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GM laying off 500 workers to slow Chevy Sonic production

Due to slow sales of the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, General Motors is cutting a shift at the Orion Township plant that builds the pair. The move lays off about 500 workers, but most of them are expected to get offers to transfer to other factories, Automotive News reports. The move came just a day after GM announced adding 1,200 employees to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. GM has been trying all year at the Orion Township factory to align production of the Sonic and Verano with their demand. The automaker first attempted idling the plant several times and eventually resorted to laying off about 100 workers. It also reduced the production rate there. With the huge rise in popularity of crossovers, demand for the plant's small cars is on the downturn. According to Automotive News, there's currently a 116-day supply of Sonics and 100 days of Veranos to sell. Delivers tell a similar tale because the Chevy is off 35.2 percent from January to September, and the Buick does little better with a 27.2 percent drop from the same period last year. While the situation at Orion Township might look rough now, big things are on the horizon. Soon, the new Chevy Bolt electric vehicle will be built there when it hits the market around 2017. Plus, the plant will also get a $245-million upgrade and 300 new jobs for another, unannounced vehicle.

GM follows up Lambda CUV stop-sale with tire recall

In late January, General Motors announced a stop-sale for about 6,281 examples of the 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave because of the possibility for the treads cracking on their 18-inch Goodyear Fortera HL tires. At the time, GM said that this would also eventually lead to a safety campaign to repair the problem, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has just published those details. GM's recall covers 5,876 of the three Lambda platform crossovers to replace their tires. According to NHTSA, if the treads crack, there could be a loss of pressure and possible failure. Goodyear already announced its own recall of the tires after internal testing found small tread cracks. The company did not believe this was safety issue, but the problem did put the rubber out of compliance with federal laws. The business's safety campaign covered an estimated 48,512 tires. Of those, around 32,000 were reportedly made for GM to either be fitted to vehicles or sold as replacements. The remainder went to the aftermarket. Goodyear's portion of the recall is expected to begin around February 20. RECALL Subject : Tire Tread Cracking/FMVSS 110 Report Receipt Date: JAN 28, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V044000 Component(s): TIRES Potential Number of Units Affected: 5,876 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) BUICK ENCLAVE 2015 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE 2015 GMC ACADIA 2015 Details Manufacturer: General Motors LLC SUMMARY: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured December 9, 2014, to January 14, 2015, 2015 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured December 9, 2014, to January 20, 2015, and 2015 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured December 9, 2014, to January 16, 2015, and all equipped with Goodyear P255/65R18 Fortera HL tires. These vehicles are equipped with tires that may experience tread cracking. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less." CONSEQUENCE: If the tire treads crack, a loss of tire pressure and possible tire failure may result, increasing the risk of a crash. REMEDY: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the tires that were manufactured within a specific date range, free of charge.

Buick begins offering 24-hour test drives

Even as the year's sales charts show a decline, Buick says its brand image is improving. To bolster that soft metric while it works on overhauling its lineup - consumers are clamoring for more crossovers - the brand will begin offering overnight test drives as of July 23. Buick trialled the program in Phoenix and got a good response, so it rolls out as an ad-supported nationwide campaign called "24 Hours of Happiness" as of July 22. The push is on probation for three months while Buick evaluates it, but they expect it to continue beyond 90 days. Cars will be sourced from the loaner fleets that dealers offer customers whose cars are in for service, so only dealers with such fleets will be able to participate. General Motors did the same thing in 2003 and 2004, at the time saying it led to more than 500,000 "extended" test drives and close to 190,000 sales. That program had a cash component, in that buyers were offered $250 if they chose a non-GM vehicle after their test drive. 24 Hours of Happiness won't come with any inducements; Buick is taking the long view, positioning this as support for the brand instead of as bait for immediate returns. The Phoenix dealer who ran the program first said that it got fewer bites than he expected, but that customers who took a car home "were far more likely to buy the vehicle." Cue the Regal GS hooning in three, two... Related Video: