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Trump prods General Motors over its auto plants in China

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump, who is engaged in a trade war with Beijing, said on Friday that the largest U.S. automaker, General Motors, should begin moving its operations back to the United States. "General Motors, which was once the Giant of Detroit, is now one of the smallest auto manufacturers there. They moved major plants to China, BEFORE I CAME INTO OFFICE. This was done despite the saving help given them by the USA. Now they should start moving back to America again?" Trump said in a post on Twitter. Trump appeared to be referring to a Bloomberg News story that reported GM's hourly workforce of 46,000 U.S. workers has fallen behind that of Fiat Chrysler as the smallest of the Detroit Three automakers. Over the past four decades, GM has dramatically cut the size of its overall U.S. workforce, which numbered nearly 620,000 in 1979. GM did not directly comment on Trump's tweet. "GMÂ’s China operations are not a threat to U.S. jobs," the company said in a fact sheet, noting that its joint ventures have sent $16 billion in equity income to GM since 2010 and that it has invested $23 billion in U.S. operations since 2009. GM's U.S. hourly workforce has fallen by about 4,000 jobs since the end of 2018 to about where it was a decade ago. Trump's ire with GM comes as contract talks with the United Auto Workers union with the Detroit Three automakers intensify ahead of a Sept. 14 deadline. Trump has previously attacked GM for building vehicles in Mexico and for ending production at plants in Michigan, Ohio and Maryland and threatened to cut GM subsidies in retaliation. GM's decision to close four plants in the United States is a central issue in the contract talks. Trump has made boosting auto jobs a key priority and has often attacked automakers on Twitter for not doing enough to boost U.S. employment. His 2020 re-election bid will hinge on holding key industrial battleground states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan that narrowly voted for him in 2016. China is the worldÂ’s largest auto market, and government policy favors automakers assembling vehicles there, and not importing them from overseas. In response to TrumpÂ’s latest tariffs, China said last week it will reinstitute 25% tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles. The U.S. is imposing 15% tariffs on more than $125 billion in Chinese goods starting Sunday. GM sold 3.6 million vehicles in China last year accounting for 43% of its worldwide sales.

The Chinese experiment | 2017 Buick Envision First Drive

The 2017 Buick Envision is a very good five-passenger crossover. The "but" you should anticipate will come in good time. First it's worth understanding why it exists at all. Out of the ashes of GM's bankruptcy a few flowers blossomed and the carmaker is doing exceptionally well, certainly far better than Chrysler has done in the wake of its free fall into Chapter 11. But of all the surprises at GM's turnaround, Buick surely ranks highest, without question the least likely player to thrive if you only study the North American market. Look farther than our shores, to China, however, and you won't be shocked. Note that the Envision, which has been on sale in China for a year and a half, will reach about 200,000 units this year; the entire Buick portfolio in the US only totaled 223,000 cars in 2015. Not only is China Buick's primary market, but what it makes there, like the Envision, is intended for a different sort of buyer. Here, we'd call it a compact crossover. In China the Envision is a relatively large car, and the buyer there is far more likely to use it as a tall limo, or at the very least, as a big-time status statement. That buyer is also very likely to be in his or her mid-30s – the average Buick buyer in the US is getting younger, but, at 58, is hardly a millennial. Still, Americans who buy the Envision will benefit from all of this China focus. Huge effort went into its development since the target competitor in China is the Audi Q5, according to Rick Spina, Executive Chief Engineer for the Envision. Spina explained that Buick went to the trouble and expense of isolating the entire chassis from engine, suspension, and driveline vibration and sound penetration. "If you look at non-luxury models like Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, nothing's isolated, everything is hard-bolted to the body, and so all that vibration goes into the frame." Spina says that even though you'd guess the China-built Envision shares the general parts bin of the Chevy Cruze and Equinox, it's almost entirely unique. "It's kind of an orphan," he says, because GM couldn't afford to invest in the ride tuning Buick had to have to compete with Audi in China for a volume Chevy product, so nothing from Chevy (for now) is on this platform. And although it would have made sense to have Cadillac or GMC share it, Cadillac's XT5 and GMC's Acadia were already on a different development cycle. Besides, he's pretty proud that the Envision was developed strictly for Buick.

2018 Buick LaCrosse gets a mild hybrid model, lower price

Update: Buick provided us with horsepower and fuel economy figures. The text has been updated to reflect this. Buick is rolling out a variety of updates for the 2018 LaCrosse, including a new mild eAssist hybrid. Like the previous generation LaCrosse and Regal eAssist models, this one features a small electric motor and an equally small battery pack that together augment rather than supplant the gasoline engine. The motor, attached to a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, helps to make takeoffs smoother and provide additional torque on demand. The gasoline engine still does the majority of the work, though. Combined, the powertrain produces 194 horsepower and 187 pound-feet of torque. It will also allow the LaCrosse to get 25 mpg in the city, and 35 mpg on the highway. While the electric powertrain doesn't provide primary propulsion, it does come with other benefits. The small battery means the LaCrosse maintains a folding rear seat. The battery also provides power to accessories when the engine shuts off at a standstill. This mild hybrid powertrain will be the standard engine for all 2018 LaCrosses, and they come with a lower base price. The 2018 model will start at $31,415, which is about $1,500 less than the lowest priced 2017 V6 LaCrosse. The V6 will still be available as an option, and Buick has updated it, too. The 2018 V6 models will also all come with a new 9-speed automatic transmission. The new LaCrosses will go on sale this fall. Related Video: Image Credit: Buick Green Buick Hybrid Luxury Sedan