100 years of GM special section

8/12/2019 100 years of GM special section

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September15,2008 www.lsj.comBUSINESSWEEKLYThecars.

The people.The plants.100 yearsofGeneralMotors

throughout theLansingarea

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Funds Transfer Services Merchant Services Lock Box Remote DepositCommercial Loans and Lines of Credit Internet Banking

1600 Abbott Rd, East Lansing 517.664.1912

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mysummitbank.com0010504877


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BRIAN PRIESTERPresidentand publisher

[email protected]

Thispublication is thecompletesource forbusinessnewsinGreaterLansing.Whetherits the latesteconomicdevelopmentplan orhow tosecurecapital foranewbusiness,

youll find itonMondaysintheLansingStateJournalsBusinessWeekly.

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Businesseditor377-1056,[email protected]

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WHATS INSIDEGM: 100YEARS IN LANSING

THE PLANTS

Fromthesmallandstoried

beginning oftheOldsMotor

Worksfactory to

thesprawling

LansingCar

Assembly

operationtothe

state-of-the-art

LansingDelta

Township

assemblyplant,

GMhasleftan indelible mark

ontheLansingarea.

PAGES 3-7

THE CARS

GMhas rolledplenty of

vehicles offLansing-areaassembly lines

in the past

century.Some

contained

groundbreaking

features, others

were big sellers.

We takea look at 10 ofthemore

notable vehicles.

PAGES 3-12

THE PEOPLE

Thousandsof people havekeptGMslocal operations

runningthe past

100 years.And

thousandsmore

havebeen

affected insome

wayby the

automakerslocal

presence.Readthethoughts

ofsome ofthem.

PAGES 8-12

As General Motors Corp.marksits100th anniversary,

wetake a look at the companyscenturyin Lansing itsplants, its cars andthe peoplewho made ithappen.

Foran inter-active map ofGMslocaloperationsandpastcoverageof itsfirst100 years, gotowww.lsj.com.

Online

Extra

Foraninteractivetimeline ofvehiclesmade inLansing, gotowww.lsj.com.

Online

Extra

FormorememoriesofGM, gotowww.lsj.com.

Online

Extra


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TEN MEMORABLE CARS

OLDSMOBILE LIMITED

The OldsmobileLimitedTouringcar, madeinthe 1910 to 1912modelyears,wasneverafinancialsuccess.

Butitdidsucceed insetting anewstandard for style.In itsday,the carcosta

sta

ggering $5,000the equiva

lentof$109,972intodaysdollars. Itseasy toseewhy thiscar,though pretty to lookat, neverbecamea b igseller.

Fewer than700ofthetop-of-the-line carswere made.Therewereseveralvariantsandbody styles, including aseven-passengerlimo,

afive- or seven-passenger touring modelandatwo-passenger roadster.

The car took itsname fromthe20th CenturyLimited, a trainthat ran between Albany, N.Y.,and New York City. A 1909 painting by WilliamHa

rdnerFoster th

at showed

an

Oldsmo

bileLimitedracingthat trainwasentitledSetting

the Pace, the namethatlater would beused forthe comprehensive historyofOldsmobilewritten by Helen Earley and James Walkinshaw,Lansing-area residents and General MotorsCorp. retirees.

LANSING CAR ASSEMBLY MAIN ASSEMBLY PLANT (aka Plant1)

Whenthe LansingCarAssemblyplantclosed in2005,thesiteat the junction ofMartinLutherKingJr.Boulevardandthe Grand River was the longestcontinuallyoperatingcarassemblyoperation inNorthAmerica.

Carshad been put togetheronthesite for104years.

The place hadbeen partofthestate fairgroundsat theturn ofthe20thcentury.But whenafire inDetroitdestroyedR.E.Oldsfactory there,businessleadersinLansing put theirheads together to deviseaway to lureOldsbackto mid-Michigan.Theyoffered himaportion ofthe fairgroundsatadeepdiscount,and heacceptedthe offer.The deedtoOldswasdatedJuly 3, 1901.

GeneralMotorsCorp. took over the plant when itb

oughtO

ldsM

otorW

orksin 1908.The factory saw successive generationsofcar

classicscomerolling down itsassemblyline:theCurvedDashOldsin itsearliest years,theshort-livedbutpremium luxuryViking in 1929and 1930,themusclecarsofthe 1960sand 1970s. GenerationsofLansing-areaworkersjoinedthework force hereandretired fromthe plant.

