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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

Cadillac to fight Audi A3, Mercedes CLA with small rear-drive sedan?

Compact luxury sedans are fast becoming the trend among upscale automakers. Mercedes has the new CLA (and its many platform-mates), BMW has the 1 Series and 2 Series, Audi has the A3 and, though Lexus apparently isn't interested in anything smaller than its CT 200h, Infiniti is getting in on the action with a compact model of its own. It would only follow logically, then, that Cadillac should launch a competitor, and according to the latest reports, that's just what it has in store.
Speaking with Car and Driver, Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus confirmed that such a project is in the works. But unlike its rivals, Cadillac aims to go with a rear-wheel-drive layout. This despite research that apparently indicates that a surprising 80 percent of owners think that their BMW 1 Series is front-drive. It's the driving dynamics and styling proportions that motivate Ellinghaus and his colleagues to stick with rear-drive, however.
The new model would in all likelihood be based on the same GM Alpha architecture that underpins the ATS and CTS - a platform that has helped Cadillac keep the weight down on both models and which is expected to underpin the next-generation Chevy Camaro, as well. The sub-ATS could be positioned as a four-door 2+2, however, as the ATS grows a little larger in its next iteration in order to make room for its new baby brother.

Why Cadillac thinks it needs to succeed in Europe to sell cars elsewhere

Ward's Auto has taken an interesting look at the renewed focus General Motors is showing towards Cadillac in Europe. Susan Docherty, president and managing director of Chevrolet and Cadillac in Europe (pictured), says in order for the luxury brand to thrive in China, it first needs to succeed in the old country. The reason? Chinese buyers look to Europe for cues as to what's deemed worthy of the term "luxury." There are hurdles to the plan, however. In addition to the fact that the EU is flooded with high-end nameplates, GM doesn't necessarily have the distribution network in place to put buyers behind the wheel.
Combine that with persistent economic woes and Cadillac's checkered past marred by a lack of diesel engine options and a bankrupt distributor, and the road ahead for the brand looks like less of an uphill climb and more like a straight-up cliff face. But Docherty is optimistic and says she has a plan for the brand. We recommend heading over to Ward's for a closer look at the full read.