GM to kill 5 models this year

(Credit: Automotive News)

DETROIT--General Motors said last week that it will stop building the Pontiac G6 GXP sedan and coupe at the end of this model year, as well as the Chevrolet Impala SS and Cobalt SS sedans and the Cadillac STS-V.

Pontiac representative Jim Hopson said Friday that the GXP decision is not related to the phaseout of Pontiac, which GM plans to accomplish by the end of 2010. It stemmed from an earlier decision to pare Pontiac down to a niche brand, he said.

"There is a movement here to reduce the build complexity -- that's the number of trim levels we sell, not the nameplates -- so that was the decision behind taking out the GXP," Hopson said.

He added: "We'll have more information in the weeks to come of exactly when each Pontiac vehicle will go out of production."

At Chevrolet, the Cobalt SS coupe will continue "a while longer--to be determined," said Terry Rhadigan, a Chevrolet representative.

"Demand was pretty light for both models, and so it was a business decision that we made based on the demand," he said.

GM just launched the Cobalt SS sedan in 2008--and quickly discovered no demand for it. "It had a pretty short run," Rhadigan said.

GM does not release sales data on trim levels. Through April, GM sold 32,065 total Cobalts, down from 66,660 in the year-ago period. GM sold 45,047 total Impalas through April, compared with 98,478 a year earlier.

(Source: Automotive News)