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GM won't really kill off the Chevy Volt and Cadillac CT6, will it?

General Motors is apparently considering killing off six slow-selling models by 2020, according to Reuters. But is that really likely? The news is mentioned in a story where UAW president Dennis Williams notes that slumping US car sales could threaten jobs at low-volume factories. Still, we're skeptical that GM is really serious about killing those cars. Reuters specifically calls out the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Sonic, and the Chevrolet Volt. Most of these have been redesigned or refreshed within the past few model years. Four - the LaCrosse, Impala, CT6, and Volt - are built in the Hamtramck factory in Detroit. That plant has made only 35,000 cars this year - down 32 percent from 2016. A typical GM plant builds 200,000-300,000 vehicles a year. Of all the cars Williams listed, killing the XTS, Impala, and Sonic make the most sense. They're older and don't sell particularly well. On the other hand, axing the other three seems like an odd move. It would leave Buick and Cadillac without flagship sedans, at least until the rumored Cadillac CT8 arrives. The CT6 was a big investment for GM and backing out after just a few years would be a huge loss. It also uses GM's latest and best materials and technology, making us even more skeptical. The Volt is a hugely important car for Chevrolet, and supplementing it with a crossover makes more sense than replacing it with one. Offering one model with a range of powertrain variants like the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius might be another route GM could take. All six of these vehicles are sedans, Yes, crossover sales are booming, but there's still a huge market for cars. Backing away from these would be essentially giving up sales to competitors from around the globe. The UAW might simply be publicly pushing GM to move crossover production to Hamtramck to avoid closing the plant and laying off workers. Sales of passenger cars are down across both GM and the industry. Consolidating production in other plants and closing Hamtramck rather than having a single facility focus on sedans might make more sense from a business perspective. GM is also trying to reduce its unsold inventory, meaning current production may be slowed or halted while current cars move into customer hands. There's a lot of politics that goes into building a car. GM wants to do what makes the most sense from a business perspective, while the UAW doesn't workers to lose their jobs when a factory closes.

2017 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport spotters guide

The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport is a mix of regular Stingray and steroidal Z06. Unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, this tweener 'Vette will go on sale this summer. If you need a refresher, click here for the details and official press release. We sat down with Chief Engineer Tadge Juecter in Switzerland to explain the differences between the Grand Sport and the rest of the Corvette lineup. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Stingray Hood The Grand Sport comes with the LT1 V8 (and 460 horsepower) instead of the supercharged LT4 in the Z06. That means the Grand Sport gets the lower Stingray hood, absent the power bulge. The Grand Sport also weighs less than the Z06. As such, the Grand Sport's springs and anti-roll bars are different to accommodate the lighter nose. "Mainly it's the weight distribution that changes," explains Juecter, "It's a custom tune around the obvious standard components." Grand Sport Wheels, Z06 Brakes In the sixth-generation Corvette, the Grand Sport came with a Z06-style body but kept the standard Vette's steel structure. With every version of the C7 built on an aluminum backbone, the Grand Sport has almost the same structure as the Z06. That means the Grand Sport can handle all the track-ready goodness like Z06 brakes and the optional Z07 package that adds carbon-ceramic disks and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires. Except the Grand Sport comes without the max-downforce add-ons of the Z07-packaged Z06, because it doesn't need them. What you can't get on the Z06, though, is the unique Grand Sport wheel design, which comes in five different finishes. Stingray Brake Lights, Interior The dead giveaway for the Grand Sport is the hash marks on the front fenders which come in six different colors. Another way to spot the Grand Sport is the taillights, which use the Stingray's red lenses instead of the blacked-out Z06's lights. Z06 body plus taillights equals Grand Sport. Got that? The Grand Sport also comes with body-color rear fender vents, which are black on the Z06. And the Grand Sport's interior is based on the Stingray except the Collector Edition, which has unique blue accents.

GM pickup truck plant in Flint to add 1,000 assembly workers

FLINT, Mich. — General Motors said Tuesday it will add 1,000 workers to build new heavy-duty pickup trucks at its plant in Flint, Michigan, and will give priority to GM workers who were laid off elsewhere. The announcement comes the day after GM said it was starting to hand pink slips to about 4,000 salaried workers in the latest round of a restructuring announced in late November that will ultimately shrink its white-collar workforce in North America by 15 percent out of 54,000. GM has come under fire from U.S. President Donald Trump and Midwestern lawmakers for its plans to stop production at five North American factories and cut up to 15,000 jobs in all. The automaker has said it is trying to find new jobs for 1,500 U.S. hourly workers at the affected plants. Flint's truck plant could be a haven for many of these employees. Sales of heavy-duty pickups in the United States have grown to more than 600,000 vehicles a year, up more than 20 percent since 2013, according to industry data. Prices for luxury models can easily top $70,000. GM on Tuesday will celebrate the launch of a new generation of heavy-duty GMC and Chevrolet pickups at the assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, that is now building all such trucks for the company. Elsewhere in the company on Monday, two people briefed on the cuts in the white-collar salaried workforce said GM is cutting hundreds of jobs at its information technology centers in Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan and more than 1,000 jobs at its Warren, Michigan Tech Center. GM is filing new required mass layoff notices with state agencies and disclosed the cuts to lawmakers. The largest U.S. automaker announced in November it would cut a total of about 15,000 jobs and end production at five North American plants. The cuts include eliminating about 8,000 salaried workers, or about 15 percent. GM cut about 1,500 contract workers in December and said 2,300 salaried workers accepted buyouts, officials said. "These actions are necessary to secure the future of the company, including preserving thousands of jobs in the U.S. and globally. We are taking action now while the overall economy and job market are strong, increasing the ability of impacted employees to continue to advance in their careers, should they choose to do so," GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said, adding the bulk of the cuts should be completed in the next two weeks. Morrissey said GM would provide salaried workers with severance packages and job placement services.