Autoblog

Looks like that Moraine, Ohio plant that was going to be shut down next year is actually going to be shuttered on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. This is the plant responsible for production of the GMC Envoy, Chevy Trailblazer and Saab 9-7X. The General had already slowed the plant to just one shift as SUV sales, particularly sales of old SUVs like these, continue to tumble, but the plant was expected to remain open until at least early next year. On Friday the remaining 1,100 workers were gathered and told of the revised plan.

The closure isn't a total surprise, as General Motors had already announced that the Dayton-suburb plant would be closed so the company could focus more on production of small cars. That initial announcement seemed to indicate a 2010 closure, but the company has continually revised the closing date until this most recent word came. Moraine is one of four GM plants that are going to be shut down. When Janesville, Wis.; Oshawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico join Moraine in closure, a total of 8,350 workers will be looking for new jobs.

[Source: Detroit News]

Australia's automotive manufacturing industry has taken a blow as Mitsubishi announced it will be closing its Adelaide plant, the facility that builds the 380 sedan. The news means approximately 1,000 workers will soon be out of a job. In fact soon means very soon, as March 31st marks the plant's final day. It will certainly be a quick and painful process; so much that counseling will be offered to outgoing employees. The Australian government even previously offered the Japanese automaker assistance in order to keep their local operations alive. However, the extra funds couldn't account for the 380's dismal sales. It is well known that Australians like their V8s and the 3.8L V6 engine powering the sedan was not enough to overcome the competition.

[Source: Live News]

We're not sure what's going to be produced there, but GM is investing $225 million in their Spring Hill, Tennessee Saturn plant. The Ion and Vue are currently built in Spring Hill, but production of those vehicles will be ceasing in March 2007. Once the plant is cleared of vehicles, the paint shop will go under the knife and be renovated for future vehicle production. The goal of the paint shop upgrades is to accomodate any size vehicle GM plans to build. These plans hinge on GM securing incentives from Tennessee, but it's a great vote of confidence in the UAW workforce and building cars in America. Hey, our Toyotas and Hondas are built here, so why should we buy GMs built elsewhere? Saturn is looking quite promising, with a raft of new, and very good, vehicles. It's unclear how drastic the refit of the plant will be, and whether it will be building multiple platforms at a time, or if it'll be limited to a single platform. With Saturn vehicles sharing corporate architecture, it bodes well for offering some flexibility and capacity to GM's manufacturing muscle across the brands. Let's hope they continue to focus on quality before quantity, though. You'll only be able to use that capacity if the cars are good enough to make people want them.

Press release after the jump

[Source: GM]

Peugeot is shuttering its Rynton plant in Coventry, where it builds its popular 206. Idling the British factory next year will mean that 2,300 will find themselves out of work.

The word came down as PSA Peugeot Citroen executives met with union officials, who expected bad news, but apparently weren't prepared for an outright closure.

Officials are saying that the plant is being axed due to high logistical and production costs, arguing that the cost of retooling for future vehicles cannot be justified as a result.

[Source: UK Telegraph]