LORDSTOWN New Chevrolet bears a 'unique' design

The new Lordstown car is different from 'anything else on the road,' a union official says.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
LORDSTOWN -- The design of the new Chevrolet coming to the Lordstown Assembly Plant is complete, but it will be a while before the public can see it.
Union officials at the General Motors plant saw full-size clay and fiberglass models of the car recently at the company's design studio in Michigan.
"It's really impressive," said John Mohan, shop chairman of United Auto Workers Local 1112.
He said the car is a little larger than the Chevrolet Cavaliers and Pontiac Sunfires now made at the plant. It is a traditional small car, as opposed to a retro vehicle like the PT Cruiser, but it looks different from the current models, he said.
"It's unique. You won't see anything else on the road that looks like it," he said.
Mohan said union officials were told the design is complete and only slight changes are expected to be made.
Public must wait
Dan Flores, a GM spokesman, said it will be "some time" before anything is shown to the public. That decision would be made by marketing officials who must balance their desire to create consumer enthusiasm and the need to guard information from competitors for as long as possible.
"We don't want to let the industry know what we're doing, because small cars are so competitive," Flores said.
Manufacturers often are unsuccessful in keeping their designs secret, however, because photos of new models appear in industry publications before the manufacturers release them. Free-lance photographers shoot the cars at test tracks or on the road.
Flores said Lordstown union officials were shown the models early because they were an important part of bringing the car to the Trumbull County assembly plant.
No name yet
A name for the car hasn't been released. Mohan said union officials were told that GM is considering building only a Chevrolet version of the car, though there could be a Pontiac version made for sale in other countries.
Production of the new model is begin in late 2004.
Mohan said construction on a $500 million plant renovation should begin soon. Engineers recently went through the plant and found a few items that needed to be adjusted in the blueprints, he added.
Installation of a new body shop will come first. The plant also is to receive a new paint shop and other improvements.
The upgrade will make it possible for the plant to build more than one vehicle. Mohan said the union hopes other products eventually will be assigned to the plant.
shilling@vindy.com