No Parts, No Enclave

Written By: Dustin P. Walsh

Filed Under: Buick, General Motors January 17th, 2008 8:15 AM

The Lansing State Journal reported that GM simply doesn’t have enough parts to meet the demand of the Buick Enclave.

GM vice president of manufacturing and labor Gary Cowger told the LSJ that at GM’s Lansing plant, they are simply “maxed out from a tooling standpoint”. This, in turn, has also affected the production of the CTS and Malibu.

Cowger said that GM is currently conducting a detailed analysis of the problems within the suppliers so that they may invest in the right tools to increase capacity. In December, GM axed the third shift at the Lansing plant due to a surplus inventory and stated that GM is not bringing the shift back on line.

The Buick Enclave was a finalist for North American Truck of the Year.

+ Lansing State Journal: Enclave production slowed by shortages

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9 Comments

Aaron January 17th, 2008 9:50 AM Link

I’m still going to file this under “good news” for GM. When’s the last time GM couldn’t meet demand for a vehicle?

Winding Road » Archive » Chevrolet Traverse Crossover to Begin Sales in 2009 January 17th, 2008 12:05 PM Link

[…] head of sales, Mark LaNeve, said that GM expects to shift between 80,000 and 100,000 of the Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook cousin in North America, though there are currently no plans to export […]

Clint January 17th, 2008 2:45 PM Link

The article also states that GM axed the third shift at the plant in December because of surplus inventory (i.e. they were making MORE cars than they could sell). Now they can’t make enough, which warrants “conducting a detailed analysis of the problems within the suppliers so that they may invest in the right tools to increase capacity.” How are you going to convince suppliers that you need them to increase production when you just cut your third shift last month? The article sounds like a management screwup spun to sound like demand for the Buick Enclave is through the roof (which may or may not be actually true).

Ducati Minor January 17th, 2008 3:27 PM Link

Cynicism is never a good thing, Clint. Gives you shrinkage.

The Stig January 17th, 2008 7:03 PM Link

GM once again shows the depth of its management skill

fstst56 January 18th, 2008 11:29 AM Link

The auto industry continues to shoot themselves in the foot. Take the gun away from Barney! It’s not just Detroit. What they’re doing is attempting to keep production low to keep demand and resale value up. Combine that with all the games the dealers try to play when you want to buy a new car and its hard to feel sorry for them. It’s just no fun to buy a car anymore.

Winding Road » Archive » GM Looking to Combine Dealerships January 21st, 2008 9:30 AM Link

[…] the convention of the National Automobile Dealers Association next month in San Francisco, General Motors intends to go public with its plans to create GM superstores – putting all of its brands under […]

Winding Road » Archive » UPDATE: GM Not Discussing Plan to Combine Dealerships, Yet January 22nd, 2008 10:30 AM Link

[…] we told you that General Motors was going to announce the plan to combine dealerships to create “GM Collections” superstores at […]

Winding Road » Archive » GM Announces Buick Lucerne Super Pricing February 4th, 2008 3:00 PM Link

[…] General Motors announced today the pricing for the 2008 Buick Lucerne Super. The premium, full-size sedan carries an MSRP of $39,395. […]

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