In a brief statement (138 words), GM North America President, Troy Clarke today announced the end of GM's joint venture with Toyota, the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI).
In the statement, Clarke noted that, "GM and Toyota could not reach an agreement on a future product plan that made sense for all parties." Therefore, the 25-year-old NUMMI has been relegated to the dustbin known as "Old GM," and will not be among the assets the company will continue with when it emerges from bankruptcy. GM's participation will end when the last Pontiac Vibe rolls off the line in August.
Clarke ended the statement with, "...we remain open to future opportunities of mutual interest." He most certainly did not end it with, "It was awesome having you in homeroom this year. Stay cool!!!!"
The days of Vibes, Prizms and Novas is officially over.
billt9 says:
12:52 PM, 06/29/09
That's good. The Vibe/Matrix this generation were particularly ugly.
estreka says:
05:54 PM, 06/29/09
They were also much smaller than the previous model.
ktinsd says:
09:15 PM, 06/29/09
Yo Roger, this might be a good place to build some Saturns!
kurtamaxxxguy says:
10:48 PM, 06/29/09
Of all the GM cars' I've owned, the most reliable one (a Prism) came from the NUMI plant.
Other articles suggest Toyota will keep the NUMI plant open for awhile, even though it represents more excess capacity at present.
iancar says:
02:01 AM, 06/30/09
Let me guess: VW Golf, Beetle, and Polo in NUMMI?
compliance says:
09:37 AM, 06/30/09
Nummi made good cars. I even liked the last gen Vibe. It is way better looking than the Matrix, but can be had with GM's incentives instead of Toyota's (lack of) incentives.
GM needs to build small cars, they share a plant with one of the most successful small car makers, where Toyoda makes one of the most reliable and best selling small cars. Yeah, lets shut that down. Good idea.
ne1butu2 says:
07:36 PM, 07/ 1/09
Good riddance. These cars were all terrible, regardless of whose badge was on the trunk.
newcar71 says:
05:25 PM, 12/ 7/09
Vibe/Voltz, Prism/camary, Tracker/SX4 (i think), and maybe even...