GM to close 4 factories, may drop Hummer

[DGthe3]

everyone had different needs. Truck sales are not slowing down because people who need them suddenly can't afford to own them. Its the people who have figured out that they really don't need a 7000 lb truck, a midsized truck works just as well for them. Those who thought about getting a midsized truck are turning to cars. And many people who were buying midsized cars are downsizing to econo cars. Same with SUV's. Many people are downsizing their vehicles, which results in big truck sales droping while little car sales rise. That and there are lots of people who are deciding that this may not be the best time to buy a new car (or truck) anyway. they will come back sooner or later.

[MAC]

Originally Posted by boxmonkeyracing

WoW I love the truck bashing in this thread. . .forgive me but a truck is more useful then any car I have ever owned.

This is why they need to bring back the El camino or hurry up with that pontiac g8 st. lol

[boxmonkeyracing]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

everyone had different needs. Truck sales are not slowing down because people who need them suddenly can't afford to own them. Its the people who have figured out that they really don't need a 7000 lb truck, a midsized truck works just as well for them. Those who thought about getting a midsized truck are turning to cars. And many people who were buying midsized cars are downsizing to econo cars. Same with SUV's. Many people are downsizing their vehicles, which results in big truck sales droping while little car sales rise. That and there are lots of people who are deciding that this may not be the best time to buy a new car (or truck) anyway. they will come back sooner or later.

yea and I'm going the exact opposite way. I need a bigger truck. I need a 2500HD duramax. lol 1500 aint cutting it.

[stovt001]

Update:

I know leftlane news is a horrible source (with the world's dumbest trolls) and they totally screwed up their history on the Camaro Z28 vs SS, but here's their update on the Hummer sale, for what its worth:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/gm-prepa...r-pontiac.html

Now I'm all for the Hummer sale so long as whoever buys it brings the H4 to production. That thing is just about perfect. Then put a large diesel in the H2 and a medium diesel in the H3, and we're in business.

I've long considered GMC pointless, even during the SUV craze. My dad is a GMC fan (he drives an Envoy) but since they until recently only sold rebadged Chevys (and even with the Acadia they're just rebadging/restyling the Saturn Outlook). Given that truck and SUV sales are plummeting and their purpose is once again as utility vehicles rather than fashion accessories, I think GM can easily fill the niche of upscale utility vehicles with an LTZ trim for the Chevy trucks and SUVs. Heck, now the Silverado might even overtake the F150 since its sales numbers and marketing dollars won't be divided.

I never wanted to see Pontiac go, but with the probable shelving of the RWD G6, the lack of names, and upcoming Aveo rebadge, it is giving me less and less reason to advocate for it. Basically the G8 and Solstice are the only things keeping it in my favor. Now if they do keep Pontiac and bring Saturn in to replace GMC, (yay for now more Acadia/Outlook civil war!) I'm sure either the Solstice or Sky will die. They're just too similar. If, on the other hand they keep GMC (WHY????) and kill Pontiac, I would hope they amp up Saturn's sporty quotient.

[decodethis]

Can't say this hasn't been in the making for some time. Ford is cutting back on F-150 manufacturing. What used to sell just isn't selling anymore...

[Mr. Wyndham]

I don't believe they'll kill off Pontiac. It's not GM's premiere brand, and recent events have somewhat destroyed the attempt at turning it into a performance-only brand... (see: G3) But given the landscape...I think they'll chop off either Hummer or GMC. Plus, no matter how emasculated Pontiac is; it would be kind of ironic to cancel a mainly-car brand instead of a mainly-truck brand........

But only one of them can go. GM wants Pontiac/GMC/Buick dealers to consolidate...and most have done so. This makes it easier to end ONE brand; because the dealerships don't have to close; they'll still have cars. But discontinue both of them...and you can imagine the problems.

Personally, I've never seen a good explanation as to GMC's current existance. They are made up of Chevy copies, who's only differenciating feature is that they are more upscale. Make the Chevy LTZ's a little ritzy-er...problem solved.

Hummer? I'm not even going to try and guess.

[DGthe3]

GMC and Chevy should trim the lineup a bit, along with Caddy. Get rid of the Escalade and every other Cadillac SUV and make it a GMC Denali, and perhaps make Hummer an offroad package for GMC's, rather than selling the brand. Reduce the Chevy-GMC duplicates: drop the Equinox, Canyon, Yukon XL, and Tahoe (mix and match between brands if you don't like that selection).

