Merry Christmas. Production of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Saab 9-7X will end December 23, as GM will shutting down their Moraine, Ohio plant. Sales of these vehicle have tanked, as have most SUVs. The good news is that the Chevy Traverse, Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave have been hits in this tough segment.
Actually this is not a surprise, at least the ending of production of these vehicles, that is. I what will miss is that, with the exception of the Hummer H3, GM will no longer offer an off-road capable SUV in the mid-size segment--and who knows how long the Hummer will be around.
Here's Inside Line's take: GM to Close Ohio SUV Plant in December
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"The other plants GM has said it will close are in Janesville, Wis.; Oshawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico. The four closures combined will result in the loss of about 8,350 jobs."
Do those 8300 people get a "package" or buyout? Didnt GM just annouce they were building a new facility (small cars) in Michigan?
Did anyone notice they were still here?
It's too bad that GM didn't do more with this particular platform. While the vehicle now is old and outdated, the motor was/is a good motor and the platform as a whole probably would have made for a better small/midsize truck better than the current Colorado does. But alas, now the Lambda's have come on scene and not only will they kill the Trailblazer, but eventually the Tahoe as well. FWIW however, the Lambda platform vehicles do most every thing both the Tahoe and the Trailblazer are capable of doing and do everything the majority of the owners of said vehicles do and do it better. They have more cargo room, more seating capability, better handling, gas mileage etc. While not as off road capable, or tow worthy, most owners have never taken their Tahoes or Trailblazers off-road or towed with them.
That's too bad...I miss my Trailblazer SS. Comfortable, good cargo capacity, reliable (never had a dealer trip other than oil changes the 2 years I leased it). Plus it was fun blowing past cars like BMW's.
I was never a fan. They were big outside, small(ish) inside. Models with 3 rows were way too huge (longer wheelbase than Tahoe) and heavy.
Now that the Lambdas can tow 5200 lbs these just aren't necessary.
This is sad news but we knew it was coming. There were no plans for a 2nd generation of this hugely successful SUV that was finally able to put a significant dent in the Exploder's reign.
As the_big_al said, what will happen to the Atlas engine family?! It's a shame to see an [excellent] engine developed specifically for this vehicle die with the vehicle but I guess its application is gravely limited. Imagine what it could do with direct injection? I would think they would at least want to offer in in the half ton pickups over the archaic 4.3 V6 base engine? Of course it probably costs twice as much to build the straight 6... We must band together to save the Atlas family! Hmm...idea for an obscure Internet phenomenon *writes down*