![]() Adding a dose of trepidation, This American Life reports that many employees were the exact same people who were fired from Fremont under GM. In 1984, NUMMI opened its doors as a great experiment in automotive manufacturing. A deal was struck, and a new company was created: The New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI for short. Then came the lightbulb moment: By repurposing the Fremont plant as a joint venture, Toyota could build cars in America to bypass import restrictions without having to build a plant from scratch, and GM could pick up some captive imports while learning all about the Toyota Production System, a lean way of manufacturing that was taking the world by storm. So much market share, in fact, that the influx of Japanese cars scared the American automakers and government, leading to voluntary import restrictions. It shouldn’t be surprising that shoppers found the reliable, well-built Toyotas more appealing, and in the wake of the oil crisis, Toyota gained significant market share. At the same time that Toyota had Tercel, Corolla, and Camry, GM had Chevette, Cavalier, and Citation. While the Fremont fracas was going on, General Motors wasn’t exactly at the top of the small car game. In 1982, the automaker fired everyone at Fremont and shut the facility down. Allegations of working under the influence, gambling on-site, sexual activity while on the clock, and absenteeism plagued the plant, and eventually, GM had enough. And it was a reputation that was well-earned.” Ouch. As the man in charge of Fremont Union Local 364 at the time, Bruce Lee (no, not that one), told This American Life, “It was considered the worst workforce in the automobile industry in the United States. To understand the Vibe, we must go back to early-1980s California, where malaise at GM’s Fremont plant was running high. Welcome back to GM Hit or Miss, where we have a crack at the great claw machine that was pre-bankruptcy GM product planning in search of greatness. You already know what’s going on: A Pontiac Vibe check. ![]() It’s actually a car that, as the great David Tracy put it, we’re all underestimating. Today, we’re discussing a car that Automobile once described as “far and away the best small car from General Motors.” So what is it? No, it’s not the fantastically stingy Geo Metro, or even the excellent Chevrolet Prizm. Who doesn’t love private label goods? Whether a great deal on laundry detergent or a set of otherwise-expensive speakers sold at a discount, we can all appreciate getting a deal, and that can extend to cars too.
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