By doing that, GM has reduced its number of models by at least 10 while keeping the same vehicle selection. GMC doesn't serve a purpose right now because there is so much competition from other brands. Allow GMC to continue selling higher-end trucks and SUV's, but make them the only GM brand to do so.

[chadrcr]

Having owned a few GMC trucks, I would hate to see them disappear...
plus it is much easier to spell than Chevrolet
From a business standpoint I guess it would be better to consolidate the trucks. I have always preferred the GMC styling cues over the Chevy though......... Even when they shared everything except grills, headlights badges. Never owned a Buick, Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, so I would not miss any of them, especially if they do not make a new Trans Am.

Keep GMC, maybe just for trucks... no acadia, envoy, suburban copies, put the hummers under the GMC tent.
not sure about the denali

[DGthe3]

I've been meaning to post this all week

Originally Posted by CBC

The Canadian Auto Workers union and General Motors have reportedly reached a settlement in a bitter dispute over the closure of a truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., that involves building two extra models at another plant in the city.
Under the deal, a new flexible car plant being built in the city east of Toronto will produce two other types of vehicles in addition to another two planned, including the Camaro muscle car.
Another key element involves paying senior GM employees a portion of their wages for up to four years until they reach the 30 years of seniority necessary to qualify for a special retirement incentive. The agreement also includes buyouts for employees leaving the company permanently.
The union said alternating two-shift operations at the truck plant will end on Dec. 21, 2008, with the plant going down to one shift as of January 2009. The CAW said GM has agreed not to demolish the plan during the lifetime of the agreement, which runs to September 2011.
CAW filed a grievance against the company in early June after the auto giant announced it was shuttering the truck facility in 2009, eliminating 2,600 jobs.
The news came two weeks after GM and CAW signed a three-year contract in which the union made major concessions in exchange for product commitments at the Oshawa facility.
The closure of the Oshawa trucking plant triggered angry protests, including a 12-day blockade at GM's Canadian headquarters in the city.
The automaker has blamed the truck plant's closure on soaring gas prices that have led to a fall in pickup truck sales across North America.

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/0...w.html?ref=rss

[Nickdago]

Were all going to be driving little Chevy Beats pretty soon. There will be no Camaro or Mustang or Challengers. It will be just like Europe. Oh Boy I can't wait. The goverment is going to cram these little cars down our throats and if you still choose to buy something they do not want you to have then they will tax the crud out of you just like they do in Europe. By the way they drive little rat cars around in Europe and have for years and we still have a gas crisis, go figure. America shifting to cars that are smaller is not going to do anything in the way of helping oil supplies. China, India, Russia, Brasil, Africa and other so called 3rd world countries are going to far outstrip anything we save here. Either we replace supply in the short run or we are in big trouble down the road. Just like some people say we can not drill our way out of this situation, we definantly are not going to be able to conserve our way out of it. This is not about America this is about global expansion and we are going to have a smaller and smaller part in it if things continue the way they have for the last 2 years.

[stovt001]

Peter De Lorenzo would sharply disagree:

http://www.autoextremist.com/

Anyway, this is good news. You hate to see workers lose jobs so any way GM can shift products instead of closing plants is good.

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by Nickdago

Were all going to be driving little Chevy Beats pretty soon. There will be no Camaro or Mustang or Challengers. It will be just like Europe. Oh Boy I can't wait. The goverment is going to cram these little cars down our throats and if you still choose to buy something they do not want you to have then they will tax the crud out of you just like they do in Europe. By the way they drive little rat cars around in Europe and have for years and we still have a gas crisis, go figure. America shifting to cars that are smaller is not going to do anything in the way of helping oil supplies. China, India, Russia, Brasil, Africa and other so called 3rd world countries are going to far outstrip anything we save here. Either we replace supply in the short run or we are in big trouble down the road. Just like some people say we can not drill our way out of this situation, we definantly are not going to be able to conserve our way out of it. This is not about America this is about global expansion and we are going to have a smaller and smaller part in it if things continue the way they have for the last 2 years.

The government isn't out to get you, buddy. That's not how it works when you vote for people. They just have a strong movement going right now to curb gas production. I'm absolutely positive that auto makers will surpass their current horsepower numbers with substantial investment in alternative fuels. The government is merely guiding innovation.