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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:02 p.m., Tuesday, June 3, 2008

GM closing four factories

Associated Press

WILMINGTON, Del. — General Motors said today it will close four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles.

CEO Rick Wagoner said before the automaker's annual meeting it will cease production at a full-size pickup factory in Oshawa, Ontario. It also will stop making SUVs at factories in Moraine, Ohio, and Janesville, Wis., and it will stop making mid-size pickups in Toluca, Mexico.

He also said the Hummer brand may be discontinued.

Wagoner announced the moves in response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs brought on by high oil prices. He says a market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent.

Wagoner said the company will build a new small car in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010. And it will add shifts at car plants in Lordstown and Orion Township, Mich.