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Showroom-ready Cruzes roll off assembly line
By GRACE WYLER
lordstown
Chevrolet Cruze production remains slow but steady as the General Motors plant here takes pains to ensure GM’s new compact car meets expectations when it hits showrooms this fall.
The Lordstown complex began producing salable units of the Cruze on Monday, said plant spokesman Tom Mock. These cars will be sent to dealerships, where they will go on sale in September.
The plant had been making “validation cars,” which were sent to Detroit for tests, since production began July 12.
Production will remain slow this month, Mock said, in order to work out any glitches and make sure the plant’s 1,200 new workers are properly trained.
“We are still maintaining a slower-than-normal build process,” he said. “We just want to make sure that our team is set up to win, and they are definitely on track to do that.”
Production has gone relatively smoothly so far, with only “minimal problems,” said Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents workers at the Lordstown assembly plant.
The complex surpassed its 300-car target in July, he said, and is slightly ahead of schedule to make 3,000 cars in August. Full-scale production — about 1,500 cars per day — is set to begin Sept. 8.
“We are taking it slow and methodically,” Graham said. “We want to make sure that every car that comes off the line is perfect.”
GM is emphasizing the quality of the cars, rather than production quotas, said David Green, president of UAW Local 1714 at the Lordstown fabrication plant.
The company is depending on the Cruze to reverse its fortunes in the small-car market, a highly competitive sector where GM has traditionally lagged.
“Our focus right now is on quality, not quantity,” Green said. “There were some issues, but the company has a plan for working those out.”
He added that GM has been working to make sure that the plant has the resources and equipment to ensure a successful launch.