LORDSTOWN Pontiac to build car with Cobalt

The new Pontiac to be made at Lordstown will be sold in Canada.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
LORDSTOWN -- The Lordstown Assembly Plant will produce two new General Motors cars after a massive remodeling is completed next year.
The Pontiac Pursuit will be built alongside the Chevrolet Cobalt, although the Pursuit will be sold only in Canada.
Phil Kling, a GM spokesman, said the automaker decided it needed a Pontiac small car in Canada but not in the United States. Small cars make up about 53 percent of the Canadian market, which is more than double their market share in the United States, he said.
The Lordstown plant now makes the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire, both of which will be discontinued next year.
New models planned
Even without a replacement for the Sunfire in the U.S. market, Pontiac will have other new products, said Rick Crooks, a Pontiac spokesman.
"Stay tuned, and we'll have a lot more information about those models in the future," he said.
Pontiac recently introduced the Vibe, a crossover vehicle, and a redesigned Grand Prix. The Grand Am is being replaced next year with a new model.
Kling said the Pursuit and the Cobalt will be twin vehicles, as the Cavalier and Sunfire are now.
GM officially announced the Pursuit and Cobalt names Tuesday. Details about the cars, including pricing, haven't been revealed.
GM showed a test version of the Cobalt to car dealers in May. Area dealers said they were impressed with the car's styling and the size and finish of the interior.
Test models now are built in Detroit, but that operation will be moved to the Lordstown plant later this year. Test models will be made in an area away from the regular assembly line at first, but later they will be built on the assembly line.
Production to end
Cavalier and Sunfire production is expected to end in fall of 2004 as full production of the new models begins.
Cobalt is an element used in alloys Cobalt is an element used in alloys to make cutting tools, jet engines and high-strength magnets. Cobalt chloride is used in a chemical process to make colors such as cobalt blue and cobalt yellow.
GM is spending more than $550 million to upgrade the Lordstown plant and an adjacent fabrication plant. Work is to be completed next year.
shilling@vindy.com