LORDSTOWN GM to import model design

Local officials continue to wait for GM to give the go-ahead for renovating the Lordstown plant.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- General Motors Corp. hopes to begin making money on small cars by basing the design of the replacement for the Chevrolet Cavalier on a European model, a GM executive says.
Rather than designing the car from scratch, product developers for the North American model are choosing what available features will work best in this market, Robert Lutz, vice chairman for product development, told Automotive News in an interview from the Tokyo Motor Show.
The replacement for the Cavalier is to be based on a small-car platform developed by GM's Opel Astra AG division.
GM has said for years that it loses money on the Cavalier and its twin, the Pontiac Sunfire, and wants the next generation of small cars to make money.
Lutz said that spreading development costs over more models is the key to making money on small cars.
Rick Wagoner, GM chief executive, told Automotive News, however, that cars for the U.S. market will have to be made right.
Cars in this market, for example, are larger than small cars for other markets, he said.
While U.S. designers don't have primary responsibility for the car, they have plenty of tweaking work to do, he said.
Still waiting: Company and union officials at GM's Lordstown Assembly Plant are waiting for GM to announce that it will build these small cars at the plant.
John Mohan, shop chairman for United Auto Workers Local 1112, said a proposal for a $500 million renovation of the plant still is working its way through GM's chain of command.
Union officials had heard it was to be presented to the GM board of directors this month, but Mohan said he isn't sure if it was.
"We're just waiting and keeping our fingers crossed, but I think we're in really good shape," he said.
Company officials had said earlier this year that a decision was expected this year and the car would be produced by 2004.
They have since backed away from giving a timetable, saying only that they are still working on a business plan that is persuasive enough for the investment needed to create the new model.
New approach: Meanwhile, Lutz blamed GM's culture for producing uninspiring designs in recent models. Car designs have been passed along even though designers, marketing and senior executives haven't been satisfied, he said.
GM has had a "don't make waves" ethic that has allowed mediocre work to go forward, he said.
His solution is to create a "car crazies council" to generate designs. People on the council would have a passion for design and would be charged with preventing designs that aren't blockbuster from getting to production, he said.
shilling@vindy.com