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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

GM re-recalls 11k SUVs

General Motors is recalling a bunch of previously recalled SUVs because, well, they still aren't quite fixed. The latest repairs are necessary on 10,974 SUVs in North America, including 9,932 in only the US. Affected models include the 2006-2007 Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, and GMC Envoy; plus the 2006 Trailblazer EXT and Envoy XL. While not listed by NHTSA, a statement by GM to Autoblog says the 2006-2007 Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender are also affected. In these SUVs, it's possible that liquid could get into the driver's door master power window switch module and cause a short circuit. This could potentially lead to a fire, and owners are urged to park the vehicles outside until repaired. GM has been trying to fix this issue for years. It started as an investigation into fires, and that led to a recall for about 250,000 vehicles in cold-weather states. A nationwide campaign came in 2013 for 193,000 of them in the US. Last year, the automaker decided to replace the whole module as a repair. However in a recent investigation of these recalls, GM discovered that this latest group of SUVs never received the new part. According to documents submitted to NHTSA (as a PDF), "Some dealers incorrectly used the labor code associated with module replacement when, instead of replacing the module, they only added a protective coating to the module." To fix things this time, the models finally get the correct component. Related Video: GM Statement General Motors is recalling 9,932 older midsize SUVs in the U.S. because they were mistakenly excluded from an earlier recall. Certain 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL, and 2006-2007 TrailBlazer, Envoy, Buick Rainier, Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender vehicles may continue to have a condition in which the printed circuit board inside the driver's door may corrode and short if exposed to certain fluids such as melted snow containing road salt. GM is aware of four fires but no crashes, injuries or fatalities associated with the expanded recall. The total number of vehicles being recalled, including Canada, Mexico and exports is 10.974. Customers are urged to park these vehicles outside until repairs have been made. GM reported this recall to the NHTSA on September 23.

This 450-hp electric Lotus Evora is powered by Tesla and Chevrolet

When someone mentions an electric Lotus, the first thing that comes to mind is the Tesla Roadster, the California-based automaker's first vehicle. That car started life as an Elise before being heavily massaged and adapted by Tesla's engineers. In a similar spirit, the people at Onpoint Dyno are close to finishing Blue Lightning, a track-ready all-electric Lotus Evora. Blue Lightning uses a Tesla drive unit and a Chevrolet Volt battery pack, both mounted in the middle in place of the Evora's 3.5-liter Toyota V6. It's putting down about 450 horsepower at the wheels. The car was built for time attack sessions, so power is fed through custom forged wheels and super sticky Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires, the same ones found on the last Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. There is a custom digital instrument cluster in place of the Lotus gauges. There's also a regen paddle on the left side of the steering wheel. With a full charge, Blue Lighting should go about 120 miles. While the car runs under its own power, it's only about 90 percent complete. It has no power steering, no firewall in between the seats and the motor and battery pack, no A/C, and a large hole where the shift lever used to be. Other final touches include fine-tuning the brakes and suspension. There is also a custom rear bumper coming that should make it look more like the new Lotus Evora 400. Onpoint Dyno expects the car to hit the track in the next month or so. Related Video: