And it gets worse for GM.

[MuscleRodz]

GM announced this morning that they will be closing down the OKC plant after the first of the year. Trailblazers and Envoys are built here in OKC, OK. It wasn't too many years ago that the plant was upgraded to build the truck line. 2400 workers will be without jobs sometime early '06.

Mike

[trapin]

That's not all that's getting cut. It gets worse. But we'll survive. We always do.

Here's the story. (http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0511/21/0auto-389019.htm)

[Nine Ball]

Do they also make the Trailblazers/Envoy at other plants, or will this be the end of those models?

GM needs to hire some better passenger car designers, and get off the front-drive crap. Take some lessons from Chrysler...

[andrewb70]

Take some lessons from Chrysler...

Don't you mean Mercedes-Benz? LOL

Andrew

[wantahertzdonut]

Yeah GM really needs to stop making bland boring FWD cars that nobody wants. It's obvious their current strategy of flooding the market with mediocre cars and then selling them for cheap isn't working very well.

[GBodyGMachine]

Whats the big GM market today?
I think they are trying to compete with the RICER market, i.e. honda. Cars like the cobalt are sapose to compete but dont match in quality or price.
I agree, stop trying to compete and be original.

Jeff

[TonyL]

you have this "we have to compete" mentality to thank bob lutz for. He's been trying to turn GM into BMW since he got there.

I still can't believe that GM would rather fire 30,000 workers than forgo giving the execs bonuses or heck, lay off a few of them. See how they like it.

It is the execs that signed ridiculous contracts with the UAW. 2000 dollars is tacked onto ever car GM makes to cover "legacy" costs. 2000 dollars, times 1600 cars, per hour. 365 days a year.

[BRIAN]

Not really sure why that is the execs fault? They signed to end strike. It is impossible to be competitive with paying the wages and benefits they are forced to pay. The $1500 figure I think you are referring to just pays the beneifits portion. Zero health care co pays and deductibles? $40 and way up wages? There are 1st year laywers who don't make those figures. Yes thre are the lower paying wages but they have to cut the fat to make real cars.


The unions are killing themselves. It is only a matter of time they claim chapter11 and don't pay anything out.

[shmoov69]

Not really sure why that is the execs fault? They signed to end strike. It is impossible to be competitive with paying the wages and benefits they are forced to pay. The $1500 figure I think you are referring to just pays the beneifits portion. Zero health care co pays and deductibles? $40 and way up wages? There are 1st year laywers who don't make those figures. Yes thre are the lower paying wages but they have to cut the fat to make real cars.


The unions are killing themselves. It is only a matter of time they claim chapter11 and don't pay anything out.


Amen Brother! :help:

[Mark Antrim]

The exects and the union need to look at what happened to the steel mill companys. It is the same thing that happened in my corner of the country (Northwest Indiana).

[EFI69Cam]

It won't be long before GMs are made in China. Buying a car will be like buying a TV, your choices are Chinese, Korean or if you want to spend a lot, Japanese.

The unions are part to blame, but the management at GM has had their head stuck up their a$$es for the last 10 years. People have been writing them letters and even designing what they want. All we get .. The HHR wtf is that? The PT cruiser was cool for the first 18 months, now only clowns and homos buy them.

[Nine Ball]

The HHR is better than the SSR truck. At least the HHR is inexpensive and useful. The money they wasted developing the SSR should have gone towards the 5th gen f-body instead.

I love my GM vehicles, but GM has its head up its ass business-wise.

[BuddyP]

It won't be long before GMs are made in China. Buying a car will be like buying a TV, your choices are Chinese, Korean or if you want to spend a lot, Japanese.

The unions are part to blame, but the management at GM has had their head stuck up their a$$es for the last 10 years. People have been writing them letters and even designing what they want. All we get .. The HHR wtf is that? The PT cruiser was cool for the first 18 months, now only clowns and homos buy them.
GM has been in China for 6 years, they just aren't shipped over here yet. But the Aveo is close enough... shipped from Korea. The possibility of Delphi going under isn't helping GM either. The scary thing now is with GM's stock setting at 13.5 billion, the Casino billionaire Kerkorian, that currently owns 10% of GM's stock (1.6 billion), could buy GM's stock, sell GMAC, let GM go bankrupt and come out making money in his pocket... that's an extreme case obviously, and a company like GM couldn't just "go bankrupt". But none the less, the exects need to do something quick. Producing more appealing models would help dramatically. They need to start thinking outside the box. The recent new vehicles have a lot better quality but just lack the attention getting looks.