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GM announces net 220 job increase as Trump visits Michigan

GM announced today that about 900 jobs would be added (or, importantly, retained) ahead of President Trump's arrival in Michigan, where he is expected to discuss his plan to roll back fuel economy standards. The timing of the announcement is almost certainly not coincidental, as appending it to a Trump visit gives it a higher profile and dovetails with the President's jobs agenda. It's less likely the decision itself was made for those reasons, but the free PR boost is a nice bonus. As for those 900 jobs themselves, they aren't all new jobs. The only net gain is approximately 220 jobs at the Romulus Powertrain Plant, which produces the 10-speed automatic transmission that's proliferating through the company's lineup. The 180 jobs at Flint Assembly and 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township are retained jobs – that is to say, spots the company found for workers who would otherwise have been laid off. By the way, the Flint jobs will help with production of heavy-duty pickups, and the Lansing jobs are to produce the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Finding jobs for manufacturing workers in the auto sector, whether new or retained, is admirable. No matter how GM couches it, the company has created or retained a total of 7,000 jobs this year, and its total reinvestment in US production is around $1 billion. But these decisions are business ones, not political ones – timing the announcements to make them seem inspired by economic policy, or the political situation, is simply smart PR. Related Video: Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC

Nissan Sentra, Buick LaCrosse to headline LA Auto Show

We're less than a month away from the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show, and automakers have been lining up their debuts for the upcoming left-coast expo. The latest announcement comes from the show's organizers who are eager to tout the global debuts slated for next month. Chief among them will be new versions of the Buick LaCrosse and Nissan Sentra. So far all we've seen of the 2017 LaCrosse is a glimpse at the front grille, but it's already promising to bring elements of the Avenir concept to the street. The original LaCrosse was launched in 2004 and was replaced in 2010 with the current model. The Sentra nameplate has been around much longer, but the current model was launched more recently in 2013. The new version spied recently while undergoing testing is promised to be a substantial update on that model, not a complete replacement, bringing it up to speed with the latest equipment and revised styling. This represents the first official confirmation we've received of when Nissan will be unveiling the new Sentra. Mitsubishi will also be on hand with its new Outlander Sport, as well as the redesigned Mirage. They'll be joined as well by new versions of a couple of high-end models that promise to resonate with the local crowds in tinseltown. Land Rover has chosen the LA show as a suitable venue to unveil the production Range Rover Evoque Convertible that will drop the top on one of the most stylish luxury crossovers on the market. And Porsche, as we know, is gearing up to hit the track with the new Cayman GT4 Clubsport - a customer racing version of the company's little two-seat, mid-engined sports car that's been lightly modified for motorsport competition. Of course these won't be the only new metal on display at the Californian auto expo. They'll be joined as well by the likes of the new Infiniti QX30, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Sportage, and Jaguar F-Pace - many of which we've already seen. Meanwhile companies like Fiat, Ford, Mazda, Mercedes, Subaru, Volvo, Volkswagen, and Elio Motors are keeping their plans under wraps for the time being. But with mere weeks to go, it won't be long before we see what they've got in store as well.

GM won't really kill off the Chevy Volt and Cadillac CT6, will it?

General Motors is apparently considering killing off six slow-selling models by 2020, according to Reuters. But is that really likely? The news is mentioned in a story where UAW president Dennis Williams notes that slumping US car sales could threaten jobs at low-volume factories. Still, we're skeptical that GM is really serious about killing those cars. Reuters specifically calls out the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Sonic, and the Chevrolet Volt. Most of these have been redesigned or refreshed within the past few model years. Four - the LaCrosse, Impala, CT6, and Volt - are built in the Hamtramck factory in Detroit. That plant has made only 35,000 cars this year - down 32 percent from 2016. A typical GM plant builds 200,000-300,000 vehicles a year. Of all the cars Williams listed, killing the XTS, Impala, and Sonic make the most sense. They're older and don't sell particularly well. On the other hand, axing the other three seems like an odd move. It would leave Buick and Cadillac without flagship sedans, at least until the rumored Cadillac CT8 arrives. The CT6 was a big investment for GM and backing out after just a few years would be a huge loss. It also uses GM's latest and best materials and technology, making us even more skeptical. The Volt is a hugely important car for Chevrolet, and supplementing it with a crossover makes more sense than replacing it with one. Offering one model with a range of powertrain variants like the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius might be another route GM could take. All six of these vehicles are sedans, Yes, crossover sales are booming, but there's still a huge market for cars. Backing away from these would be essentially giving up sales to competitors from around the globe. The UAW might simply be publicly pushing GM to move crossover production to Hamtramck to avoid closing the plant and laying off workers. Sales of passenger cars are down across both GM and the industry. Consolidating production in other plants and closing Hamtramck rather than having a single facility focus on sedans might make more sense from a business perspective. GM is also trying to reduce its unsold inventory, meaning current production may be slowed or halted while current cars move into customer hands. There's a lot of politics that goes into building a car. GM wants to do what makes the most sense from a business perspective, while the UAW doesn't workers to lose their jobs when a factory closes.