JamesWalkinshaw,whowould go ontowriteSettingthe Pace, the definitive historyofOldsmobilewithco-authorHelenEarley,remembershisfirstdayonthe jobinsidethe massive factory.

It was the hugestplaceId ever seen,hesaid.

GeneralMotorsconsideredscrappingthe plantand leaving Lansing in 1997,buta communityeffortinvolvingcity,communityand laborleaderspersuadedthe carmaker tostay.

Two newplants wouldbebuiltLansing Grand

RiverandLansing Delta Township butLCAwouldberazed.Demolitionstarted in late2005.

LANSING CAR ASSEMBLY BODY SHOP(aka Plant 6,FisherBody)

Inthe earlydaysoftheauto industry,

executivesjoined, leftandstartedcompanies with dizzying frequency.JustasLansingsR.E.OldsformedOldsMotorWorksand leftitin 1904tostart REOMotorCo.,GMfounderBillyDurantlefthiscompany to foundDurantMotorWorks.

Durants secondautocompanybuiltaplantinLansing in 1922,but thecompany

failed duringthe GreatDepression ofthe

1930s.GM bought the factoryin 1935andmoved itsarea F isherBodyoperations tothesite.

Workersat the plantmadecarbodiesthat wereshipped aboutamileaway totheassembly sitetothesouth.

GMworkerAlexHernandezgrew upablock fromthe factory where hisfather

worked.Sometimes, hedbring lunchto

the factoryforhisfather.

Im goingto makeOldsmobiles there,justlike myfather,he promised himselfand he did.

But the plantslong history cametoanend in2005.AsGMsLansing DeltaTownship plant wasbeingraised,the plantonVerlinden Avenuewasbeingtorn down.

THE

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TEN MEMORABLE CARSOLDSMOBILE VIKINGOnthe eve oftheGreatDepression,Oldsmobileagaincame

out withashow-stopping luxury vehicle.

TheOldsmobileViking debuted in 1929.In its two-year run, just8,003 were made.

Thetop-endVikingcamewithan $1,855 pricetag or

$22,266intodaysdollars.

Whenthestock marketcrashed onOct. 29, 1929, mostAmericanslost thewill andtheabilitytobuyluxuryitems,andtheVikingstalled.But thecar remainsan example ofthesplendor thatOldsmobile oncerepresented.

LANSINGSERVICE

PARTSOPERATION

T

HEPLA

NTS

While notasglamorousasitscar-assemblingbrethren,GMsparts warehouse inDeltaTownship,with its 240 workers,isdistinctive.

Itis the onlyparts warehouseinGMsoperationthat specializesin packingandshippingcomponents thatare in lowdemand eitherbecauseamodel isnewand few repairsareneeded, oravehicle is veryold.

And itsaplacewhere many

GMworkershave hopedto endup.Warehousework often is seenaslessphysicallydemandingand,therefore, easieron older workersnear retirementage.

But thatpreference maychange,asGMsnew two-tierwagesystem forhourly workershas reclassifiedwarehouse jobs.Theyre nowconsiderednoncoreproduction jobs, which payroughly$14an hourfornewworkers,abouthalfwhatanassemblylineworkerearns.

LANSING ENGINE PLANTWhen the 1970soilcrisishithome,GM

sought ways toadapt toaworld of higher

gaspricesand limitedsupply.One of itsideas, pushed forwardbyits

Lansing-basedOldsmobile division,was tocreate dieselcounterpartsof itsgasolineengines.

But theresultan engineconvertedfromastandard gasoline model had

problems.Waterleaked intothe fuelsystemofsome engines,and head gasket seals

frequentlybroke.In 1982,afterfour yearsof production,

GM abandonedthe diesel engine inDeltaTownship.

TheQuad-4 enginecame nextin 1987,followedby theEcoTecengine in2001.However,GMidledthe plant thesameyear,

selling itfiveyearslater toRyderLogistics,which now suppliesGMsLansing DeltaTownshipAssemblyplant.

