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Peugeot Citroen idles Slovak factory over falling orders

PSA to halt production of 207 & C3 Picasso in Slovakia The news that Peugeot Citroen (PSA) is to suspend production at its factory in Trnava, Western Slovakia, as orders for cars fall away, is another sign of the impending gloom in the Euro zone car industry. PSA has revealed that the Trnava factory – which produces the Peugeot 207 and Citroen C3 Picasso – will be shut from October 28th to November 18th (a period which does include two bank holidays) as orders start to fall away and production exceeds demand. But this announcement seems to be the tip of the iceberg for PSA’s factory closures.

New Peugeot 208 production cut as sales disappoint

Peugeot is cutting back on production of the new 208 as its sales fail to reach expectations, just six months on from launch. It’s not enough when Europe is ion the midst of an economic crisis and car buyers are polarised between ‘budget’ cars that offer more for less than mainstream offerings and ‘Premium’ models that are bought on the back of a preconceived notion of more kudos. That leaves car makers like Peugeot (and Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Ford, Opel, Fiat…) between a rock and a hard place, unable – or unwilling – to compete with the offerings from Korea and saddled with a brand that doesn’t have the ‘class’ of an Audi or a BMW or a Mercedes or even a VW.

GMC Granite concept (w/ Video)

The biggest surprise at the 2010 NAIAS was GMC's Granite concept - a design that expands (or rather contracts) the truck/crossover brand's 'professional grade' philosophy to a compact hatchback aimed at urban hipsters and early adopters. Conceived by Frank Saucedo's Advanced Design team in California and then built at GM's Design Center in Detroit, the Granite combines the basic proportions of the Nissan Cube and Scion xB with a military/industrial feel inspired by the current G-Star and Diesel fashion lines. Watch the videos to the left to see the young international design team present the rationale behind the new concept, and read our opinion of the Granite in our 2010 Detroit Auto Show Highlights.