Saturn Spring Hill Factory To Close

"A Different Kind of Car Company" ------

------ > "Just Another Struggling GM Brand"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051121/ap_on_bi_ge/gm

 

where else do they assemble saturn ?

 

The "L" was built in Delaware. The new minivan comes from the same
factory as other GM minivans. The Vue could shift to the Ontario plant
alongside the Equinox. The Sky could be built allow with the Solstice
in Delaware.

My guess is that the Ion will be replaced with something from Korea or
China by the time the 2008 models role out. GM said that one production
line is staying open in Spring Hill, which is a bit confusing. Maybe
that is the new Sky line.

What GM didn't say today is anything about Korea and China. I think
that they are quitely planning to ramp up production for export in one
or both of them but are keeping it out of the press.

John

 

It's possible that some other automakers will purchase factories that
are relatively new. I.e. Toyota and Honda are capacity constrained, and
have a big committment to U.S. manufacturing. There is a big reluctance
by many consumers to purchase cars built outside the U.S., but little
reluctance to buy foreign nameplates that are built in the U.S..

Unless we see $1.50/gallon gasoline again soon, Ford and GM may not
survive, since all their profits came from trucks and SUVs, and they've
not demonstrated any ability to design desirable smaller cars.

It's more likely that GM will move more production to Mexico, than to
Korea or China.

 

"One production line will close and one will remain open in Spring Hill,
Tenn."

 

They are shutting down the Ion line.

Ed

 

I can clarify.

We discussed this at work today after reading the latest media post from
Jill Lajdziak. (Saturn CEO). It was in the plans anyways to move production
of the ION for the model yr. '07 to Youngstown OH where the Cobalt is built
as it's already on the same platform. Today's news only clarifies the plan.

Line 1 at Spring Hill (now called GM Spring Hill plant)where the ION is
currently built will be shut down and production of the ION will be moved to
OH at the end of '06. That means that '07 model year IONs may be the last
polymer panel IONs.

In addition, GM is closing the birthplace of the cross branded Relay in late
'06 too.

This doesnt mean the end of Saturn, its a new era for them. They intend on
bringing out a newer european looking line of vehicles, starting with the
SKY. IMHO not a bad start, cant wait to see whats new.

Long live the S car, bring on the kappa platform cars.
marx404

 

Thanx John, just what I need, a Chinese Saturn.....


Laz

 

So, for 08 on, all the Saturns will be stamped sheet-metal ?

Laz

 

My best guess of the two would be Korea. I had a Daewoo prior to the GM
buy-out...and it actually wasn't a bad car until GM got their hands on
it and made it an Aveo.

The plants in Korea have the production capabilities, but I just don't
know if GM can/will let them ramp up again for North American production
when China is coming up so fast. I'd say they are more likely to turn
the Kroean plants over to making small cars for the Chinese market.

One thing is for sure....if GM keeps knocking off the cars I own so
fast, I won't be owning too many more from them. I want something I can
pay off and run for a while before needing a replacement 'cause I can't
get parts as the model has been discontinued, bought out or plain abandoned.

Michael Halliwell

 

I'm not saying I like the idea, but just that it seems likely at some
point. Almost anything can be made much more cheaply in Asia than it
can be in the US, and the majority of buyers are not willing to pay more
for US built anything.

John

 

The "L" was built in Delaware. The new minivan comes from the same

I thought ION production was moving to the Cobalt plant in Lordstown Ohio.
I'm not sure if the ION is already on the same frame as the Cobalt or if the
ION will be redesigned to be on the Cobalt frame. That plant has the
capacity for something like 350,000 cars a year, more than all the Cobalts
and IONs currently being made, and that's not listed as one that's closing.

Of course one way to increase sales of Cobalts and IONs would be TO PRODUCE
A WAGON VERSION !!!!!!!
HINT FREAKING HINT ! ! !
Maybe a cheaper (maybe slightly smaller) version of the Pontiac Vibe.
Something that's in the mid 30s in gas mileage rather than the mid 20s.
ron
94 SL1 119,000 miles

 

This is not true, especially when it comes to vehicles. If it was,
Toyota and Honda would have built all their North American factories in
Mexico, rather than in the U.S., or would have moved all of their Asian
factories to Thailand or Vietnam. It it was true, then GM and Ford would
likely have gone out of the car business already (yes, CAFE rules would
probably have kept them in it to a degree).

Because the domestic content laws are so convoluted, the only sensible
thing to do when "buying American" is to look at the final assembly
location. Looking at the source of major components is misleading,
because non-U.S. components can be included in the U.S. content for
components.

 

The transplant factories in the US are being built for political
reasons, not for cost reasons.

John

 

We owned and enjoyed 1992 and 2000 SL-1's.
Good cars, simple and reliable; no complaints.

But Saturn as we know it is done.
Sad to them go...

Christopher Platt
New York

 

<<production of the ION will be moved to OH at the end of '06. That
means that '07 model year IONs may be the last polymer panel IONs.>>

Why can't they do polymer panels in Ohio too?

John Cowart

 

It's partly political, but it's also for marketing. It is cheaper to
build in the U.S. than in Japan, and it shields the companies from
currency fluctations, but it's even cheaper to build in Mexico or
Brazil. The companies with the transplant factories in the U.S. make a
very big deal of the fact that they are manufacturing in the U.S., with
good reason.

In my area, we're all much happier that Toyotas are being built in the
NUMMI factory, which was a closed GM factory, than we are that the
nearby Milpitas Ford factory was turned into a giant shopping mall, with
a Ford Fairlane under glass, in a corner of the mall.

Toyota is expanding in the U.S., and with their Subaru investment they
will likely revitalize Subaru and need more capacity for that line as
well. Hopefully they'll take some of the GM factories, like they saved
Fremont.

 

They could, but it adds a lot to the manufacturing cost to do polymer
panels. It's unlikely that polymer panels are going to continue.

 

GM has been playing around with polymer panels for years. Remember the
Pontiac Fiero? How about the first generation GM minivans. Both used
some plastic panels. Plastic panels create at least as many problems as
they solve. Furthermore, plastic resin costs have gone sky high as
natural gas and oil prices have gone up. Even Rubbermaid is on a full
court press to make and sell more steel trinkets instead of the plastic
they are known for in order to improve profitability.

Polymer panels will surely be phased out of future Saturn models. It
was a dumb gimmick to start with.

John

 

Why? I actually think they're cool. It is one of the reasons I bought my
wife's car.

Oh, and the Fiero is one of the coolest cars out of GM in the past thirty
years. Especially the GT. Right up there with the long gone Impala.