LANSING GRAND RIVER

WhenGMsLansingGrandRiverplant started

buildingCadillacsin2001, it was theculmination ofa communityeffort toconvincetheautomaker tostayinLansing.

In 1997,GMhadwarnedthen-MayorDavidHollisterthatitplannedto pullupstakesinLansing.Hollister,communityboosters,union leadersand localgovernmentofficialspulledtogether to persuadethecarmaker tostay.

Inthe process,GMdecidedtobuildtwo newassemblyplants toreplacetheagingLansingCarAssemblycomplex.

The Grand River plant is probably themost state-ofthe-art plant in theentire worldfor the automotiveindustry, said David Cole,director ofthe Center for

Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, as theplant preparedto open. It will, I think, be a model for the future.

And it was.Students,auto industryprofessionalsand peoplewhostudymanufacturing in otherindustriesflockedtothe plant tosee howGMwasbuildingcars the new way.TheGrandRiverplant wasthe firstinNorthAmericato pioneerGMsnewGlobalManufacturingSystem,awayof makingcars thatgiveshourly workersmoreauthorityover their worksites.

TheLansingGrandRiverplantand itsapproximately1,800 workerscurrentlybuildthreeCadillacmodelstheCTS,STS andSRX.WhiletheSRXisexpectedtobeeliminated,GMplans toaddstationwagonandcoupeversionsoftheCTS.

BECKY SHINK/Lansing State Journal file photo

Moving downthe line:A Ca dillac SRXmovesdownthe lineatGMsLansingGrandRiverplant.The facility and its1,800 workerscurrentlybuildthreeCadillacmodels.


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TEN MEMORABLE CARSOLDSMOBILEROCKET88WhenWorldWarIIended,Americans resumedtheirloveaffair withtheautomobile.

Production had groundtoahaltduringthewar,withLansingscarfactoriestransformed intoammunition plants.ButGMrestartedcarproduction.InLansing, itrolled out the firstOldsmobile 88 for the 1949 modelyear.Its relatively smalland lightbodyand powerful engine made itaprecursor tothe musclecars.

The carsnickname,theRocket88, referredtothe newengine.Made inLansing,the Rocketengine (originallynamedtheKettering engineafterGMschief engineer),was the firstmass-produced overheadvalveV-8 engine.It quicklybecameahit withcarenthusiasts.

The Rocket88wasimmortalized in 1951when IkeTurner recordedwhatmanymusichistoriansconsider the first rockn rollsongtoberecorded Rocket88,which extolledthe powerfulcar.

LANSING DELTA TOWNSHIP

THE

PLANT

S

Thesecond modernassemblyplantGMopened locallytheLansing Delta Townshipa

ssemb

lypla

ntwa

sdesignedto pushtheproduction envelope further.

The plant,which opened inNovember2006, is the onlycarplantintheworldtobeLEEDgoldcertified,adesignation giventoonly the mostenvironmentallyfriendlyplants.Skylightsat the factory reducetheneed forlighting,rainwaterfunctionsaswaterforbathrooms,andtheroofwaspaintedwhiteto deflect thesuns raysandreducethe need forairconditioning.

Theassemblyline isequally state-of-the-art,and is the firstinNorthAmericatofullyincorporateGMsGlobalManufacturing

System.The2,300 workersat the factorymake

the BuickEnclave,GMC Acadia and SaturnOutlook crossover vehicles thataretoutedbyGM a samong its topsellers.

Wearecreating anewchapterinLansinghistoryat(Lansing Delta Township),plantmanagerRandyThayer saidas the plantpreparedto open. Manyorganizationsdontliketotalkabout theirhistory,butinLansing,ourhistoryis shapingthe future.OurpastperformancewasakeyfactorinGMdecidingto put thisplantinLansing.

LANSING REGIONAL STAMPINGNestled at theside ofLansing Delta

Township is the La nsing RegionalStamping

plant,ametal-stamping facility where partsarecreated forcarsmade atLansing GrandRiverand Lansing Delta Township.

The700,000-square-footplant witha

$300million pricetag opened in March2003. The plantisconnectedbyamassive

conveyerbelt tothe neighboring LansingDelta Township plant,allowing partsstamped at the facility to beshippedtothecarassemblyareawithout the help ofatruck

orforklift.

