Abandoned GM Stamping Plant Site

[michmalibuman]

Very sad indeed!😢

 

[pagrunt]

I'm surprised my wife's family hasn't heard/said anything about her cousin that was working there cause most of his in-laws worked there. They helped him get the job there about 16 years ago.

I've driven past that plant dozens of times, I never got to see it up close though. It's a shame, the Lordstown closure really pissed me off.

The Cruze was a good car too, my uncle has one that I drove from here in Pittsburgh to Maine and back last summer and I really liked it. GM finally got the car right (cough, cough Cavalier, Cobalt) and decides to close the plant and stop making it.

Remember the last B body Impala SS was selling very good but sucked up space & resources for truck/SUV production. I was working at Batey Chevrolet in '97 to '98 & people were still trying to order an SS. There were many good selling lines that GM on purpose cut the life lines to by over reinventing it or divert resources from it to another line.

 

[carnutjw]

Late to the party, but I'm quite familiar with that plant from my years working at the Buick-GMC Dealer in Pleasant Hills. In later years (90's) they were specialized in sheet metal stamping for GM Parts of all divisions. They had hundreds of dies, some weighing tons, stacked to the right of the building. They developed processes to change dies in a press in 15-20 minutes, which made them cost-effective to do short runs of parts. I witnessed a die swap one day and every move was orchestrated like a NASCAR pit stop, just obviously not as fast. When the plant was closing, most of the dies were bought by a non-GM company in West Virginia, which may be one of the reasons why the quality of aftermarket parts got better over the years. Using an OEM die gets a much better finished product than reverse-engineering one from a good fender.

I used to work for GM Corporate in the 70's at the Hydra-Matic plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. A few years ago, I found some current pics of the plant in its abandoned state when GM had commissioned a company to help sell off some of their properties. When I worked there we had 5800 employees, making Turbo 400 and 425 transmissions, as well as M16 rifles. It was sad to see all the emptiness and garbage everywhere when your last memories were of a bustling workplace.

Bill

I work in Stamping at Toyota Indiana(TMMI) , we have dies on both sides of the presses, so one set is running while the other is being changed out for the next part. Die changes from one part to another should be less than five minutes, and they want to do it quicker. Anyone traveling through the area should come to our visitors center and take the plant tour. Without getting into a deep geopolitical conversation, I am pleased with the success of my employer, while also saddened by the decline of GM. If you want to see some depressing statistics, research GM workforce numbers in the late 1970's vs current.

 

[NCTyphoonKid]

I've driven past that plant dozens of times, I never got to see it up close though. It's a shame, the Lordstown closure really pissed me off.

The Cruze was a good car too, my uncle has one that I drove from here in Pittsburgh to Maine and back last summer and I really liked it. GM finally got the car right (cough, cough Cavalier, Cobalt) and decides to close the plant and stop making it.

That is typical GM they finally get a car right and can it, they’ve done it so many times

 

[ssn696]

The 1988 Fiero. 1987 and earlier had a Chevette front end and a Citation drivetrain and suspension in the rear. GM redesigned the Fiero with platform-specific suspension and then killed it.

 

[ssn696]

I toured the Newark, DE GM plant in the 1980s when it was cranking out Chevettes. I wonder what happens when gasoline hits $4.50 a gallon again and all GM has for sale is SUVs.

 

[fleming442]

I toured the Newark, DE GM plant in the 1980s when it was cranking out Chevettes. I wonder what happens when gasoline hits $4.50 a gallon again and all GM has for sale is SUVs.

Haven't you heard? EVs are the future!!!!!

Again, without getting all political, the EPA and Big Oil have had quite the pissing match over the years, and, yet, nothing really seems to change. We're way behind in diesel technology compared to the rest of the world, but ya gotta refill the cow piss tank in your truck every 2-3 tanks.

 

[joesregalproject]

I toured the Newark, DE GM plant in the 1980s when it was cranking out Chevettes. I wonder what happens when gasoline hits $4.50 a gallon again and all GM has for sale is SUVs.

I'm wondering the same thing. GM putting all their eggs in one basket... Again.

 

[Texas82GP]

I'm wondering the same thing. GM putting all their eggs in one basket... Again.

They haven't learned anything. When they almost went under in 2008, they had done it to theirselves. They are working towards doing it to theirselves again. I bought my truck from them in 2008. I won't buy another from them. Poor management and decision making. Sad.

 

[84dragcutlass]

I toured the Newark, DE GM plant in the 1980s when it was cranking out Chevettes. I wonder what happens when gasoline hits $4.50 a gallon again and all GM has for sale is SUVs.

I thought the same thing when they released that they were doing that. Ford started to do it first and it was like GM was sitting back and said "yeah they are right people dont need daily driver fuel efficient cars, we have plenty of gas and oil, what they need is a truck" so now when grandma needs to trade in here little church car instead of getting a cruze they will stick her in a 4 door 4x4 Silverado.... I think the others that have commented are right they didnt learn back in 08 and they are going to do the same things all over again. Put all their eggs into one stupid basket, pull the plug on good cars and shut down plants and piss people off. Then build a crappy "Blazer" built in Mexico thats not really a Blazer at all in my opinion. Me personally if im going to buy a daily driver to replace my 04 Monte carlo i would want a similar size fuel efficient car... but good luck with that these days. Just because technology has gotten better to the point SUVs and trucks are getting decent mileage doesnt mean you cancel all the other because those small cars would get even better. End of rant that kind of stuff just gets me.