AM&P Magazine Reveals General Motors' Plans To Separate Corvette Out as a Premium Performance Brand

        March Issue of Automotive Manufacturing & Production Magazine
          Tackles Industry Issues and Exposes GM's Premium Car Plan

    PLYMOUTH, Mich., March 1 The March issue of Automotive
Manufacturing & Production (AM&P) magazine, out today, reports that General
Motors Corporation is forming an independent Corvette product line to better
compete in the automotive performance market.
    AM&P's Executive Editor Chris Sawyer exposes GM's plans to create a new
organization that mimics Ford Motor Company's Premium Automotive Group.  GM's
plans are to combine Cadillac, Saab, Alfa Romeo and Corvette into a
Luxury/Performance group.
    As reported by Sawyer, sources inside GM believe that Chevrolet's image as
a maker of "everyday" vehicles hurts the Corvette and hinders the company's
ability to go after the growing performance market.  Consequently, GM wants to
create a line of Corvette vehicles.
    A new Corvette will arrive in 2004 followed by the first addition to the
Corvette line, the "Corvette Camaro."  Reportedly, both smaller and lighter
than its predecessor, this 2+2 coupe is based on GM's rear-drive Sigma
platform and has reached the full-size clay model stage.  A further variant
also is in the early planning stages.
    To learn more about GM's plans for the Corvette line, pickup a copy of the
March issue of AM&P at its Booth -- #2363 -- at the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) Congress running March 5-8, 2001 at Detroit's Cobo Center.
The issue also can be viewed online at http://www.autofieldguide.com .
    Also in the March issue of AM&P, Editor-in-Chief Gary Vasilash interviews
a respected and award-winning lean manufacturing expert from the University of
Michigan who claims that nearly all companies in the auto industry have yet to
become truly lean.
    Also in the issue, Sawyer and Senior Associate Editor Kermit Whitfield
examine a seemingly new development in body architecture: A return to the
suicide door.  Contributing Editor Larry Gould looks at the new bar code
standards issued by General Motors to its suppliers and Sawyer interviews
Richard Seymour, a leading British designer who reflects on the need for more
human-centered designs.
    Each month, AM&P covers the auto industry from design through delivery
with a focus on design, engineering, management and production.
Automotive Manufacturing & Production (AM&P) is published by Cincinnati, Ohio-
based Gardner Publications.  Each month, the magazine reaches 55,000
automotive industry professionals and executives throughout the supply chain
involved in key aspects of automotive product and process development and
execution.  For more information about Automotive Manufacturing & Production,
visit http://www.autofieldguide.com .
    Since 1928, Gardner Publications has been the premier publisher for the
heart of manufacturing in North America.  The company currently publishes six
titles, including Automotive Finishing; Automotive Manufacturing & Production;
Modern Machine Shop; Plastics Technology, Products Finishing and Production
Machining.  For more information about Gardner Publications and its product
offerings, visit http://www.gardnerweb.com .