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GM cutting production at two plants

General Motors is continuing to adjust to excess supply of some of its brands' models. To get production more in line with the vehicles' actual demand, the automotive giant is idling two of its factories in North America in the coming months. The Orion Assembly plant is going to be down from March 9-13, according to an anonymous plant worker and another insider speaking to Automotive News. The factory builds the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, but there are plenty of both models sitting on dealer lots, including 216 days worth of Sonics, according to AN. The factory already had two idle periods announced to reduce the excess. In addition, downtime is scheduled at GM's "Flex" line at the Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, plant from April 13-17. This affects supply of the Chevrolet Camaro, Impala, Buick Regal and Cadillac XTS. Among them, the automotive giant has the largest supply of Regals ready for dealers with 213 days worth of them, according to AN. The future for the whole Oshawa factory is cloudy in general, though. There are rumors that it could close entirely in the future because the Camaro is leaving and the Regal and XTS might not last much longer than 2017. The Canadian government and the labor union there intend to put up a fight, though. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM orion assembly oshawa plant idle

2014 Chevy Malibu, Buick LaCrosse recalled over brake mix-up

The recall madness over at General Motors isn't letting up anytime soon, as evidenced by this latest call-back of 8,208 Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse sedans. For those keeping track, this is the fifth recall that GM has announced in the past two weeks, not to mention the massive ignition-switch issue from earlier this year.
GM issued a statement saying these sedans are being recalled due to "possible reduced braking performance," according to Automotive News. The problem? Rear brake rotors may have accidentally been installed in the front brake assembly. And since both cars use more robust braking systems up front than out back, braking power could be reduced, increasing the risk of a crash.
Automotive News reports that, of the over 8,000 cars being recalled, about 1,700 are currently in the hands of customers, while the others are still in dealer inventory. GM is unaware of any crashes or injuries related to this problem. All of the affected vehicles are from the 2014 model year.

We hear Buick is testing a Regal wagon with focus groups

Rumors about a possible Buick Regal wagon have come and gone for the past few years, and today we have another one. A friend of Autoblog recently let slip that Buick is talking with customers and running focus groups of a new car against the Acura TSX wagon and an unnamed Volvo wagon. Of course the Buick model being used in the focus groups wasn't mentioned, but the Regal is the only Buick in the lineup of comparable size and with a wagon version overseas. Plus, we've heard that Buick told dealers a wagon is in the works at a meeting a few months ago. We reached out to Buick for comment, however no details were given. A Buick spokesperson told us, "By the end of 2017, we'll be revealing three more new models for a total of seven new Buicks in just 24 months." Of the seven new models, four have been launched: the Cascada, Encore, Envision and LaCrosse. Looking at Buick's current line-up, that leaves three models that haven't been updated yet: the Enclave, Regal and Verano. This is where a Buick Regal wagon could come in. We know the Enclave is definitely getting a replacement. The large crossover market is huge and GM has a platform for it. We're also expecting a new Regal sedan to come out next year. The Verano, however, is unlikely to see another generation. If the Verano goes away, that leaves an opening for a new Buick model. Rather than another sedan, Buick probably wants more crossovers, as the company said it expects its current line-up to bring in 70 percent of its sales. It could very easily add another CUV to the line-up by giving the Regal wagon the Volvo Cross Country treatment. Raise the ride height, gird it with plastic fenders and bumpers, and give the wagon a trendy name like "Tourx" or "Regal Tourx," which the company has already trademarked, and Buick's newest crossover is ready to go. In fact, GM has effectively already done this to the Regal's German sibling, the Insignia, in the form of the Insignia Country Tourer, pictured above. In summary, a CUV-like wagon could give Buick a trendy car in a hot class for a minimal investment. It would even provide Buick with a model that has no equivalents elsewhere in the GM stable, giving the company a bit more distinction. If the company does bring us a wagon version of the Regal, we would expect to see something next year, possibly with the reveal of the normal Regal variants.