Official: Ordered Chevy Sonic Crew

[K3500toSonic]

So, my order seems to be scooting along (and I'm counting the days 'til it shows up here in Los Angeles...)

04/16/2012 (1100) Order placed at dealership.
04/16/2012 (1102) Order entered via web.
04/17/2012 (2000) Order accepted by GM. Dealer used allocation to place order into production.
04/17/2012 (2500) Order preferenced.
04/17/2012 (3000) Order accepted by production control.
04/17/2012 (3100) Order available to sequence.
04/20/2012 (3300) Order scheduled for production.
04/26/2012 (3400) Order Broadcast
05/04/2012 (3800) Order produced and vehicle is being prepared for shipping.
05/04/2012 (4000) Vehicle available to ship.
05/04/2012 (4150) Invoiced (order is invoiced to the dealer).
05/04/2012 (4B00) Your car is bayed and is waiting for transportation by truck, rail or transfer to vendor.
05/07/2012 (4200) Shipped (vehicle is shipped to the dealer or interim point of delivery).
05/07/2012 (4B00) Your car is bayed and is waiting for transportation by truck, rail or transfer to vendor.
05/08/2012 (4200) Shipped (vehicle is shipped to the dealer or interim point of delivery).
05/07/2012 (4300) Interm transfer. Processing transfer to QC or vendor.

The 5/7/12 Shipped status was to the Cassens Toledo yard (and a separate Cassens status message showed it arrived there.) Does the subsequent 5/8/12 shipping status mean it's actually on a train, or is there a transfer step from the Cassens yard to a shipping depot of some kind? I was going to call the dealer to see about getting a railcar number, but didn't want to bother if it wasn't that far along yet.

Thanks!
--Larry

 

[laborsmith]

Do not know. I believe Cassons handles dispatch out of Orion so your car should already be on a railway autocar, so it is entirely possible the autocar number is available. If you find out please post. As far as I can remember, you are the first to post this question in this thread.

Laborsmith

 

[K3500toSonic]

Do not know. I believe Cassons handles dispatch out of Orion so your car should already be on a railway autocar, so it is entirely possible the autocar number is available. If you find out please post. As far as I can remember, you are the first to post this question in this thread.

Laborsmith

Looks like it's true! Larry at GMconnects said it should be on a railway car, and I was indeed able to get the car number from GM Customer Service. So apparently the first "Shipped" was for Cassens to truck it to Toledo, and the second one was for going on to a CSX railcar.

The last status still showed it in Toledo (Air Line Junction rail yard) but...we're getting there!

 

[laborsmith]

I suspect your car was loaded onto the CSX autocar at the Orion Plant. We are used to thinking of Cassons as a trucking company overlooking its dispatching responsibilities. Otherwise I would see dozens of car haulers carrying Sonics down I-75 instead of of one or two every once in a while.

But the important thing is your car is built, is on a CSX autocar, and sometime in the next several days will be rolling toward LA. It takes at least a week to make the trek, usually two. Once there and is off loaded it takes at least two days to get to the dealer, sometimes as much as a week.

Thanks for letting us know that your car is at Ottawa and please continue with the updates.

Laborsmith

 

[dmanson]

Update as of this morning.

VIN: !@#$%^#@$%^&#$%^&*
Order Number: #$%^&*
Status 05/09/2012 - (4300) Interm transfer. Processing transfer to QC or vendor.
TPW 2012-05-07
Checked on 05/11/2012 06:09:26
Cassens Vehicle Tracking
VIN: !@#$%^&*#$%^&*(
Pro: 83457948
Ship Date: 2012-05-09
Ship Time: 5:46 pm
Del Date: 2012-05-09
Del Time: 7:00 pm
Ship To: TD
Dealer Name: OTTAWA STG YARD
City: TOLEDO OTTAWA
State: OH
Query date: Fri May 11 09:18:15 CDT 2012
Powered by Cassens Transport

Event Date Event Status
04/10/2012 (1100) Order placed at dealership. Order passed GM edit tables but dealer has not received allocation to place order.
04/10/2012 (1102) Order entered via web.
04/16/2012 (2000) Order accepted by GM. Dealer used allocation to place order into production.
04/17/2012 (2500) Order preferenced. Order pulled to the production system.
04/18/2012 (3000) Order accepted by production control. Parts being ordered and production process is underway.
04/18/2012 (3100) Order available to sequence.
04/20/2012 (3300) Order scheduled for production. Order is scheduled into the plant build cycle.
04/30/2012 (3400) Order Broadcast (internal plant paperwork order produced). Order is sent to various build & supplier areas to bring order together.
05/08/2012 (3800) Order produced and vehicle is being prepared for shipping. For Cadillac, GMC and Buick customers, please contact your dealer or customer service for further updates as no further updates available at this time.
05/08/2012 (4000) Vehicle available to ship.
05/08/2012 (4150) Invoiced (order is invoiced to the dealer).
05/08/2012 (4B00) Your car is bayed and is waiting for transportation by truck, rail or transfer to vendor.
05/09/2012 (4200) Shipped (vehicle is shipped to the dealer or interim point of delivery).
05/10/2012 (4B00) Your car is bayed and is waiting for transportation by truck, rail or transfer to vendor.
05/09/2012 (4300) Interm transfer. Processing transfer to QC or vendor.