Unlikethe plantit replaced,the La nsing

Metal Center,La nsing RegionalStampingruns witha staff of just 230 workers,comparedtoabout1,200at the MetalCenterintheyears before it closed.

Proud oftheirproduct:Workerssurround thefirsttestSaturnOutlook onMay 24,2006, for a plantsouvenir picture at

theGMLansingDelta Townshipplant. Just a smalldetailofthemanyworkerswho

surrounded thevehicle are shown.At top,Dennis

Rodgers looks forsurface defects

duringqualityinspectionat theLansingRegionalStamping Plant

in2004.

ROD SANFORD

Lansing StateJournalfile photo


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TEN MEMORABLE CARSOLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 442Firstintroducedasan option package on

the 1964OldsmobileCutlassandF-85,theCutlass442becameamodel in itsownrightfour yearslater.

In 1966,the

car w

as

clo

cked going from0 to60mph in 5.5secondsbyCarandDriver

magazine.Suchreviewsbumpedupthe442spopularity.

Thecargotanotherboost whenOldsmobileworkedwithHurst PerformanceResearchCorp. to putout theHurst/Olds442in 1968.

By1970,theyear the 442 was theIndianapolis500pacecar,MotorTrendnamedthecar the mostidentifiablesupercarintheGMhouse.

It w

aspopul

arin movie houses,too.

The 442appeared in manyfilmsandtelevisionshows, includingSylvesterStallones DemolitionMan.MarkWahlbergdrovea442inthe filmFourBrothers.

Insong,the 442 wasmentioned inPrimus JerryWasa RaceCarDriver.

OLDS

MOTORWORKSAsmall monumentat the

junction ofKalamazooandRiverstreetsisallthat remainsofthesitewherethe first carproducedinLansingwasmade.Here,at theP.F.Olds& Son factory,R.E.Oldsmade hisfirsthorselesscontrivance in 1887.

Familymembers saidthatitwasOldsloathing of horses thatled himto experiment with

automobilesinthe firstplace.It wasOldsjobtotendthe

horsesownedby the family,andhe foundthework dirty andunpleasant.

Olds would go ontocreateagasoline-poweredvehicle in 1897,andthento formOldsMotorWorks. Hewas the first tocreateanautoassemblyline,asystem inwhichcars were pushedaroundthe plantonwheeledcarts.

OldsleftOldsMotorWorksin1904and founded REO MotorCo.ayearlater.Hisfirst companywouldbyboughtby the fledglingGeneralMotorsCo.in 1908.

OLDSMOBILE HEADQUARTERSThebuildingthat towersover the

LansingGrand Riverplantonce heldtheofficesofGMsOldsmobile division.Oldsmobile isgone now,and itsformerheadquarters soonwillbe gone,too.

Butformorethan 40 years,starting in1966,thewhite marblebuilding

symbolizedLansingshistory and itsmanufacturingstrength.Large lettersontheside ofthe building proclaimedOLDSMOBILEtothetownwherethebrandwasborn.

Those lettersnoware housedat theR.E.OldsTransportationMuseum.

GM announced in 1997 thatit wouldmovethe Oldsheadquarters toDetroit,thenshutdownthe divisionaltogetherin2004.

The formerheadquartersnowawaits

demolition.

T

HEPLANTS

ROD SANFORD/Lansing State Journal file photo

Coming down:AlargeMfromthewordOldsmobile islowered ontoatruck onDec. 27,2006,as workers removethe distinctiveOldsmobile lettering fromthetop ofthe formerOldsmobile headquartersneardowntownLansing.


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THE

PLANTS

LANSING CRAFT CENTRE

LANSINGMETALCENTER

Originallycalledthe JetPlant,GM b uilt thelarge metalstamping factoryonSaginawStreetin 1952 to make jetpartsduringtheKoreanWar.

After the conflict,the plant was transformedintoastamping operation,where metal partsforcarsmade inLansingand elsewherewerecutoutofsheetsof metal.Butin itsearlydays,the plant stood onrural land, not suburbansprawl.

AlCooper,whoretired fromGMin2006,spentmanyof his 60 years withGMworking atthe plant.Hewasnearly83 when heretiredandwasGMslongest-serving employee in

Michiganwhen he did.

We had deer runthroughthe plantonce ortwice,Cooper said ofthe plantsearlydays.

