Spring Hill plant is running at near full production and could not accommodate a larger model without expansion, which GM has declined to finance.

Analysts say they doubt the fact that a new Saturn is built elsewhere will make much difference with consumers.

“The fact is that most of Saturn’s success is in sales and marketing,” industry consultant James Harbour said. “I’m not so sure it makes a difference where it’s built.”

Saturns first went on sale in 1990 as GM’s $5 billion attempt to compete with the Japanese in selling affordable, well-built small cars. Its unusual marketing has included no-haggle prices, spotless showrooms and service departments, and a low-key, casually attired sales staff.

Saturn dealers have been pleading for years for a larger car. The Innovate is designed to compete with popular Japanese-brand midsize sedans, such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.