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GM lays off 450 at Lansing Grand River Assembly

General Motors will lay off 450 employees at its Lansing Grand River factory, The Detroit News reports, which is 100 more than the company said it'd be letting go last month. Lansing Grand River Assembly currently builds the Cadillac ATS and CTS, both of which have suffered sluggish sales, with the smaller sedan down 20 percent through last month and the larger model down 2.3 percent, The Detroit News reports. "We are adjusting plant production capacity to better align with market demand. Beginning in January 2015, the plant will operate on a single shift," a GM statement read, before explaining that not all the laid off Grand River employees will be jobless. Of the employees that have been laid off to make room for the single work shift, around 200 will transfer to the Lansing Delta Township factory, home of the Lambda-platform crossovers, GM's statement confirmed. The News expects this one-shift arrangement to continue until at least late next year, when the Alpha-platform Chevy Camaro transitions from General Motors' Oshawa, Ontario factory to Lansing. Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen said at last month's LA Auto Show, "It may not necessarily be permanent, a time may come when we've gained momentum and we can reinstate it. But for now, the adjustment to production capacity is in alignment with our plans for 2015."

Chinese-made Cadillac CT6 Plug-In starts US sales

General Motors has started US sales of the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In after taking its first domestic deliveries of the China-produced sedan last month. The model is GM's first new plug-in hybrid in the US since the automaker discontinued sales of the ELR extended-range plug-in last year. The arrival and sales, first reported by InsideEVs, were confirmed by Cadillac spokesman Andrew Lipman. Not surprisingly, the sedan isn't cheap, as the CT6 Plug-In is priced at $75,095, or almost $12,000 more than the gas-powered variant, though that figure doesn't include federal and state tax credits for electric vehicles. For that tab, buyers get a 335-horsepower luxury car that can go 31 miles on electricity alone, and 0-60 miles per hour in a little over 5 seconds. The model gives GM three plug-in vehicles to sell to the American public, or the same number US competitor Ford offers. InsideEVs estimates that about 100 of the sedans have been delivered to US dealers, so the car remains a relatively low-volume affair. By comparison, GM's Chevrolet division has sold 5,563 Volt extended-range plug-ins and 3,092 Bolt electric vehicles through March. Cadillac sold 534 units of the ELR in 2016 after moving 1,024 the previous year. GM opted to produce the plug-in hybrid in China because of that country's receptiveness to new models that feature alternative and environmentally friendlier powertrains. Additionally, such production shortens the distance to the CT6's battery maker LG Chem, which is producing the car's battery packs in South Korea. On that note, GM has previously estimated that the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In will move more units in China than in the US. Related Video:

Cadillac Elmiraj Concept slinks in Leno's Garage

Jay Leno's Garage has moved to Pebble Beach for the week. This time around, the affable comedian is taking a look at the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept that debuted during the Monterey car week, and is talking to General Motors vice president of global design, Ed Welburn.
There's plenty of reminiscing about what concept cars were like when these two were kids, before a fairly deep dive into the striking Elmiraj Concept itself. Welburn shares a few anecdotes about the design process behind the two-door concept, including how his designers changed his mind on the grille design.
After bringing up the Cimarron, Leno makes a solid point that the Elmiraj would be a solid production car that could even spawn a four-door variant. We couldn't agree more. Take a look below for the full video from Jay Leno's Garage.