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GM plant hopes Chevrolet tops ambitious goal
By Tom Hartley
Business First of Buffalo
If the vision by a top Chevrolet executive that Chevrolet will have its name on America's No. 1 best-selling midsized car this decade comes true, Western New York workers will play a role.
Engines for the Chevrolet Impala, one of two brands that General Manager Brent Dewar in Detroit told reporters could achieve the No. 1 status, are made at the GM Powertrain plant in Tonawanda.
Dewar is quoted by WardsAuto.com, an Internet news service, as saying:
"Sometime in this decade, we will have (individual) cars that will be produced in volumes greater than 500,000 units. I foresee the day coming when we are very dominant in cars."
Impala and Malibu are the brands that Dewar says give Chevrolet a good shot at achieving its goal.
With the Impala, Dewar says sales are exceeding expectations and Chevrolet can't get enough of them. In 2003, Chevy sold 267,882 Impalas, a rise of 34.7 percent over the previous year, according to industry reports.
Reaction at the local engine plant, which has 3,300 employees, supports Dewar's vision of Impala's future.
"We're very excited about the solid sales performance of the Impala as we know our employees at Tonawanda directly contribute to its quality and performance with our 3.4-liter, V6 engines. We're proud to enhance the purchase decision that many consumers are making in buying a new Impala," said spokesperson Mary Ann Brown.
By 2005, he said, Chevrolet's goal is to capture 18 percent of the market share. That involves stepping up production from 2.5 million units in 2003, to 2.75 million this year and 3 million in 2005.
It has been 25 years since Chevrolet sold 3 million vehicles.
Article Here
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By Tom Hartley
Business First of Buffalo
If the vision by a top Chevrolet executive that Chevrolet will have its name on America's No. 1 best-selling midsized car this decade comes true, Western New York workers will play a role.
Engines for the Chevrolet Impala, one of two brands that General Manager Brent Dewar in Detroit told reporters could achieve the No. 1 status, are made at the GM Powertrain plant in Tonawanda.
Dewar is quoted by WardsAuto.com, an Internet news service, as saying:
"Sometime in this decade, we will have (individual) cars that will be produced in volumes greater than 500,000 units. I foresee the day coming when we are very dominant in cars."
Impala and Malibu are the brands that Dewar says give Chevrolet a good shot at achieving its goal.
With the Impala, Dewar says sales are exceeding expectations and Chevrolet can't get enough of them. In 2003, Chevy sold 267,882 Impalas, a rise of 34.7 percent over the previous year, according to industry reports.
Reaction at the local engine plant, which has 3,300 employees, supports Dewar's vision of Impala's future.
"We're very excited about the solid sales performance of the Impala as we know our employees at Tonawanda directly contribute to its quality and performance with our 3.4-liter, V6 engines. We're proud to enhance the purchase decision that many consumers are making in buying a new Impala," said spokesperson Mary Ann Brown.
By 2005, he said, Chevrolet's goal is to capture 18 percent of the market share. That involves stepping up production from 2.5 million units in 2003, to 2.75 million this year and 3 million in 2005.
It has been 25 years since Chevrolet sold 3 million vehicles.
Article Here
Perhaps the guys at the plant are doing a great job, but why saddle the Impala with the older version of the engine for much longer? One of GM's problems is long-term reliability. The 3.5L version directly addresses this problem in several ways. Please just say 'no' to 3.4L engines in the next year or two, GM. If you throw an old engine in there just because you're too cheap to upgrade the plant to make the 3.5....I sure won't be buying or recommending any Impalas with that old 3.4L engine. Buy the newer Malibu instead.
