Official: GM Lets Ellesmere Port Live. Bochum Likely To Die

What was highly probable yesterday is definite: GM will shift production of the Astra compact from Germany to Ellesmere Port, England. Workers at the UK plant agreed nearly to a man and a woman (approval rate 94 percent) to a deal with GM that keeps Ellesmere Port open and that spells the near certain doom of Opel’s plant in Bochum.

Workers agreed to a four-year deal that freezes wages for two years, and that allows only moderate rises of around 3 percent for the following two years, Reuters heard from a source. The source also said:

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Decision Close: Opel Will Close Bochum, Keep Ellesmere Port Open

Tomorrow, Thursday morning, GM will most likely announce that the new Opel Astra will be built at the Ellesmere Port plant near Liverpool, and no longer in Germany. This ends weeks of hard-nosed gamesmanship, where one plant was played against the other.

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  • ChristianWimmer Exterior and interior look pretty flawless for such a high mileage car. To me this is an indication that it was well-maintained and driven responsibly. It’s not my cup of tea but it’s bound to find an enthusiastic owner out there.And with ANY car, always budget for maintenance.
  • Fred I'm a fan and watch every race. I've missed a few of the live races, but ESPN repeats them during more reasonable hours.
  • Mikesixes It has potential benefits, but it has potential risks, too. It has inevitable costs, both in the price of the car and in future maintenance. Cars with ABS and airbags have cost me at least 2000 bucks in repairs, and have never saved me from any accidents. I'd rather these features were optional, and let the insurance companies figure out whether they do any good or not, and adjust their rates accordingly.
  • Daniel Bridger Bidenomics working.
  • Michael Gallagher Some math! The cost to produce US Shale derived oil is between $35 to $55/bbl. Middle East oil cost about $15/bbl. If OPEC wanted, they could produce more , driving oil prices below our costs and decimating our domestic industry. We have whispered in their ear that they should endeavor to keep the price above our cost, in exchange for political, economic and security favors. Case in point, during COVID when gas dropped below $2/gal , producers were losing money, Trump had to approach the Saudis requesting them to cut production to raise the oil price above our cost. If the global oil industry was truly competitive, our industry would be out of business very quickly due to our much higher cost of production. Those that long for those covid prices need to realize it would be at the expense of our domestic industry.