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GM to idle car production at five factories as Americans continue CUV love affair

In case you needed another reminder that Americans have fallen out of love with sedans, General Motors today announced plans to idle five factories in January in a bid to cut its inventory to 70 days. Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly ( Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Volt and Impala) and Fairfax Assembly in Kansas ( Chevy Malibu) will stop production for three weeks. Lansing Grand River ( Cadillac ATS and CTS, and Chevy Camaro) is going down for two weeks, while Lordstown, OH ( Chevy Cruze) and Bowling Green, KY ( Chevy Corvette) will go idle for a week each, Automotive News reports. GM's shutdown reflects a broader problem with the company's supply – at 847,000 vehicles, the company's supply increased unsteadily from a low of 629,000 units in January of 2016. That's more than a 25 percent increase in the past year. Citing information from Autodata, The Detroit News reports that at the end of November, GM had a 168-day supply of LaCrosses, 177 days' worth of Camaro, 170 days of Corvette, 121 days for Cruze, 119 days for ATS, 132 days for CTS, and 110 days of CT6. Meanwhile, inventory of the company's more popular vehicles is actually below the professionally accepted 60- to 70-day supply, The News reports. The Trax, Colorado pickup, and GM's full-size SUVs are sitting below 50 days and experiencing year-over-year sales increases. GM needs a rethink of its inventory levels, which is something that's apparently coming. "We're going to be responsible in managing our inventory levels," GM spokesman Jim Cain told The News. Another unnamed spokesman told Automotive News the company's day-to-day supplies would "fluctuate before moderating at year-end." But at least one analyst thinks this won't be the last time Detroit needs to stop production to level things out. "Incentives are elevated, residuals are declining, and rates are rising," Brian Johnson, an analyst with Barclays, told The News. "And while GM in particular may benefit in the months ahead from new product launches, it's important to recognize that GM's inventory is elevated at the moment, and it wouldn't surprise us if they need to announce another production cut – which could pressure the stock." Related Video: News Source: The Detroit News, Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Plants/Manufacturing Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Crossover SUV Sedan bowling green cadillac xt6 fairfax

GM recalls 740,000 vehicles over daytime running light issue

General Motors is recalling over 740,000 vehicles due to a daytime running light issue that causes all of the affected cars to run afoul of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Vehicles affected by this recall are spread across many of GM’s brands. Models include the 2020-2023 Cadillac CT4 and CT5, 2021-2023 Buick Envision, 2022-2023 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, 2022-2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe and 2022-2023 GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL. GM says that the daytime running lights may remain on in these cars when the headlights are activated. This is a problem, because FMVSS rules require that the daytime running lights deactivate once the headlights turn on. If the DRLs remain on, GM says that could result in additional glare, thereby increasing the risk of an accident. The cause of this failure to deactivate the DRLs comes from body control module software that “under a combination of certain pre-conditions, could fail to deactivate the DRLs,” according to GM. Other GM vehicles were tested, but due to a difference in software or hardware, they remain unaffected. If this is reminding you of another recent GM recall, youÂ’d be right, as GM recalled another 340,000 vehicles for the same issue last month. After that original issue was found within GM, the company began looking into its other cars to determine if the population was larger than originally thought. GM found the additional vehicles included in todayÂ’s recall have the problem. The fix will either be via an over-the-air update or it will require you to bring the vehicle into a dealer for a software update, depending on which vehicle you have. Owner notification letters letting folks know what is necessary are currently scheduled to go out on January 23, 2023. Related video: Cadillac Escalade Infotainment Review

Junkyard Gem: 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

The Cadillac Division was riding high in 1969, with sales numbers far surpassing those of Lincoln and Imperial. A few more years remained before fuel prices would go crazy, and prosperous Americans knew that a sleek DeVille or Eldorado gave them bragging rights at the country club. Here's a thoroughly used-up '69 Coupe DeVille, finally at the end of its journey and residing in a self-service wrecking yard in Denver, Colo. This inspection certificate shows that the car lived in Louisiana a decade ago. Since this is the sort of pervasive rust that occurs in places much wetter than arid High Plains Colorado, we can assume that this DeVille spent many years in the land of gumbo and alligators. The decklid sports Fleetwood badging and a Rickenbaugh Cadillac emblem, but Cadillac didn't make two-door Fleetwoods in 1969. Perhaps a Colorado-sold Fleetwood donated its decklid to replace a rust-ravaged lid on this car. Actually, there's a good chance it was purchased at this very yard. The once-opulent interior has suffered greatly over the decades, with the reek of mildewed carpeting and irradiated leather giving it That Hooptie Car Smell. Try to picture what this scene looked like in happier days, a half-century ago. The 1969 Cadillac V8 engine displaced a mighty 472 cubic inches (that's 7.8 liters to those of you living under the cruel knout of the metric system) and delivered a gross 375 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque. Scaling in at 4,595 pounds (about a half-ton less than a new Escalade), the DeVille needed that power to keep up with those cheap-but-V8-equipped Chevy Chevelles. For 1970, Cadillac would stroke this engine to a staggering 500 cubic inches for Eldorado buyers. This engine family lasted through 1984, after which it was replaced by the much-loathed High Technology V8. The build quality and snob appeal of the 1969 Cadillacs kept them on the road for decades after most of their peers got crushed, but this one was just too far gone to be worth restoring. Featured Gallery Junked 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille View 21 Photos Auto News Cadillac Automotive History Classics