NU-NU-NUMMI, goodbye
General Motors is likely to emerge from bankruptcy this week, but one aspect of "Old GM" that won't make it to "New GM" is New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., or NUMMI, the California-based joint manufacturing partnership between Toyota and GM -- and that means the one of my favorite GM cars is going away as well.
NUMMI was established in 1984 to give Toyota a foothold in US manufacturing and GM some experience with Toyota's method of building cars. Their first product was the Toyota Corolla and the nearly-identical Chevrolet Nova. Today, NUMMI builds the Corolla and Tacoma for Toyota as well as the Pontiac Vibe for GM. (Toyota's version of the Vibe, the Matrix is built in Canada.)
When GM announced the closure of the Pontiac division, they anticipated that the Vibe would not be needed as a Chevrolet, what with the Cruze compact on the way. A few days ago, GM announced that its 50% stake in NUMMI would be left behind with "Old GM", the assets that are to be liquidated.
Toyota could buy GM's stake in NUMMI, or they could just close the doors. An article in the Los Angeles Times points out the problems with keeping NUMMI: Distance from suppliers, the cost of doing business in California, and the fact that NUMMI is the only Toyota plant organized by the UAW. Toyota -- which, like most automakers, hasn't been doing well in the current economic climate -- has so far kept quiet about their plans for NUMMI, although they have announced that they will be investing $500 million in their Indiana SUV plant.
It's a shame that the Pontiac Vibe is going away. The Vibe is a Best New Cars of 2009 winner, a fantastic little car that prioritizes safety and utility. Better get one while you can! -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Comments
Pretty typical of GM…develop something good and then screw it up. We had an ‘04 Vibe, and it was a great car. Comfortable on long trips, reliable (never went back to the dealership for ANYTHING), versatile, and SAFE. My wife walked away from an accident that did $6200 worth of damage and caused us to lose the car. Toyota quality with GM’s larger dealership network and 0% financing. Best car I ever owned. Only thing that kept me from buying another (aside from GM’s current situation) was an unwelcome change in the feature list for the base model.
I agree with ChrisF and have to wonder why GM would keep the Buick and GMC brands while axing Pontiac. Buick doesn’t make anything remotely exciting and GMC puts out a bunch of gas guzzlers, while Pontiac at least was a diverse brand name with excellent quality. My wife’s 1997 Sunfire has a 155,000 miles on it, runs great and gets 34 mpg. I think ending the NUMMI venture with Toyota on top of their bankruptcy in only a stop gap measure for GM and that The General is still going to screw us all in the end.
Jay, I asked the same question when Oldsmobile went away: Why not Buick? And the answer is simple: Buick makes money. (I can only assume it’s the same story for GMC). Don’t forget that Buick is a very big deal in China, where they have a couple of models we don’t get here. (Check them out: Park Avenue, Excelle, more American cars we can’t buy.)
Come to think of it, with GM hinting that the G8 could return as a Buick, maybe we will be getting that Park Avenue; it too is Holden-based… — Aaron
Aaron,
Do you think these brands provide GM with a viable future in the American market though? Or, is GM going to loose more market share with Buick and GMC because it offers so many of the same types of vehicles across its lineup? Aren’t they competing with themselves while getting rid of unique vehicles like the Pontiac Vibe and G8?
When I shopped for a car a couple years ago, the Pontiac Vibe was on my short list for its great reliability. There should have been some way to fold its California plant into the new GM. This can’t bode well for Government Motors. Their decision to shut down in Tennessee and open a new plant up in Michigan is political and just plain nuts, given the business climate near Detroit. I have great doubts that Rahm Emmanuel and company can run a car operation.
I remember reading about NUMMI years ago. GM management always blamed their workers for reliability and other problems. In the California plant, though, they let Toyota take over the operation. The plant was soon humming along and producing some of the most reliable cars available anywhere, such as the Geo Prism and, later, Chevy Prism. It seemed like a big repudiation of GM’s culture that the place could be turned around so completely with better management.
In answer to why they kept GMC… There is more to GMC than pickups. I suspect the heavy-duty and commercial market is still viable for them. Although I did read they will stop production on the “Top Kick” line.
Jay: I honestly don’t see a future for GM. As long as the same corporate mentality runs the “new” GM, it won’t be any different than the old one, and thus won’t survive.
The ironic thing is that the bits they discarded (Saturn, Saab, Opel, etc.) will probably thrive now that GM no longer owns them, and will probably aid in GM’s demise.
Jay — honestly, I just don’t know. I suppose there are financial reasons for keeping GMC and Buick, although I have to admit that GMC doens’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Buick does — but when I read about them possibly bringing the Saturn Vue over as a Buick, I start thinking that they’re just going to create the same mess they had before. — Aaron
Seems to me that the “new” GM will live or die based on Chevrolet…it’s the only meat-and-potatoes line they have left. Previously, if somebody looking for a family car didn’t like the Chevy, they could buy a Pontiac or a Saturn or even an Olds, and GM would still win. Now, if the Chevy doesn’t appeal, it’s off to a different dealership…Buick and Cadillac are niche markets, and GMC isn’t even an option.
As much as I like Brother Bama, I think this GM Life Support Program is destined to fail. The patient is pretty much brain dead. The only positive outcome of all this capital outlay is that we’re giving GM families time to prepare for the funeral and move on, when the plug is pulled.It was an expensive gesture, but I would think that it was well worth every penny if I had worked at GM for 20 years.