GM Lordstown makes case for new small-car models

Add high-quality products to the other attributes of the General Motors' Lordstown assembly facility, and what you have is the supreme argument for giving the Valley's largest employer the opportunity to build the new compact cars planned by the world's leading automobile manufacturer.
A 24 percent improvement in the quality of the two top-selling cars in GM's stable, the Chevrolet Cavalier and the Pontiac Sunfire, has resulted in the Lordstown plant being ranked above the industry average by J.D. Powers and Associates. J.D. Powers is an international marketing information firm best known for its focus on the auto industry. Its opinion about a product is taken as gospel by many consumers.
Thus, when it touts the quality of the Cavalier and the Sunfire, the message is clear: Labor and management at the Lordstown assembly plant know how to make good cars.
That message should resonate in GM's corporate headquarters where top executives are putting the finishing touches on a plan to replace the Cavalier and the Sunfire after the 2004 model year. GM's board of directors must ultimately approve the plan, which envisions using a Delta platform for the new product, but the recommendation of Lori Queen, vehicle line executive for small cars, and others will most likely prevail.
That is why the positive news coming out of Lordstown must become part of the discussion in the executive suite. Indeed, it isn't only the quality of the Cavalier and the Sunfire that makes the case for the Lordstown plant's getting the new product.
Hot-selling Cavalier, Sunfire
GM's sales figures for last month compared to May 2001 show that while the giant automaker experienced a 12 percent decline overall, there was a 62 percent increase in sales for the Cavalier and a 63 percent increase for the Sunfire.
For the first five months of this year, compared to the first five months of 2001, GM's sales were up 3 percent, whereas Cavalier sales jumped 8 percent. The Sunfire experienced a 7 percent drop during that period.
Looking at the big picture, which is what the decision-makers in Detroit should be doing, it is evident that GM's Lordstown plant is not only achieving the goals established several years ago by then plant manager Herman Maass, but the labor-management team concept for producing high-quality cars at relatively low cost is a tremendous success.
GM is expected to make a decision in September on where the $1 billion new small-car project will be located. The administration of Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and local governments have offered financial and other incentives that cannot be matched by other states competing for the project.
There is every indication that Lordstown will emerge the winner in this high-stakes economic development contest, but as each announcement deadline passes -- last year, GM officials said a decision would be forthcoming this month -- the Mahoning Valley's anxiety level rises.
On the other hand, as the waiting game continues, the case for the Lordstown facility securing the new product gets stronger.