 

[laborsmith]

Thank you, dmanson. If your dealer is in Southern California your vehicle may be in the same autocar as K3500.

Looking good! The retail order process for all its ups and down can be fun to watch as one moves from 1100 (ordered entered and order number generated) to 6000 (paperwork completed and delivered to retail customer), just ask me. Everytime I do one I vow to never to again and that vow is unbreakable and I always stick to it until the next vehicle comes up that I want built to my specs. es, unbreakable until the next time I break it.

Laborsmith

 

[RKMBrown]

Ordered my 2013 Sonic today.

2013 Sonic LTZ Hatchback, Crystal Red Tintcoat Paint, ECOTEC® Turbo 1.4L engine, Manual Transmission, Power Sunroof, Jet Black/Dark Titanium, Front and Rear Splash Guards, Door Sill Plates, Dark Window Tint, Front License Plate Bracket.

Nice forums!

 

[Eric Smit]

2013? :O


-Eric Smit

 

[laborsmith]

2012. 2013 orders aren't accepted until June 14.

Laborsmith

 

[Calculon]

So, my order seems to be scooting along

I wish I could say the same. Mine was accepted last Monday and hasn't moved since.

 

[RKMBrown]

Bud is a manager at a large dealer. He said something about putting my name on one that would be in their initial allocation of 2013 models.

 

[laborsmith]

OK. I've done that before. Just so you realize the order won't be accepted for a while. The 2013's are scheduled to start production the first week of August.

Laborsmith

 

[laborsmith]

Calculon: Tuesday is when orders are accepted, so Wednesday GMConnects will be able to tell you if it has moved.

Laborsmith

 

[Calculon]

Thanks LS. This is what it actually says when I go to the site:

We've received your order from the dealer, however it is not available for tracking. If you would like specific information about when your order will be ready, please contact your local dealer. You can also visit this site periodically to check for updated information. While here, be sure to explore your vehicle, review your order summary, and shop for the accessories that can make a great car even better.​

Looks like I'll have to wait until Wednesday for an update. Hopefully, it'll be moving along.

 

[laborsmith]

I would suggest enrolling in gmconnects.com as many (including me) have found the Chevy Track My Order to be a waste of bandwidth. It is possible they have reformed but not likely. I have as high a regard for Track My Order as I do for OnStar.

Laborsmith

 

[K3500toSonic]

I would suggest enrolling in gmconnects.com as many (including me) have found the Chevy Track My Order to be a waste of bandwidth. It is possible they have reformed but not likely. I have as high a regard for Track My Order as I do for OnStar.

Laborsmith

Double-ditto on that. I tried to track my order through the Chevy website and got the same message. Waste of bandwidth indeed; have no idea why they even claim to offer the service.

GMConnects | GM vehicle order tracking has been a godsend, and is basically just very cool.

 

[K3500toSonic]

I suspect your car was loaded onto the CSX autocar at the Orion Plant. We are used to thinking of Cassons as a trucking company overlooking its dispatching responsibilities. Otherwise I would see dozens of car haulers carrying Sonics down I-75 instead of of one or two every once in a while.

But the important thing is your car is built, is on a CSX autocar, and sometime in the next several days will be rolling toward LA. It takes at least a week to make the trek, usually two. Once there and is off loaded it takes at least two days to get to the dealer, sometimes as much as a week.

Thanks for letting us know that your car is at Ottawa and please continue with the updates.

Laborsmith

Well, since you asked...

It's been very cool to be able to track the car as it moves along on a train...but I share Calculon's (love that, by the way) frustration, because it made it as far as Indiana, but has been sitting in a train yard there for over 4 days now. According to the scholarly moderators on gmconnects, I guess this can be a typical wait time...but it's still driving me nuts! Apparently it's waiting to get hooked up to a Union Pacific train, and then it'll be on the way.

Sigh... Patience, grasshopper.

 

[laborsmith]

Yep, I asked. Thanks for the update.

The GMConnects gurus have the right of it. Sometimes up to two weeks waiting for the hook up. But your advantage is once hooked up and moving your autocar will stay with that train until it gets to LA. Some have to be transferred when they get to Chicago.

Should not be long now, Grasshopper.

Laborsmith

 

[K3500toSonic]

Yep, I asked. Thanks for the update.

The GMConnects gurus have the right of it. Sometimes up to two weeks waiting for the hook up. But your advantage is once hooked up and moving your autocar will stay with that train until it gets to LA. Some have to be transferred when they get to Chicago.

Should not be long now, Grasshopper.

Laborsmith

Woo-hoo! We have movement! UP has it, and it's apparently on the move.

UP is posting an ETA of Saturday at 9:31am. I understand its destination is Mira Loma, CA. Wow, can it really cover the distance from eastern Illinois to southern California in that time? Guess that would be an average of, what, around 30mph? Do they accomplish that?

 

[laborsmith]

Expect so, they have very few traffic lights to halt their progress.

Once at Mira Loma, it gets off loaded then it takes a minimum of two days for dispatch to find a car hauler to get it to the dealer.

Excellent news and update.

Laborsmith