GM Extends Idling Of Wilmington Assembly

[daves87rs]

On the other side, the majority of Dodge Rams I see have McCain or Bush-Cheney stickers. Sheep as well..

Don't we have somewhere else for this?

[longtooth]

They only plnned on them being around 5-7 years anyways....

When I came on-board in Wilmington in mid-Fall '06 the order book for the '07s was full through the end of the model year and to that point, only 3 Sky-pilots (good Eric Burdon song btw) had been built. The future looked rosy as the dictate from Bob Lutz was to ramp-up production to sustain production in excess of 40K units per year. Talk was that Wilmington would become the 'niche-boutique' of the Corporation. I honestly could see it. The older more seasoned workers were very competent and accomplished not only at what they did, but in mentoring the younger workers and passing on their considerable skills as well. Then the economic slowdown began to take it's toll on discretionary spending making the purchase of marvelous toys like Solstice and Sky an unobtainable luxury. Sad. I think that the initiative was lost in Wilmington not pursuing a second niche product, such as a Nomad-concept-type vehicle or a mini-car a la the Cooper.

[daves87rs]

When I came on-board in Wilmington in mid-Fall '06 the order book for the '07s was full through the end of the model year and to that point, only 3 Sky-pilots (good Eric Burdon song btw) had been built. The future looked rosy as the dictate from Bob Lutz was to ramp-up production to sustain production in excess of 40K units per year. Talk was that Wilmington would become the 'niche-boutique' of the Corporation. I honestly could see it. The older more seasoned workers were very competent and accomplished not only at what they did, but in mentoring the younger workers and passing on their considerable skills as well. Then the economic slowdown began to take it's toll on discretionary spending making the purchase of marvelous toys like Solstice and Sky an unobtainable luxury. Sad. I think that the initiative was lost in Wilmington not pursuing a second niche product, such as a Nomad-concept-type vehicle or a mini-car a la the Cooper.

Let's hope that they get something cool....

[longtooth]

Let's hope that they get something cool....

From your keyboard to Rick Wagoner's in-box.

Cool would be cool.

[daves87rs]

From your keyboard to Rick Wagoner's in-box.

Cool would be cool.

[Oracle of Delphi]

From your keyboard to Rick Wagoner's in-box.

Cool would be cool.

Maybe luck will convert you over to a Delta II plant, to make the Chevy Orlando and an overflow plant for the Cruze.

[daves87rs]

Maybe luck will convert you over to a Delta II plant, to make the Chevy Orlando and an overflow plant for the Cruze.

That would be nice....

[Chicagoland]

"LX cars, despite them being one of the greatest affordable products for enthusiasts available in

the past few decades!"

30-40K is "affordable"? And the base 25 k one had plastic hubcaps, how is that a bargain?

Those cars didn't keep Chrysler from turning into nearly bankrupt company.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Chicagoland

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Aren't you the one who said that Pontiac didn't need a full line up, that they could survive as a niche producer of RWD cars?

Nope.

1) I never said anything about niche. And in fact, I lobbied for an AWD Epsilon based volume model (G6) long before Alpha became a reality.

I even thought an AWD Delta would suit the division well.

2) By "full line" I mean a complete line up of competitive cars, not that Pontiac needs to become a full line automaker. You can't (with a straight face) try to tell a customer that the Solstice and G5/G6 are from the same lineage.

GM is the one that apparently thinks Pontiac still needs to pull volume (Despite it blatantly saying that Pontiac IS NOT a volume division, hence it's combination with Buick and GMC) in 2005. Therefore, what Pontiac lacks is focus. (Much like the rest of GM)

Give Pontiac a competitive Delta II, a performance inspired Epsilon II and a line toping Alpha model and watch the division succeed.

Edited October 27, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Shows that 'halo cars', 'enthusiast cars', and RWD alone cannot save GM. Solstice was another trendy car that the gearheads think is only thing that can save sales. But forget that 70-90% of buyers do not care about 'enthusiasm', they just want a good daily driver!

I agree 100%.

That was a lot of the problem with Chrysler in the 90s.

