GM's Hummer brand under review for sale.

[lam]

GM May Sell Hummer -

At this point, the company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080603/c....html?.v=1=101

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June 3, 2008, 7:39AM
GM closing 4 plants, may stop making Hummers

Associated Press
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WILMINGTON, Del. — General Motors said today it will close four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicle

CEO Rick Wagoner said before the automaker's annual meeting it will cease production at a full-size pickup factory in Oshawa, Ontario. It also will stop making SUVs at factories in Moraine, Ohio, and Janesville, Wis., and it will stop making mid-size pickups in Toluca, Mexico.

He also said the Hummer brand may be discontinued

Wagoner announced the moves in response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs brought on by high gasoline prices. He says a market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent.

Wagoner said the company will build a new small car in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010. And it will add shifts at car plants in Lordstown and Orion Township, Mich.

[Buick61]

WILMINGTON, DEL. - General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles.

CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker's annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the iconic Hummer brand may be discontinued.

Wagoner said the GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit.

Wagoner announced the moves in response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs brought on by high oil prices. He says a market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent.

The cuts will affect about 2,500 workers at each of the four facilities, although Wagoner did not know exact numbers. Many will be able to take openings created when 19,000 more U.S. hourly workers leave later this year through early retirement and buyout offers. He said the company has no plans to allocate products to the four plants in the future.

The moves will save the company $1 billion per year starting in 2010. Combined with previous efforts, GM will have cut costs by $15 billion a year, Wagoner said.

Wagoner said GM's board approved the production schedule of the Chevrolet Volt, and the company plans to bring the plug-in electric car to showrooms by the end of 2010. The Volt runs on an electric motor and has a small engine to recharge its batteries.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/...m_shareholders

[Cortazzo]

You beat me to it! It would be a real kick in the pants if oil prices took a big tumble by years end. But it's good to see Ford and GM quickly change their business to adapt to consumer preference and need.

[ByTheLake]

Hard news to hear. We can debate whether this eventuality should have been evident a few years ago, but that's not helpful. GM can't continue building products that aren't in demand.

Sounds like it's going to be a few years before some of this new small car product hits the streets. Lean times are here for sure.

I was listening to Wagoner's presentation on XM Radio this morning. The Hummer situation isn't a surprise, really. While I honestly had an eye on that H3 pickup down the road, the Hummer brand is tough to justify today, unless it receives a significant lineup change, and that would take serious funds. I'd say the H2 is dead, and without that H4 we've all wanted to have, how can Hummer survive on the H3 alone? It can't. Let it go.

[CamaroCrazy]

Even if oil prices were to come back down, I think America's mindset has changed. People everywhere are thinking "green". I think Wagoner & Co. are getting with the picture that people are more conscious of oil consumption these days and the SUV/Truck craze of the last 15 years is over.

Moving on........whats the next trend? And does the G8 ST and G8 wagon suddenly make a lot more sense for those seeking utility?

[Hummer Guy]

I guess we'll see where this goes -- could be an interesting few days.

[Perian]

Link: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080603/gm_sh...ers.html?.v=11

GM closing 4 truck and SUV plants in North America
Tuesday June 3, 9:07 am ET

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles.

CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker's annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the iconic Hummer brand may be discontinued.

Wagoner said the GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit.

Wagoner announced the moves in response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs brought on by high oil prices. He said a market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent.

GM shares rose 36 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $17.80 in premarket trading.

The cuts will affect about 2,500 workers at each of the four facilities, although Wagoner did not know exact numbers. Many will be able to take openings created when 19,000 more U.S. hourly workers leave later this year through early retirement and buyout offers.

He said the company has no plans to allocate products to the four plants in the future.

"We really would not foresee the likely prospect of new products in the plants that we're announcing today that we'll cease production in," he told a Moraine, Ohio, city official who asked a question in a telephone conference call.

The moves will save the company $1 billion per year starting in 2010. Combined with previous efforts, GM will have cut costs by $15 billion a year, Wagoner said.

