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GM to End Production of Astro and Safari Rear-Drive Mid-Vans

End of the Line for Vans Means Baltimore Plant Closure is Eminent

On Tuesday, November 16, 2004, General Motors officially ended speculation and announced that its Chevy Astro and GMC Safari rear-drive mid-vans will be discontinued in 2005. As a direct consequence, the automakers Baltimore, Md. assembly plant, which exclusively builds the two vans, will also close next year.

The Astro and Safari were among the first group of minivans to become available, following Chrysler Groups now legendary original 1984 Magic Wagons to market in 1984 as 1985 models. While the Chrysler vans have gone through many significant upgrades, and still dominate the market, GMs

General Motors has officially ended speculation and announced that its Chevy Astro (shown) and GMC Safari rear-drive mid-vans will be discontinued in 2005. (Photo: General Motors)
Astro and Safari have soldiered on mostly unchanged for the past 20 years, showing 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

GMs Astro and Safari (shown) have soldiered on mostly unchanged for the past 20 years. (Photo: General Motors)
competitors, seating for up to eight occupants, and a body-on-frame, rear-drive layout that was ideal for hauling 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

"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)
years, General Motors management initiated a variety of production changes to better align production with slower demand. First the plants second shift was 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
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)
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 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. "GM can no longer justify building these two products at volumes that are significantly below the plants capacity."

Currently General Motors employs about 1,000 hourly and 100 salaried employees at the Baltimore facility, which will now be without jobs. While the UAW/GM National

Although the assembly plant will be closed, GM made it clear that it would remain in the greater Baltimore area, via its state-of-the-art transmission plant in White Marsh, Md. (Photo: General Motors)
Agreement provides a comprehensive plan and provisions for the employees affected by the decision to close the plant, in addition GM management will assist affected salaried employees who are willing to relocate to find jobs at other company locations.

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