GM’s Saturn Debuts in Quiet Ceremony

A red four-door Saturn sedan piloted by retiring GM Chairman Roger B. Smith rolled off the assembly line Monday, ceremonially kicking off production of the ground-breaking car under a cloak of secrecy.

General Motors said Smith, who retires Tuesday after 9 1/2 years as chairman, was in the driver’s seat, and United Auto Workers union President Owen Bieber rode shotgun when the “Job One” car came off the line.

The ceremony was closed to the news media.

Saturn’s history has been filled with media hype and mystique. In Monday’s ceremony, the hype was gone, but the mystique was there.

A photographer at the ceremony was barred from taking pictures of the entire vehicle, reporters were kept outside the plant and departing employees declined to answer questions. The company has yet to release a picture of the car, although “spy photos” have been published.

In contrast, when Nissan began making light trucks in 1983 in Smyrna, 25 miles to the east, its ceremony was open to coverage. The event included speeches and a film of the plant’s history.

Richard G. (Skip) LeFauve, GM Saturn’s president, said in a news release that the Saturn ceremony was private because of GM’s plans to focus national attention on the car’s launch this fall. He said it also provided a chance for team members to talk with Smith.

“Without Roger, there wouldn’t be a Saturn,” he said.

The Saturn project was envisioned as a way of using non-traditional production and management techniques to make cars that would compete with imports that have eaten away GM’s U.S. market share.

Smith introduced the project in 1983, saying the company planned to make 500,000 subcompact cars a years. They were to cost about $6,000 and get mileage of 60 miles per gallon.

The final product has more interior room, a longer wheel base and more features. It is aimed at competing with the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla--but with a $10,000 to $12,000 price tag and a 35-mile-per-gallon rating.

Production estimates have been halved.

Behind Smith and Bieber at the ceremony was incoming Chairman Robert Stempel in the “Job Two” Saturn.

“Job One” will be enshrined in a museum at the Saturn complex in Spring Hill, 35 miles south of Nashville.

Saturn officials said they will not begin shipping cars until the fall, shortly before they go on sale in October.