I agree. It isn’t the first time GM tried to close a factory and ended up keeping it open. This announcement gives them superior negotiation power with UAW. I predict at least a few factories will be saved.
Subaru has always been built in Japan, only the new Ascent is US made (maybe some others too now)
That’s not entirely true. Subaru + Isuzu had a partnership (SIA) where they built the Rodeo + Legacy + Outback in Indiana for a short time
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And guess who will claim it as his own victory?
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Didn’t know that.
Actually, if this entire list is to be believed, it was more than I thought that was built there…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_of_Indiana_Automotive,_Inc.
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Then I was totally wrong, but my Foresters came on a boat 
I must say.
As a business decision good for them, but why… why get yourself into this situation GM?
At $47/mo the 2016 Malibu LT was still not worth it. It was junk. Having owned 4 Accords in a row in the past I was happy giving my money to them as I’m sure Toyota buyers felt the same way. Why is it that most of us just hate GM/Ford/Dodge vehicles (select SKUs not included like RAPTORs, SRT-8, Z06 etc…). It is because they are junk that they push on the public. Nothing is built nicely and well thought out. They shouldn’t just layoff 15,000 workers, they should hire some replacements that can drive the brand forward. Guidelines should be set at dealers also. GM dealers for the most part do well but the most BS I have seen in my years has been from Ford and Dodge franchise dealers.
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“Guidelines should be set at dealers also.”
Oh my, do you personally know any dealers? Most dealers I’ve encountered are astoundingly clueless about sales. You know, their main job.
I wouldn’t want dealers handling any product planning. GM products are bad enough.
They put out horrible + unreliable junk in the 80s + 90s, which got them into the mess they were in in 2008. At the same time, the Japanese were quietly stealing market share for putting out reliable metal. Funny enough, in the early to mid 80s, it was nothing to see a “Smash this Honda with a hammer for a buck” sightings around the country, as the US/Japanese trade war came to a head. You were looked at funny if you were driving a Japanese car in some parts.
Fast forward…all those people that got burned buying GM junk left the family…and moved into Japanese sedans due to their high quality. Then they stayed. GM finally woke up, albeit a little too late. Their products are lightyears better than they were 20 or 30 years ago…but that perception of GM junk lingers on. I’d also argue that GM product is better designed and better built today, on par with the Japanese counterparts (as they’ve slipped in the reliability a bit as they got bigger), and maybe even better in some cases, yet they have the “junk” perception while the Japanese are the darlings. It really shows how much poor product can damage a brand’s perception decades later.
I’ve driven a Malibu, and a few other GM cars, and while I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was “junk,” I definitely wouldn’t call it class leading either. In fact, all of their bread and butter sedans are “just good enough,” and not class leading…with maybe the exception of the Volt. Had a Cruze that I drove from LA to Vegas. It was a decent car for what it was. Lightyears better than the Sentra I picked up in Vegas to avoid a daily drop fee. THAT car was junk. One of the worst cars I’ve ever driven.
My wife had a last gen Equinox for a 2 year lease (Asian conquest 2017), and she couldn’t wait to get out of it. The price was right…the engine was a dog. The car was very nicely equipped, but a plastic wasteland for a dash/interior trim. Had it not been for the payment I got her, along with it being a quick 2 year lease, she wouldn’t have given it a second look. The next gen Equinox is much nicer aesthetically, yet now with my wife’s perception of her Equinox + Chevy, she wouldn’t even look at it.
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My buddy parked his Sentra at employee lot at GM (first job as engineer out of college). First day, someone left a sign said “park at visitor’s lot or get towed”. After seven weeks, he quit. That wasn’t even in the US. It was in Ontario.
The only Subaru not made in America is the Impreza/Crosstrek and Forester. Ascent, Outback, Legacy, and even the old Tribeca are/were made in Indiana.
No need to pile on…he got the message.
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Agreed, I’ve driven a few Malibus as rentals, one time out of habit I grab the inside of the trunk to try to close it (because my car has a handle on the inside of the trunk), the inside part of the trunk of the Malibu was not padded and it was sharp that cut my hand and left a gash. Small things, but annoying.
GM isn’t good at the little details…I’ll agree there. Interiors are nicer than they used to be by leaps and bounds (for the most part), but they always forget the little details, or cut corners here and there. Just some of the reasons none of their products are truly class leading.
As far as small sedans, I would go ahead and say the Cruze is class leading (well tied with Civic and Mazda3). It is substantial, quiet, rides well, and has a nice quality inside. It doesn’t feel like a small sedan, but rather a nice midsize IMHO.
The issue GM has is their packaging is atrocious on many models. The Cruze is $2k more than Civic and has less standard features. Compared to Elantra, it is $4-6k overpriced. Once you factor in the rebates, their prices are competitive.
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Spot on. When I was pricing out an equinox, I would need to get the 40k Premier if I wanted leather + the 2.0 engine. The previous gen with similar equipment (less the 2.0) was low 30s.
I’ve not driven the Mazda 3, but aesthetically, inside and out, I feel it had the Cruze beat. My opinion might change had I driven one though. That said, everyone’s tastes are different, so I’m not gonna knock that.
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This talk that GM should have died is foolish, for the reason they have already been mentioned. But the point is, GM is Not dead. They are restructuring for changing markets but also for economic cycles. Most or all manufactures right have pulled back on any expansion/investments due to a slowing in the economy and what is coming.
BTW, Trump literally campaigned on not letting the Idaho plant close, that will be closing. Not that he had all that much to do with this, he did give many of the workers in the Rust belt false hope with promises that tariffs would bring all the jobs back. Tariffs and bailing GM out are not the same thing. The bailout kept many employed for many years and eventually made GM a better company. Like I stated they are not dead and are gearing up for the future. Time will tell how they do. Adding tariffs is very complicated in industries were parts come from all over the world and at this point don’t do any good other than tax buyers.
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Having read a bunch of stuff on this over the last two days this seems to me to be something GM was going to have to do but the way they did it was politically stupid.
All the cars they are killing were selling poorly. You have to look at the drop from their peak sales:
Impala - down 82.4%
LaCrosse- down 71.8%
Cruze- down 56.7%
XTS- down 46.6%
Volt- down 18.9%
The Volt is dying off more because of the limitations of the platform but I’m sure the coming loss of the full EV tax credit is factored into that. But for the others they don’t sell anymore. And as others have said this is not exclusive to GM- sedans don’t sell like they used to.
The problem I see is the political side. GM is taking a lot of flak for the closures. Clearly someone decided it was better to rip the bandaid off and take all the bad press in one massive hit rather than trickle the news out over several months. But they also are not really pushing any sort of narrative that might soften the blow. Like “Hey, these are all vehicles that don’t sell and we hope to need some of that manufacturing space for new EVs we have coming soon.”
I don’t think this will kill GM, but I do think they are shrinking. They still have quality issues they need to deal with as well.
BTW I don’t think he is 100% right but Alex on Autos had an interesting take on this where he says a big chunk of this is driven by the CAFE regulations. Short video, worth watching:
I don’t like to see workers losing jobs. But in my town I am surrounded by Escalades, Suburbans, and Yukon XL’s, I just absolutely hate those cars.