GM Plant Closures Signal Product Shift

Now that it’s operating under bankruptcy protection, GM has ramped up the scheduled plant closures it had previously announced. Four assembly plants will be closed this year, impacting current products.

The least surprising closure is the Wilmington, Del., plant that produces the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice roadsters and coupes. It's also the most immediate, shutting down in July of this year. The 2010 Pontiac Solstice coupe just went into production at the plant, and company officials have said only 1,000 will be produced. One is already sold to GM executive Bob Lutz, meaning there are only 999 available.

The other three assembly plants and what they build are listed below.

Car Buyer Q&A: 2009 Chevy Traverse

A month ago, 33-year-old Vince Ferrari posted on his personal blog about a bad experience he had trying to buy a new Chevy Malibu. The tale caught fire among consumer blogs, reinforcing many people’s negative feelings toward car dealers. We contacted Vince via Twitter to see if he’d be interested in telling us how his car shopping went after that experience. The Bronx IT professional ended up purchasing a new 2009 Chevy Traverse — that's it pictured above — but from a different dealer.

KickingTires: Why did you decide to buy a new car in this economy?

Vince: Recently, my company merged with another company, and my daily commute doubled.  I wanted something I could depend on a little more than my eight-year-old 2001 Malibu LS (which was, for the most part, a very reliable car for me). The economy didn't really come into it, honestly. My company is stable and I knew I wasn't leaving my job. I've been at the same place for almost 13 years now, so it wasn't a real concern for me. Plus, the deals in general on new cars are pretty good right now. It isn't a fire sale like people exaggerate it to be, but it does seem like a good time to buy.

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse

In a world that’s seemingly full of crossover vehicles, one wouldn’t think GM needed yet another when it already has three. But here it is: The Chevrolet Traverse, a crossover that has Malibu-inspired styling and all the pieces that make GM’s other crossovers (besides the Saturn Outlook) so popular. Does it stack up? Kelsey Mays answers that question and more in his review.

2009 Chevrolet Traverse Expert Review

Nuts and Bolts of the 2009 Chevy Traverse

It’s been nearly two years since the first of GM’s full-size crossovers, the Saturn Outlook, hit dealerships. Now comes the fourth model, Chevrolet’s 2009 Traverse. A new look isn’t the only thing the intervening years have produced; at a media event last week in suburban Chicago, vehicle line director Sue Wilson walked us through some of the Traverse’s subtler changes.

Feedback from focus groups, J.D. Power reports and owners of GM’s other crossovers resulted in a number of updates on the Traverse, Wilson said. Among them are overhead hanger hooks in the second and third rows, versus just the third row in the other models; an optional stand-alone backup camera that goes in the rearview mirror; and two-piece side mirrors that show more of the Traverse’s blind spot.

These are “little things” that GM learned along the way, Wilson said. Faced with climbing all the way to the third row, owners weren’t using the hooks to hang their dry cleaning; instead, they simply hung their clothes on the headrest.

GM Crossovers: Hybrids, Consolidation Off the Table For Now

With Chevrolet receiving the fourth of GM’s large crossovers — it’s called the Traverse, and it joins the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave in the lineup — GM has some options on the table. Is there room in the market for all four models? Could a version of the company’s two-mode hybrid system make its way over? With Toyota and Dodge now offering four-cylinder drivetrains in their competing crossovers, will GM follow suit?

We spoke with Sue Wilson, vehicle line director for all four crossovers, at a Chicago-area media event for the Traverse yesterday. Wilson said she’s unaware of any plans for a hybrid version of any of these crossovers, echoing reports last January and more recently that GM is still a ways off from a two-mode hybrid crossover of this size.

What about smaller engines?

All-Wheel Drive is 2009 Chevrolet Traverse's Best-Kept Secret

Chevrolet is oh, so proud to add yet another crossover, the Traverse, to the General Motors’ family for 2009. The Traverse gives folks an alternative to midsize or full-size SUVs.

But GM is not so proud, unfortunately, to let its consumers in on one of the vehicle’s best selling points: on-demand all-wheel drive for the Snowbelt, making it — like its siblings the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave — a viable alternative to an SUV.

The Traverse is available in front- or all-wheel drive, but there isn’t any "FWD" or "AWD" lettering on the rear hatchlid to let everyone know.

Chevy engineers have their own suggestions for how to find out if a Traverse is front- or all-wheel drive.

"You can look for the AWD designation on the window sticker to tell," one Chevy official said at a preview of GM's 2009 lineup in Chicago.

2009 GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse, Saturn Outlook Are Top Safety Picks

We apologize for listing all four members of GM’s three-row crossover family in the headline, but felt it was odd to go with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s headline of just the GMC Acadia getting the highest safety honor the group bestows on new vehicles. The IIHS award goes to any vehicle that scores a top rating in frontal, side and rear crash tests. The rating is considered much harder to achieve than the government’s five-star safety rating.

The Top Safety Pick designation also carries over to 2008 versions of the Acadia, Enclave and Outlook, while the Chevy Traverse is all-new for 2009. The 2008s are available with huge discounts during GM’s Employee Pricing sale we covered last week, which runs through Sept. 2.

Related
2008 Buick Enclave Expert Review (Cars.com)
2008 GMC Acadia Expert Review (Cars.com)
2007 Saturn Outlook Expert Review (Cars.com)

2009 Chevy Traverse to Start at $28,255

GM announced today that its fourth three-row crossover, the Chevy Traverse, will start at $28,255, not including a $735 destination charge. This puts it slightly below a 2008 Saturn Outlook, which is the most affordable of GM’s trio of large crossovers already on the market: Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. GM has already announced that prices will go up 3.5% across its brands for 2009, which would put the Outlook at $29,627. Of course, the 3.5% figure is an average. Official 2009 prices haven’t been announced yet for the Outlook.

The Traverse will come in front- and all-wheel-drive configurations. We’ve covered the Traverse extensively; you can check out more information here. The first Traverses will hit dealerships this fall.

2008 Chicago Auto Show: 2009 Chevy Traverse Video

Cars.com's managing editor and our own resident Suburban Dad, Patrick Olsen, has taken on one of the most significant family vehicles to debut at the Chicago Auto Show this year. The 2009 Chevy Traverse is similar to corporate cousins like the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave, but Patrick manages to find some of the real differences in the Traverse. Share this video via YouTube.

More info and photos on the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse

Up Close: 2009 Chevrolet Traverse

Chevrolet insists its version of GM's three-row crossovers — the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave — is more than just a new badge. Vehicle line executive Anna Kretz characterized the Traverse's ride as the sportiest of the group, with a direct-injection V-6 that makes incrementally more power than the others.

Indeed, the crossover's two-tier grille lends a taller visage than the Outlook's, and the beady, high-mounted taillights reinforce the stance. I found the LTZ show car's abundant chrome accents a bit distracting, especially against its silver paint. Get one in red or black; I suspect that will look better.