Wagoner said GM's board approved the production schedule of the Chevrolet Volt, and the company plans to bring the plug-in electric car to showrooms by the end of 2010. The Volt runs on an electric motor and has a small engine to recharge its batteries.

He said the change in the U.S. market to smaller vehicles likely is permanent. "We at GM don't think this is a spike or a temporary shift," Wagoner said.

The Detroit-based automaker also has just emerged from a spate of labor problems, with two local union strikes at key factories and a nearly three-month strike at key parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

GM said in a recent regulatory filing the strikes will cost it a total of $2 billion before taxes in the second quarter.


GM Statement:


GM Announces New Products, Capacity Adjustments; Continues Transformation of North American Business

* New car, powertrain programs to meet the changing needs of U.S. customers
* Chevy Volt production gets the green light from the GM board
* GM builds on car momentum with additional capacity; adjusts truck capacity
* Hummer brand set for strategic review

WILMINGTON, Del. - GM today announced a range of strategic initiatives to aggressively respond to growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and to economic and market challenges in North America. Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO, made the announcements here as part of the GM annual meeting of stockholders.

Major initiatives announced by Wagoner include:

* A new global compact car program for Chevrolet, a next generation for the popular Chevy Aveo, and a high efficiency engine module for the U.S. market.
* Funding for production of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle.
* Addition of third shifts to Lordstown and Orion, which build hot-selling Chevy and Pontiac cars.
* Cessation of production at four plants that build pickups, SUVs and medium-duty trucks.
* A strategic review of the Hummer brand.

"From the start of our North American turnaround plan in 2005, I've said that our goal is not just to return GM to profitability, but to structure GM globally for sustained profitability and growth," said Wagoner.

"Since the first of this year, however, U.S. economic and market conditions have become significantly more difficult," he said. "Higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and they are significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix."

In North America, GM has been moving rapidly and successfully to revitalize its car lineup and grow its crossover business. New GM cars and crossovers, including the Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, Pontiac Vibe and Buick Enclave, have been selling strongly, and GM intends to build on this success. In fact, 18 of the next 19 new GM products for the U.S. will be cars or crossovers.

Additional operational and strategic actions will be required to position GM for sustainable profitability and growth. These initiatives fall into three broad areas: product and technology, manufacturing facilities and capacity, and the Hummer brand.

New Chevrolet models and a high-efficiency engine module approved

To further strengthen GM's lineup of fuel-efficient cars, the GM board has approved a next-generation compact Chevy for the U.S. and global markets, a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo, and a U.S. production module of GM's 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The new Chevy compact will be better equipped than today's compact cars, and will be designed to set quality and safety benchmarks for the compact class. Production will begin in mid-2010 at GM's Lordstown, Ohio, plant, subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities.

"This car will represent the first U.S. application of our global architecture strategy," said Wagoner. "This strategy will pay major dividends as we leverage our extensive car product development capability in Europe, Korea, and other locations to accelerate the shift in our U.S. product portfolio."

The next-generation compact will be pure Chevrolet in design, and will feature the 1.4-liter turbocharged version of GM's global four-cylinder engine. With this engine and a manual transmission, the new Chevy is expected to achieve a 9 mpg improvement over Chevy's current entry in this segment. The engine will be produced in Flint, Michigan, again subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities.

Also recently approved was a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo. Based on a global architecture, the Aveo is also expected to have segment-leading fuel economy when it goes on sale in the U.S. market in the second half of 2010.

These new Chevy models will help build on GM's leadership in fuel efficient vehicles. For example, GM continues to offer more vehicles with a 30-mpg or better highway fuel economy rating than any competitor.

Chevy Volt is a go

The Chevy Volt took a major step toward the showroom with formal approval by the GM board of funding for production of the extended-range electric vehicle. This approval, which includes funding for production development and tooling, indicates that GM leadership believes that the technology for the Volt, including its lithium-ion batteries, will be ready for volume production on schedule.

"The Chevy Volt is a go," said Wagoner. "We believe this is the biggest step yet in our industry's move away from our historic, virtually complete reliance on petroleum to power vehicles."

