GM axes Cadillac sports roadster

Not that it’s surprising, given that the roadster based on the Chevrolet Corvette has sold sluggishly, especially in the past 12 months.

US newspaper, The Bowling Green News, reported that GM plans to halt XLR production at the Bowling Green, Kentucky, factory that builds the Cadillac and Corvette sports cars. The cut will affect about 40 workers.

The newspaper quoted a GM spokeswoman as saying XLR production will end because of falling sales – Cadillac sold 1250 in 2008, down 28 percent on 2007 – and the need to save money in the economic downturn.

“Models like the XLR often have limited product life cycles,” she said. “Difficult decisions have to be made to ensure that we can continue to develop, engineer and produce the most critical products in our portfolio.”

Depending on model, XLRs sell for $US87,000 to $106,000. “It’s very specialised in terms of who would buy a vehicle at that price point,” she said. “We’re seeing the market downturn impacting all segments and some more severely than others.”

Corvette production is understood not to be affected, though the factory is idle until February 23 as part of GM’s production cuts, and some workers will be laid off indefinitely from March 1.