The Drive It Home Ohio co-chairman isn’t alone in this struggle. Thousands of people, including the president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, hope that General Motors will turn things around for the better. But looking at the U.S. sales of the Cruze, we’re not optimistic.
Redesigned for the 2019 model year with a 1.5-liter turbo and continuously variable transmission, the Cruze in both hatchback and sedan flavors managed to sell 142,617 examples in 2018. Taking the previous year as our reference, it’s quite a drop from 184,751 units and the historic high of 273,060 in 2014.
More than 400 workers have accepted transfer opportunities from General Motors, but nevertheless, Lordstown will lose jobs and other businesses. Every town runs on income taxes, and the closure of the plant is expected to account for $3 million in losses for Lordstown.
Forced-transfer slips are also handed out to workers, and those who aren’t accepting to work in Wentzville, Missouri on trucks and vans unfortunately lose both pay and benefits. It doesn’t come as a surprise Trumbull County flipped from blue to red in the 2016 presidential election, doesn’t it?
Following the Volt and Cruze, the Chevrolet Impala is up next. General Motors will discontinue the full-size sedan in January 2020, leaving no replacement to pick up the slack. But who could blame Chevrolet for it? No more than 56,556 examples were sold in 2018, down from 75,877 and a historic high of 311,128 back in 2007.
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