Halo cars alone do not save divisions. But GM had plans for each of it's divisions that are apparently null and void now.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Numbers dont lie. I'd rather see an all FWD boring GM that will still be around in 20 years than a bunch of "enthusiast" stuff that hasn't helped Pontiac (Solstice, GTO, G8) or Chrysler. Know what I see out of Toyota that I dont see out of the allmighty GM? Profits.

In this business, profit isn't directly related to product.

If that were the case, GM would be the richest automaker on the globe right now with the success of GMT800 and GMT900.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Its 2008, people dont buy new cars in 2008 because of a car they had in 1973

I beg to differ...

MOST diehard import enthusiasts buy imports because either they (or even more stupid) their parents had a bad experience with an american car in the 70s or 80s.

This "image" is broadcast throughout media and pop culture as well.

How else can you justify the general opinion of domestic inferiority in the face of Detroit automaker CONSISTENTLY topping or equaling asian entries in most reliability studies for the past 10 years.

they buy a new car in 2008 because they need a new car in 2008 and will compare it against other new vehicles available in 2008.

30-40% of the population will NOT compare domestics.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

On the other side, the majority of Dodge Rams I see have McCain or Bush-Cheney stickers. Sheep as well..

Anyone who subscribes to any political party is a sheep.

[A Horse With No Name]

I'd rather see GM die than sell a bunch of pathetic garbage and tarnish

great names like Pontiac, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick.

Your love of the Prius betrays you as an "armchair" enthusiast at best.

GM needs to build Halo cars like the Solstice. I want a solstice really badly, it is about 1 of 5 GM cars that I really like and would consider buying.

Watching a Solstice GXP show GM tail-light at the last Auto-cross to a bunch of WRX-STI's, S2000's and the like convinced me once again that GM can be truely great.

They can build both cool cars and daily drivers.

And I agree, I'd rather see them die than sell only rebadged Kia trash.

Chris

Edited October 27, 2008 by 66Stang

[A Horse With No Name]

The prius also looks like a vibrator that got left in a high temperature environment and melted slightly.

No, your wrong. given the fact that Satty drives a Prius, I am quite sure that his girlfriends vibrator gets quite the workout.

Sorry Satty, that one was just too easy.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

What's funny to me is the Prius looks a lot like the monospace futuristic cars I sketched as a kid in the '80s. After seeing the Chevy Citation IV prototype at Ecpot Center at Disney World, I was inspired to draw a lot of monospaces... everything I drew in the '80s kind of looked like the Prius, the EV-1, GM dustbuster vans, and the Chrysler LHes (cab forward, very sleek). I guess I was ahead of my time..

Or visually challenged...but you own a couple of great Mustangs so we'll forgive you.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

I think 68 isn't capable of understanding the appeal the Accord, Camry, etc has to the mass market. The mainstream that buy a new car want to maximize their value for money, reliability, and resale value..they go with models that are proven winners in that regard.

+1

Although watching them drive down the road is about as boring as watching a walrus take a dump.

Chris

[Robert Hall]

+1

Although watching them drive down the road is about as boring as watching a walrus take a dump.

Chris

Yes, dull, predictable choices.

[Robert Hall]

Or visually challenged...but you own a couple of great Mustangs so we'll forgive you.

Chris

Heh-heh...I like the oldies, like alot of current cars, and am looking forward to the future... trying to be optimistic about the future (which goes against my natural tendency to be pessimistic or nihilistic).

[cletus8269]

I beg to differ...

MOST diehard import enthusiasts buy imports because either they (or even more stupid) their parents had a bad experience with an american car in the 70s or 80s.

This "image" is broadcast throughout media and pop culture as well.

How else can you justify the general opinion of domestic inferiority in the face of Detroit automaker CONSISTENTLY topping or equaling asian entries in most reliability studies for the past 10 years.

30-40% of the population will NOT compare domestics.

yup my aunt has driven hondas as long as i can remember, the first being an mid 80's prelude. she has since that car gotten a new accord about every 4 years. why did she change? 74 chevelle left a bad impression. her bank supplied her with a company car. 2007 buick lucerne. i'd take it hands down over her accord but she doesnt like it. the main complaint? its too big for her.

[haypops]

Anyone who subscribes to any political party is a sheep.

Well if that party member drives a Dodge, then they are not sheep but rams. :-)