General Motors will close its Moraine Assembly plant near Dayton, Ohio on December 23rd — earlier than the planned 2010 closure. The plant builds the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender, and Saab 9-7X. Less than 80 days away, the closing will mark the demise of all four models.
With Isuzu pulling out of the U.S. market in January, the death of the Ascender is no surprise. As for Saab’s 9-7X, it is widely expected to be replaced by the superior 2010 9-4X.
As for the TrailBlazer and Envoy, both vehicles have become extremely dated and have been indirectly replaced by the Chevrolet Traverse, Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Acadia, and GMC Terrain.
A company representative said the 1,100 workers at the Moraine facility were informed Friday of the planned closure. GM’s Oklahoma City plant previously built three of the four models, but it closed over a year ago.
10/03, 7:47 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!
Very sad. Times are tough.
10/03, 8:21 PM
posted by:
A4
ill miss the Trailblazer SS… everything else, no.
10/03, 8:38 PM
posted by:
TOZO
No one was really buying them anyway. At least other GM models are doing much better (compared to the rest of the tough times auto market, that is.) The GMT360s are way past their prime, but they did kick ass in the early part of this crazy decade.
10/03, 9:11 PM
posted by:
Get Real
Not just GM workers, all the suppliers will layoff people. Very Sad.
10/03, 10:20 PM
posted by:
RTT10
suck that NMOFGM..
10/04, 1:06 AM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
You know I think the Acadia has to be one of the best looking SUVs GM has right now, I just hate that its FWD, instead of RWD or AWD. The Buick equiv has a nice interior, not quite German or newschool Japanese but like 03 Honda Accordish.
10/04, 7:01 AM
posted by:
ricky_b
Sadly, people could see this coming before gas prices went north of $3 per gallon. This SUV line up just wasn’t competitive and folks had already been switching to crossovers. And why on earth was GM stupid enough to saddle poor Saab with one of these? Were their Marketing people inhaling tail pipe emissions? FWD aside, at least they have their new crossover line to keep moving forward.
10/04, 9:31 AM
posted by:
1c3d0g
A4: Right on, mate!
10/04, 12:32 PM
posted by:
Lariat Luxury Locomotive Liner No.3
When are investors going to get smart and start demanding that people like Lutz and Wagoner need to be fired? They are not taking accountability or responsibility for matters that could have been accounted for way ahead of the stream that has brought us here now.
10/04, 12:59 PM
posted by:
rds130
To put this in perspective, Moraine, Ohio is a town of 6,700 people. And I’m pretty sure the number isn’t 1,100 because there are or at least were 2,400 - 2,500 employees working there. Unless they’d already started cutting back. And all two days before Christmas. Dayum that sucks
10/04, 1:12 PM
posted by:
JoshyLofty
isuzu has been out of here for like 2 years, tho.
10/04, 1:42 PM
posted by:
bradleygt
to put things in perspective, Lutz and Wagoner inhereted the Trailblazer and siblings and remember unions are just as much to blame as the execs LLL#3.
also, while it does suck that its ‘right’ before Christmas, this is when most GM plants shut down anyway for a 2-4 week holiday! again, thank the unions
and yea, what A4 said, the TB SS was a bad arse truck that was fun to drive and priced right imho.
10/04, 2:34 PM
posted by:
A4
its a shame they cant continue building the SS in low volumes… i cant imagine a Traverse SS, it just aint manly enough, the trailblazer has some balls to it. I can only hope for a Tahoe SS and a new Silverado SS at this point.
10/04, 2:37 PM
posted by:
A4
and on a side note, a 9-7x Aero was essentially a sleeper Trailblazer SS with a Swedish face… it was a nice addition if you ask me, had the same 390hp 6.0 V8. Find me another blend of swedish-american style out there, itll be pretty difficult… hell find me a swede with a V8.
10/04, 3:02 PM
posted by:
tzu13
“hell find me a swede with a V8.”
Psst! http://www.koenigsegg.com/press_aug_08.html
10/04, 4:32 PM
posted by:
theColbertNation
LOL tzu13! good call!
10/04, 4:44 PM
posted by:
A4
well, i figured the words “an affordable one” was implied
10/04, 6:36 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
Serves ya right for building irrelevant crap.
10/05, 12:05 AM
posted by:
zoomzoomer
A4, the Volvo S80 and XC90 offer a V8.
10/05, 12:19 AM
posted by:
VWgrouP
I thought Isuzu was already gone..(maybe that’s why their vacating the North American market)
Its to bad they have to discontinue the 97X, but they never really sold all to well.
10/05, 12:22 AM
posted by:
VWgrouP
Nicely said Madcap
10/05, 12:46 AM
posted by:
tyler_is_aero_tt
Seriously the Trailblazer is one of the worst built GM cars. We rented one and the A/C didn’t work ond the driver’s window didn’t work so we traded it in for a Toyota Highlander.
10/05, 4:06 AM
posted by:
sanfranmac
You’re seeing the end of a way of life. Massive changes coming fast, lie ahead. GM will have to adapt, or die. So will the rest of us. The sooner America gets away from its addiction to oil, and gas guzzlers, 5 of which got theirs with this plant closing, the sooner we’ll lead the free world again.
10/05, 2:02 PM
posted by:
Bimmer
GM surely milked that platform. SIX trucks come out on it: Olds Bravada, Buick Rainier and four more mentioned above.
10/05, 8:06 PM
posted by:
A4
oh yeah thats true, i guess i didnt think that through too much haha
10/06, 12:55 AM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
Well expect GM Ford to close even more plants, and possible be threatened by a foreign buyer. Just a heads up I’m callin it out now.
10/06, 7:49 AM
posted by:
carstuff
Watched Autoline last night. Trucks are selling over 50% again. Gas is down to $3.25 from $4.25 not long ago.
May was the change point. Truck owners were freaking out and throwing away $10-$20,000 just to get rid of them and buy Prius’s. You could not get rid of used trucks. August the dealers were scrambling to get used trucks because by then buyers had figured out that the dealers were giving away used trucks and the price difference, and the fact they really wanted a truck, made the savings in gas moot. Now they are selling again (albiet low volumes just like the rest of the industry).
We forget fast. But this happened in the 70’s and 80’s.
10/06, 8:08 AM
posted by:
MercMark
sanfranmac it’s not oil addiction. Loss of manufacturing and all of our cash funding China is whats killing the US.
10/06, 8:38 AM
posted by:
bauer100
why do people evaluate vehicles based on rentals? they usually aren’t treated kindly. these trucks werent bad in the day they just needed a make over that never came.
10/06, 11:30 AM
posted by:
shaver
This is devestating all around for this country. And its not oil addiction, China, the mortgage turned credit crisis, the cost of the war, the trade deficit, the illegal aliens or even 1115s mom getting laid off and cutting off his import tuner mag subscription. These are all issues weighing heavily on my country. It is the lack of leadership to foresee, manage and thrive amonsgt these issues that has ruined the US and soon the worlds economy. Greedy pricks.
10/06, 11:36 AM
posted by:
monte
lol shaver
10/06, 12:12 PM
posted by:
mikemacnn
sad for US economy.
10/06, 1:41 PM
posted by:
tzu13
A4- Well, if it was understood, consider me to have misunderstood.
10/06, 2:56 PM
posted by:
ktulu
2 bad
10/06, 7:48 PM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
China killing the US thats the most despicable thing I”ve ever heard, its called business just being greedy and moving jobs to cheaplabor to improve profit margins but it quite hasn’t worked out now has it? Businesses have bascially had the last 14yrs to runamok and now we see where unfettered capitalism goes without policing itself.