No More Saturns At Spring Hill; Chevy Lambda X-Over Possible

[Perian]

Link: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...3/newsletter12

Next for Spring Hill: A Chevy
Renovation means end of Saturn products there.

Lindsay Chappell - Jamie LaReau - Automotive News

NASHVILLE -- General Motors is expected to build a Chevrolet crossover at the former Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., after a $700 million renovation, industry sources say.

Chevrolet's crossover -- which could seat seven or eight passengers -- will replace the Uplander minivan. It will be built on the Lambda architecture beginning in late 2008. GM is currently rolling out its first Lambda vehicle, the 2007 Saturn Outlook.

GM's project is taking shape as its dealers ponder life without various light trucks. The Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy mid-sized SUVs are scheduled to end production, and GM's minivan plant in Doraville, Ga., is scheduled to close.

GM will end production of the Saturn Ion small car and move the Vue crossover to Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

Until recently, GM had been planning to turn the former Saturn plant into the North American source for its next generation of minivans. But in November, GM basically scrapped its minivan plans. Other minivans being killed are the Buick Terraza, Pontiac Montana SV6 and Saturn Relay.

The retooling would end the original mission of the 16-year-old Spring Hill plant, one of GM's biggest. It no longer will be dedicated to Saturn, conceived as a "different kind of car company" with an innovative plant and collaborative union relations. Saturn is now one of several GM divisions, and Spring Hill will be one of many standard GM plants.

The plant's two assembly lines will be replaced by a single production line that, on three shifts, can produce up to 350,000 vehicles a year.

The entire plant renovation is expected to cost about $700 million, said an industry source with knowledge of the project. A GM spokesman declined to discuss the overall cost, adding that the project is contingent on incentives from the state of Tennessee.

Spring Hill's makeover coincides with the end of the small Saturn Ion and the relocation of the Vue next March. The next-generation Vue will be produced in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, on the Opel Antara platform.

Full article at link.

[Perian]

Let's hope the words "Venture", "Terraza", "Montana", "Relay" and "Uplander" never appear on a GM vehicle again.

A possible 350K at Spring Hill and 250K more in Lansing give a potential output of 600,000 Lambda based vehicles per year.

That's 12,500 vehicles a week to move in a new category.

They should move well however, with the demise of the mid-size GM SUV's and the production reduction of the large 900 SUV's opening a nice window for dealers to concentrate on.


DISCUSSION QUESTION:
What would you name this Chevrolet vehicle?

[91z4me]

I still believe that there will be a minivan like vehicle for Chevy outta Lambda. Though a Ridgeline like truck is supposed to be one of the things coming out of this plant. Theta is another possibility fo which platform both the minivan and trucklet could ride on.

[usa1]

Great. ANOTHER crossover. Yawn.

Mark

[K-1]

Originally Posted by Perian

Let's hope the words "Venture", "Terraza", "Montana", "Relay" and "Uplander" never appear on a GM vehicle again.

A possible 350K at Spring Hill and 250K more in Lansing give a potential output of 600,000 Lambda based vehicles per year.

That's 12,500 vehicles a week to move in a new category.

They should move well however, with the demise of the mid-size GM SUV's and the production reduction of the large 900 SUV's opening a nice window for dealers to concentrate on.


DISCUSSION QUESTION:
What would you name this Chevrolet vehicle?

Chevy Traverse?

[K-1]

Originally Posted by usa1

Great. ANOTHER crossover. Yawn.

Mark

For those who think the current Lambdas are overpriced, the Chevy should be a nice stripped version, provided it is differentiated enough from the OUTLOOK and Acadia.

[Bravada]

Oh great. Just great.

Now, let's see how the Chevy crossover might look like. For all we know, GM and Chevrolet SUVs were always twins, so it's Outlook x 3... So much for GM making good use of its brand portfolio.

GM could have had it that way:
- luxury crossover
- affordable practical crossover
- minivan (a few hundred thousand people buy those a year in the US alone)
- classic SUV (effectively GM should just keep the Envoy fresh)

But no, GM went for no less than four variations of the same crossover to replace four variations of the same van. What's next? Buick Aura?

