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2005 GMC Safari Overview

Ode to a Faithful Example of Endurance

On Tuesday, November 16, 2004, General Motors officially ended speculation and announced that its Chevy Astro and GMC Safari rear-drive mid-vans were to be discontinued in 2005. As a direct consequence, the automakers Baltimore, Md. assembly plant, which exclusively built the two vans, closed its doors during the first week of May.

The Astro and Safari were among the first group of minivans to come to market in 1984 as 1985 models, following Chrysler Groups now legendary original 1984 Magic Wagons. While the Chrysler vans have gone through many significant upgrades, and still dominate the market, GMs Astro and Safari have soldiered on mostly unchanged for the past 20 years, showing

On Tuesday, November 16, 2004, General Motors officially ended speculation and announced that its Chevy Astro (shown) and GMC Safari rear-drive mid-vans were to be discontinued in 2005. (Photo: General Motors)

resilience to market trends that few other vehicles could have hoped to survive through.

What allowed the Astro and Safari to last so long? While not as large as full-size vans, the twin mid-vans offered more interior space than any competitors, seating for up to eight occupants, and a body-on-frame, rear-drive layout that was ideal for hauling

GMs Astro and Safari (shown) have soldiered on mostly unchanged for the past 20 years. (Photo: General Motors)

heavy loads or towing large trailers, jobs their front-drive rivals couldnt manage to the same level. This made the Chevy and GMC mid-vans extremely popular with trades people, delivery companies, and the like, and kept the Baltimore plant humming for years.

When the Astro and Safari started to reach the end of their lifecycles over the last several years, General Motors management initiated a variety of production changes to better align production with slower demand. First the plants second shift was

"GM can no longer justify building these two products at volumes that are significantly below the plants capacity," said Joe Spielman, GM vice president and general manager of Vehicle Manufacturing. (Photo: General Motors)

eliminated in the summer of 2000, and after that production output was slowed gradually. Sales of the Astro totaled only 15,709 in 2003, down 16.1 percent from 2002 and less than half of 1998s 32,736 total production. While the two vans were once best-sellers, during the first 10 months of 2004 production at Baltimore amounted to about 41,000 units, not enough to build a continued business case on. With deliveries continuing to decline, the vans also didnt warrant the investment needed to meet new 2005 safety standards either.

"Long-term

The 1,000 hourly and 100 salaried employees at the Baltimore facility where the vans are built will now be without jobs. (Photo: General Motors)

market softening and the products lifecycle have driven GM to make this difficult yet necessary decision," stated Joe Spielman, GM vice president and general manager of Vehicle Manufacturing, when announcing GMs decision to shutter the plant back in November. "GM can no longer justify building these two products at volumes that are significantly below the plants capacity."

When the plant was last in use, General Motors employed about 1,000 hourly and 100 salaried employees at the Baltimore facility, which are now be without jobs. While the UAW/GM National Agreement provides a comprehensive plan and provisions for the employees affected by the decision to close the plant, in

Although the assembly plant is now shuttered, GM made it clear prior to closure that it would remain in the greater Baltimore area, via its state-of-the-art transmission plant in White Marsh, Md. (Photo: General Motors)

addition GM management will assist affected salaried employees who are willing to relocate to find jobs at other company locations.

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