"We intend to show a production version of the Chevy Volt publicly in the very near future, and we remain focused on our target of getting the Volt into Chevrolet showrooms by the end of 2010," Wagoner said.

Preliminary plans are to produce the Volt at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, subject to successful discussions with state and local governments.

Capacity adjustments address market shifts

GM will react to the shift in the U.S. market by increasing production of small and midsize cars and reducing production of pickups and truck-based SUVs.

GM will add a third shift in September to the Orion Assembly Center in Michigan, which builds the hot-selling Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6. Also in September, the company plans to add a third shift at Lordstown Car Assembly in Ohio, which builds the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5.

On the other side of the mix equation, market-related declines in truck sales mean that, over time, GM will cease production at four truck plants.

Oshawa Truck Assembly in Canada, which builds the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, will likely cease production in 2009, while Moraine, Ohio, which builds the Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x, will end production at the end of the 2010 model run, or sooner, if demand dictates. Janesville, Wisconsin, will cease production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and of the Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon in 2010, or sooner, if market demand dictates. Chevrolet Kodiak medium-duty truck production will also end in Toluca, Mexico, by the end of this year.

GM expects that these actions, along with the recent announcement to remove shifts at two other U.S. truck plants (Pontiac and Flint, Michigan), will result in an additional GM North America structural cost savings of more than $1 billion, on a running rate basis, by 2010. This is on top of the approximately $5 billion running rate reduction by 2011 that we announced earlier this year, and also in addition to the $9 billion reduction accomplished over the 2006-07 period in North America.

GM will work closely with its union partners to mitigate the impact of these difficult actions, which are made necessary by long-term changes in consumer demand for trucks and SUVs.

Strategic assessment for Hummer brand

Finally, GM is undertaking a strategic review of the Hummer brand to determine its fit within the GM portfolio. At this point, the company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.

Moving forward

"We are making a number of important announcements today, covering everything from product and technology investments to capacity adjustments to a strategic review of our Hummer brand," said Wagoner. "These moves are all in response to the rapid rise in oil prices and the resulting changes in the U.S., changes that we believe are more structural than cyclical.

"While some of the actions, especially the capacity reductions, are very difficult, they are necessary to adjust to changing market and economic conditions and to keep GM's U.S. turnaround on track and moving forward."

[NfamousZ24]

So what is Shreveport going to build? I thought they only had the H3 left....

Where are the Moraine Assembly people going to go? I guess take the buyout or sit in the jobs bank for about 3 years. Unlike all of the other plants UAW and CAW we don't have another plant to flow into. Way to go GM shut down your most productive, highest quality plant in America, Top that off your cheapest Labor with the cheapest labor contract. YAY!!!

[NfamousZ24]

So what is Shreveport going to build? I thought they only had the H3 left....

Where are the Moraine Assembly people going to go? I guess take the buyout or sit in the jobs bank for about 3 years. Unlike all of the other plants UAW and CAW we don't have another plant to flow into. Way to go GM shut down your most productive, highest quality plant in America, Top that off your cheapest Labor with the cheapest labor contract. YAY!!!


(Copy and Past FTW)

[WishIhadatruck]

Shreveport also builds the Colorado small truck its GMC sibling. They really need to update those trucks and make them compeitive with fuel economy a priority. They need to make the towing capacity more compeitive as well. The fact they have been saddled with a 4k lb towing limit most of their existence has limited their appeal.

Hopefully the new small cars come quickly. I can't wait to see the performance of the Cobalt replacement with the 1.4L DI turbo motor.

[Smoke]

I saw that one coming.

[windvale]

Originally Posted by Perian

He said the change in the U.S. market to smaller vehicles likely is permanent. "We at GM don't think this is a spike or a temporary shift," Wagoner said.

Well, it took him long enough to smell the coffee. Geez louise !

[ZillaZ]

This is what happens when you don't ADVERTISE your fuel saving features on your trucks... Displacement on Demand ,6 speed transmissions, Hybrids (where available). If no one knows they can get better fuel economy buying a new truck then they might just buy a new car.

[TexZR2]

That would be a damn shame.. I would love to see that Hummer HX concept built.