Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 29, 1993                   TAG: 9309290044
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT                                LENGTH: Medium

GM CUTS PRODUCTION: TOO MANY NEW PARTS

The shortfall, which has delayed shipments of some 1994 models to dealers, could affect GM's third-quarter results, already expected to be weak because of production lost to a two-week vacation shutdown in July and to model changeovers.

A consensus of Wall Street estimates a week ago projected GM's third-quarter loss from automotive operations at $247.6 million. GM's overall net loss totaled $752.9 million in the third quarter of 1992.

GM cut its July 1 estimate of third-quarter North American production 5 percent, from 1.04 million to 985,214 cars and light trucks, spokeswoman Cheryl Kilborn said. The figure includes all GM production in the United States and Canada as well as a joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp. in California and GM's Saturn small-car subsidiary.

Kilborn said many of the problems were due to the installation of more air bags and non-clorofluorocarbon refrigerants in air-conditioning systems. She said GM is using 20,000 new parts for 1994 models, which has slowed the launch of some vehicles.

"It's a more complex changeover than usual, but it's not that extraordinary," Wertheim Schroder & Co. analyst John Casesa said.

Kilborn denied the problems were related to last year's upheaval led by former purchasing chief Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua, who left GM in the spring for Volkswagen.

While at GM, Lopez reopened bids on all contracts and moved some work from one supplier to another in a cost-cutting crusade that has saved GM about $4 billion from its $35 billion annual parts budget.