Not to mention how GM spent millions on creating a different kind of car company only to make sure they erase everything different about it.

[GMFreak8]

Another lambda vehicle? I'm not liking the fact that GM feels the need to overuse platforms to give just about every one of the divisions a product off from them. It reminds me of the old GM and their insistence on badge engineering, just a less obvious form of it. Am I the only one that feels like this?

The Outlook, Acadia, and Enclave don't look that similar at first look, but upon closer inspection the similarities become rather obvious. Hopefully this Chevy Lambda isn't too similar to the other Lambda vehicles.

[GMFreak8]

Originally Posted by Bravada

GM could have had it that way:
- luxury crossover
- affordable practical crossover
- minivan (a few hundred thousand people buy those a year in the US alone)
- classic SUV (effectively GM should just keep the Envoy fresh)

That sounds like a much better plan. Why the hell couldn't GM think of it.


- luxury crossover (Buick Enclave)
- affordable practical crossover (Saturn Outlook)
- minivan (a few hundred thousand people buy those a year in the US alone) (updated Chevy Uplander)
- classic SUV (effectively GM should just keep the Envoy fresh)

An updated version of the Envoy SUV would fit in with the rest of the GMC lineup a hell of a lot better than a lambda based crossover too.

[GMsElite]

LOL this is crazy. They better be making a Minivan or something. GM must have something up there sleeve if two plants are dedicated to this platform

[WannabeRich]

Originally Posted by Perian

DISCUSSION QUESTION:
What would you name this Chevrolet vehicle?

How about Nomad?

[stevecmh]

Originally Posted by WannabeRich

How about Nomad?

NICe


i guess they think the Chevy will be the sales leader because it get's its own plant?

[CrunkedRL]

Originally Posted by GMsElite

LOL this is crazy. They better be making a Minivan or something. GM must have something up there sleeve if two plants are dedicated to this platform

I sure hope so. This would really be an incredibly dumb and counter productive move for GM to produce yet another crossover based off the Lambda platform. Three is enough and with another one added to the mix where would that leave the Outlook which is supposed to be the less expensive more pratical one of the three. Maybe it'll be the Sequel it looks like a Lambda based vehicle.

[WishIhadatruck]

I believe it was Motortrend that suggested Chevrolet was getting a Lambda SUV a few months ago and they thought it was going to be pretty much a clone of the Saturn since they hadn't originally planned it. I think they though Chevrolet would get the van and keep the Trailblazer. Now that Trailblazer sales continue to slide and they've cancelled the minivan they need something else fast and so they suspected it would probably be a copy of one of the others. I have a bad feeling this is true. I HATE badge engineering in the same market. I don't care if Pontiacs look just like Holdens and Saturns look like Opels but Chevrolets should NOT look like Saturns and neither should Pontiacs look like Chevrolets. I hope I'm wrong and it is a unique vehicle. The Acadia and Outlook look too much alike already. At least the Enclave is quite a bit different.

[VibenPontiac]

You just get back from the future there Bravada

What makes you think GM would do that...its not like they've ever done it before.

Seriously though I think the Chevy will differ...if it was to be virtually the same as the GMC then the time lapse between the Acadia and Chevy wouldn't be as large.

Originally Posted by Bravada

Oh great. Just great.

Now, let's see how the Chevy crossover might look like. For all we know, GM and Chevrolet SUVs were always twins, so it's Outlook x 3... So much for GM making good use of its brand portfolio.

GM could have had it that way:
- luxury crossover
- affordable practical crossover
- minivan (a few hundred thousand people buy those a year in the US alone)
- classic SUV (effectively GM should just keep the Envoy fresh)

But no, GM went for no less than four variations of the same crossover to replace four variations of the same van. What's next? Buick Aura?

Not to mention how GM spent millions on creating a different kind of car company only to make sure they erase everything different about it.