Last Vibes will be built in August - LA Times

[jimincalif]

FTA: "According to GM, the final Vibe will roll off the line at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont by the end of August. The factory, also known as NUMMI, is co-owned by GM and Toyota Motor Corp. NUMMI is the only automotive assembly plant in California." http://www.latimes.com/busines...story

[IMakeVibes]

This was the rumor (and there are many) at the plant for the last couple of days. Then yesterday the story about us building the Prius surfaced in the news again http://www.reuters.com/article...90617 . And today we got official word that the Vibe will be gone sometime in August. The timing of it all coming together is odd, our CBA with the UAW expires at the end of July. The truck side is scheduled to go back to two shifts in August (they are currently at one) and then back to one shift at the beginning of '10. There seem to be enough Toyota car orders to keep us busy for a while, although probably not a full week. We now know the fate of the Vibe, only time will tell what happens with the rest of that place.Obviously, if you want to order a new Vibe instead of taking one of the lot, do it NOW. We have many orders in the system still, don't know how much longer they will be able to take orders for these.

[kostby]

Now that the date is set in stone...NOW it can be told!(Begin the deep resonant tones of James Earl Ray)Car Dreck Chapter MMIXCorporate Ignorance: The Final Frontier These were the voyages of the automotive odyssey known as Vibe: A 7-year mission to take a fantastic car concept (manufactured in a joint venture between what was once the world's largest car company, and a feisty foreign competitor with decades of experience getting it 'right') into the teeming galaxies of automotive choice and explore strange new ways of not marketing any of the benefits, fuel mileage, space utilization, styling, and available performance features, as brain-damaged corporate bean-counters strained to find new ways to eat their children.Disappearing soon at a dealership near you!(Now resuming my dull, boring, pathetic life, already in progress)

[Kincaid]

I really don't know what the sales figures are but I can't believe that GM will just walk away from a platform after two model years. I guess if it was just a "tweak" and restyle of the same platform they aren't loosing so much of their investment. Still, if it was popular they could put a new front grille on it and voila! Chevy (or Buick or GMC).

[jimincalif]

Assuming they will still need to meet CAFE rules on a two-fleet basis, you'd think the Vibe would be a great car to keep. However, I would guess they want out of NUMMI. California is one of the most expensive and least hospitable states in which to run a business that actually makes stuff and uses energy, steel, paint, etc. They are probably looking to make better profit margins elsewhere.Don't know where this will leave NUMMI and Toyota. Toyota has excess capacity too, much of it in lower-cost states with non-union labor. I'd be concerned if I worked at NUMMI.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by Kincaid »I can't believe that GM will just walk away from a platform after two model years. Fiero only went 4 years.Officially, production ended because of an internal GM forecast of insufficient future profits due to an expected decrease in overall demand for two-seater sports cars, that and the media frenzy with engine fires.

[jake75]

So - the last Vibes, the 2010 Model Year - will have all been made in the period of about Feb. 2009 through August 2009 - none in 2010.It will be interesting to see if the dealers try to load up on 2010 Vibe inventory before the cutoff. I would guess not as there is no assurance that GM will continue to supported Vibe sales with incentives etc. Without some incentives to lower the price I don't think the dealers will be able to move that metal at a profit.