GM Plant Closures Could Lead to Even Better Trucks and SUVs

GM will half car production at several plants to focus on their strong-selling trucks and utility vehicles.

Yesterday, General Motors issued a statement announcing its future plans, explaining that with “changing customer preferences in the U.S. and in response to market-related volume declines in cars, future products will be allocated to fewer plants next year.” The statement went on to explain that three plants–the Lordstown, Ohio; Detroit-Hamtramck, Michigan; and Ontario, Canada–will be “unallocated in 2019”, meaning that those plants will either not be making cars at all, or they will be making far fewer than originally expected.

The short story with the wordy press release is that those three plants are likely to end production and it is unclear whether they will open back up. For workers, the concern is that they will be out of a job while fans, supporters and long-time customers of the General Motors family of brands wonder what will come of the company lineup in the near future.

Production Plans

While the statement from GM announcing these production plan changes don’t state that the vehicles built at those plants will be discontinued, the company has already confirmed that the Cadillac CT6 (above) will leave production after 2019. The CT6 is built at the Hamtramck plant, alongside the Chevrolet Volt, the Chevrolet Impala and the Buick LaCrosse. The Impala is also built at the Oshawa plant in Canada, so with both production facilities of the big Chevy sedan expected to shut down, it looks as though the Impala’s days could once again be numbered. Of course, if the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6 aren’t selling well enough to justify continued production at the Detroit plant, the odds are good that the Buick could be headed for the history books as well.

Finally, the Lordstown plant in Ohio builds the Chevy Cruze, so many people believe that the closing of Lordstown means the end of the popular compact sedan, but it seems unlikely that GM would kill off a car in such a key segment. It also seems unlikely that the Volt would be killed off as the company looks to a future that is heavy with electric vehicles.

It seems far more likely that production of the Volt and possibly the Cruze would be built at GM’s Lake Orion facility in Michigan. That plant currently builds the Chevy Bolt, the Opel Ampera-E (the European version of the Bolt) and the Chevy Sonic, so building the compact Cruze and the electric Volt there as well would make sense.

Ultimately, while the end of production at Lordstown, Detroit Hamtramck and Oshawa means the end of some of the vehicles built at those locations, the odds are good that some of them will live on in other facilities.

GM Plant Closures Could Lead to Even Better Trucks and SUVs continued…

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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