Town of Kapuskasing rocked by closure of GM's cold weather testing facility

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Town of Kapuskasing rocked by closure of GM's cold weather testing facility

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

That's too bad. I wonder where they will do their testing now.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

We have friends that live there. I suspect that the climate in Kap just isn't extreme enough anymore.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Isn't this how ghost towns happen? Perhaps ice fishing is in it's future, except other places are better for that. North Bay / Callendar are on Lake Nippissing and have an obvious advantage.

A sad day for sure. Boy, corporate decisions sure can be cold and ruthless.

Maybe they don't need to test in Kapuskasing, as batteries can fail in a cold test anywhere...

Kapuskasing cold tests could have been responsible for the development of the Canadian exclusive RPOs C47 (Under Seat Heater) and Z46 (Cold Cranking Equipment).

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

cdnpont wrote:
We have friends that live there. I suspect that the climate in Kap just isn't extreme enough anymore.

I was wondering if that might be the case. Ive heard of other situations where cold weather testing was moved from Ontario to areas that more reliably experience colder winter temperatures. In GMs case, they had a relatively large infrastructure investment in Kap. They could be switching to a more mobile testing mode, whereby they use existing facilities and public roads to carry out their testing. Not as comfortable or convenient as having a permanent dedicated facility, but less expensive and more flexible than a huge facility.

In other news, I read that Stellantis (the company formerly known as Chrysler) is dismantling and selling off their hot weather testing facility in Arizona. I suspect that the worldwide switchover to EVs is causing a lot of stress on automakers finances these days, especially the ones who are not in a good position to develop new technology and adapt to a different business model. Well see what happens, but my gut feeling is that we are about to witness the largest upheaval in the transportation industry than weve seen in many decades.

-- Edited by MC on Tuesday 22nd of October 2024 11:24:39 AM

Taylor55 · Poncho Master!

I have visited the Kap GM test center in the mid 1990's. They were doing cold weather testing on the new LS engines and had pallets of AC Delco batteries outside for cold weather testing. That day in January it was minus 30 C.

I was able to get in as a helper for a mechanic doing a service call on a diesel engine. No cameras allowed !

Kap still has the mill running as the main employer so the town will be ok. I think GM and the union will work out a decent severance package for the employees affected. Unfortunate for the winter drivers as they were temporary employees.

Al

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

It sounds like they can do testing in a smaller controlled environment:

"Our testing and validation processes prioritize continuous improvement, and we have evolved our testing capability to validate our technology at the component, system, and vehicle level."

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
It sounds like they can do testing in a smaller controlled environment:
"Our testing and validation processes prioritize continuous improvement, and we have evolved our testing capability to validate our technology at the component, system, and vehicle level."

Maybe or perhaps they are moving to digital simulations. There are proponents of this in the industry, but Ive never been a fan of simulations actually replacing physical testing for a variety of reasons. There are too many factors that cant be predicted by a simulation, but really it depends on the type of information they are pursuing.

Pretty clearly, they evaluated the cost vs benefit of this facility and decided to change directions.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

True and since many components are outsourced by other companies perhaps they are leaving that sort of testing to them.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I'm sure I saw a picture in a book of an old Ford in a giant drive-in freezer. It had enough frost on it to make me think it was inside a 1950's freezer that needed defrosting.

A GM picture from Kapuskasing:

?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.aDdjBBpCrg89HoFwdcUP_AHaFH%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=4de19772502ac951cd5459741cd3e3fc474a1fa1b54ee220acac9ffc76f709e5&ipo=images

EV's:

-- Edited by CdnGMfan on Tuesday 22nd of October 2024 08:50:27 PM

norontcan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

My home town.
News came as a shock to municipal officials and employees, many of who found out through the media.
Guess who just agreed to do their cold weather testing for them - yes, you.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
True and since many components are outsourced by other companies perhaps they are leaving that sort of testing to them.

Yes, and they could even outsource their vehicle testing as well. There are lots of possibilities, I think, but GM probably won't let the public know any more than they want them to know.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

norontcan wrote:
My home town.
News came as a shock to municipal officials and employees, many of who found out through the media.
Guess who just agreed to do their cold weather testing for them - yes, you.

Like everything else automotive related.

AI will take over testing? A simulation of -30C or F, in a freezer or via AI/data will not be as effective as the real thing.

I heard on the news this morning there is a trending backlash in the USA on the cost of new vehicles, now averaging $47,000. With all the things we buy from China, maybe their vehicles will become what the Japanese vehicles did to North American vehicles in the early 70s? That started the sale of Vega/Astre/Pinto instead of Parisienn/LTD. It took a lot of years for NA to catch up on quality, now mostly what they sell weighs more than my 63. Look at the brands you see on the road today.

The 25% chicken tax eliminated much of the competition in pickups in NA, dont see much offshore competition there.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

China currently (pardon the pun) has the lead in EV development and manufacturing, so if the tariffs don't work (like if they manufacture in Mexico), then China's EVs have a good chance of taking over the automotive industry for a while, anyhow. The mandates making it illegal to sell new IC vehicles in Canada in 2035 (20% EVs in 2026, 60% by 2030, 100% by 2035) will pretty much seal the deal. The existing ICE manufactuers will be playing catch-up, or could just cease to exist after that, unless something changes.