I think this a great move on GM's part. Trump won't like the job loses, but GM has long needed to simplify their brands. They're too all over the place. I never understood why you could buy a Chevrolet, GMC, Saab, Oldsmobile, Buick and Isuzu that were all identical (I'm referring to the Trailblazer here, but same goes for many different GM models).

 

 

GM's problem is lingering brand image from years past that relates to poor materials, fit/finish and reliability. That left only loyalists to buy their sedans and many of them just went over to SUVs and CUVs. There isn't much of a fuel mileage penalty moving over to a Chevy Traverse from a Chevy Impala.

When you compare how the Chevy Cruze, Malibu, Impala and even the Volt did against the Japanese sedans, you see that GM struggled to sell as many units. For eg. the Lordstown, Ohio Cruze plant went down from two shifts a day earlier this year to just one - running at just 31 percent capacity. That's an astonishingly inefficient operation when the rule of thumb in the auto industry is that you run a plant at 80 percent of its capacity and ideally, more than that.

GM will continue to sell those big gas guzzling pickups and body on frame SUVs because they make big money for the company. But OTH, it seems to be betting big on an EV/ride share/car share future. The GM president sits on the Lyft board and of course the company owns Cruise Automation.

 

I agree with others that Buick and GMC should be dropped and that GM should just be Chevrolet and Cadillac. Ford dropped Mercury (dead weight, did like the Cougar though) but now Ford is still hurting and discontinuing most cars with the exception of the Mustang, SUV's/CUV's and trucks which are now the bread and butter for Ford. My, my, my, have times changed.

This also presents an opportunity for Toyota/Lexus. All those potential Chevrolet customers such as the Volt, Impala and Cruze can now purchase a Prius, Avalon or Corolla. As for the potential Cadillac customers such as the CT6 and XTS can now purchase an LS 500/500h or GS 300/350. As for the potential Buick Lacrosse customers they now can purchase the ES 300h/350.

I also feel bad for all those GM employees losing their jobs however now they can come work for Toyota/Lexus. I'm sure other employees from other defunct automakers such as Mercury, Saab, Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Eagle, AMC, etc. had to go somewhere and there are still other automakers still alive and well...

Projected U.S. auto sales for 2018 will be 16.8 million units and for 2019 will go up to 17.3 million units and for 2020 will to up to 17.6 million units. Projected worldwide auto sales for 2018 will be 81.5 million units for 2019 will go up to 83.9 million units...man that's a lot of cars...obviously people are still buying but the trend has shifted towards SUV's/CUV's. I look forward to the new RAV4, UX and LQ...

 

So they cancel their best self driving car and electric vehicle and close the plant where they are both made to propel them into the future of self driving cars and electric cars? I'm so confused.

 

Yes and no. They're ditching the platforms on which those technologies ride, but certainly not the tech itself. That can be obviously leveraged somewhere else.

 

 

They cancelled the Chevy Volt, a plug-in Hybrid, not the Chevy Bolt, which is a true-electric. It is the Volt which is built in that plant, along wth the big sedans.

 

You are correct. The Volt is a plug in hybrid not an electric only. Still they are closing a plant that made some of their more advance vehicles with the exception of the Bolt.

 

Can GM try and come up with better names? I feel like they asked a 5 year old that happened to around, hey kid what's a good name for our new car. Bolt? Great let's go with that.

 

Here is an interesting article about Mary Barra. She is shutting a plant she actually once managed.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...mp/2126262002/

 

Trump is threatening action against GM for the pending job losses by cutting subsidies but those are for the buyers maybe he's assuming that by turning away buyers due to no subsidies that will hurt GM more. But from what I knew those subsidies were getting phased out anyway. I think it's yet another move to appeal to his base that he's doing something for them. As a business man himself he should understand that GM has to make adjustments maybe he thought the tax break would help/stop this from happening but GM's product line needed restructuring.

Source: https://electrek.co/2018/11/27/donal...tory-closures/

 

 

Gotta understand the marketing. The Volt was the first extended-range plug-in hybrid in the American market (took a while for the Prius plug-in to catch up). There was a tremendous amount of media-hype for it, and the name was chosen to accentuate the car's (for that time) relatively long-range capability on the electrics only, before the small gas engine had to kick in to take over and charge things back up. The Teslas, with their efficient pure-electrics, were not yet a major factor in the playing field.

 

There was nothing wrong with the Volt name, it was actually a pretty good name. People just want to hit GM while they are down.