But the plantsfatewasdecidedwhen GMmade plans toupdate itsLansing operations.Thetwo newassemblyplantsLansingDeltaTownship andLansingGrand River needed anew stamping plantoftheirown.ThatplantwouldbeLansingRegionalStamping.

GM began phasing out workat the plantayearbefore it wasfinally shuttered.The plantswork force dwindled from 1,200 to fewer than200 when itended production in2006.The

pla

ntisb

eing demolished.

The landthat would one daybecomeGMs specialtycarassemblyplant wasonce knownasBogusSwamp becausethe moneyminted inthat wetlandbycounterfeiters wasfake.

But some ofthe cars thatGMlaterwouldassembleat thesitewouldtake onareal luster.

The first steptoward legitimacyfor thesitecame in 1919,whentheRyanBohn

Foundry wasbuilt.Thesite passedthrough

several handsbeforeDriggsAircraftCo. setupshop in 1927,butit wentoutofbusinesswhenthe onlyplane iteverbuiltcrashed onitsmaidenvoyage.

Lansingauto legendR.E.Oldsboughtthesite in 1930, only tosell it toGM about10 yearslater.The Detroitcarmakermademilitaryammunitionat the facilityduringWorldWarII and converted it toafoundryoperationafter thewar.

In 1988,GMdecidedbuilding cars wasa

better use for what wouldbecalledtheLansing CraftCentre.It wouldbethe onlyGMplantdesignedto makesmallernumbersofunique or specialty vehicles.

Some ofGMsmoreuniquevehicleswere madethere includingtheEV1,theautomakersfirstexperiment with electriccars that were produced from 1996 to1999,andthe ChevroletSSR,builtfrom2003 untilthe plantclosed in2006.

The facilitynowisbeingtorn down.

BECKY SHINK/Lansing State Journal file photo

Unique designs: The lastSSRrolled offthe lineat theLansingCraftCentre in2006.The facilitynowisbeingtorn down.GMmade militaryammunitionat the facilityduringWorldWarII andconverted it toafoundryoperationafter thewar.

TEN MEMORABLE CARS OLDSMOBILE TORONADOThetwo-doorToronadocoupe, made from 1966to 1992,was the firstfront-wheel-drivecarmade

intheUnitedStates since 1937.

Atfirst,the carhad doubters.The

automotive press wondered how wellthefront-wheel-drivewouldwork,whileleaders at theCadillacdivisionrebuffed

Oldsmobiles request toworkwiththem onthe new technology.

Test versionsoftheToronado logged morethan1 million miles to prove its safetyandreliability.

Accordingtothe bookSettingthe Pace, triallawyerseagerlyanticipatedthecars releasebecausethey thought therewouldbe manyaccidentand productfailure lawsuits.

But thatdidnthappen.TheToronadowonCaroftheYearfromMotor

Trend magazinethe first yearoffthe productionline.

TheToronadowouldbecome one ofOldsmo-bilesenduring models,remaining in production for26 years.


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THEPEOP

LE

JOEDROLETTDelta Townshipsupervisor

When Delta Township

SupervisorJoe Drolett thinksof his childhood memoriesofGM, its sounds thatcometomind:thec lanking intheforge plantatnight,thecreakingtrainslinedupalongClare Street.

Drolettgrew up astonesthrowfromtheVerlindenplant,buthe didnt takeajobthere.GM wouldbecome amajorpartof his work lifeanyhow.

OnceGM announced itsintentiontobuildtheLansingGrand Riverassemblyplantneardowntown Lansing,theautomaker turned itsattentiontothetownshipDrolett supervises.

He met weekly with GMas thecompany startedtobuylandwhereLansing DeltaTownship assemblyplantnow stands. Buthe hadtokeep italla secret until GMwas ready to go public.

T

ha

t wa

sntea

sy,Drolett said. We knewhistory wasbeing created.

DAVID HOLLISTERFormerLansing mayor/champion ofGMinLansingMymost vivid memory wasavisit

byEdDonovan, (General Motorsgovernment relationsofficial), earlyinmy termasmayor.It was1995,and hesaid,Ive gotgood newsand bad news.The good newsis that wewill becelebratingthe 100thbirthdayofOldsmobile, andwere goingto launchtheAlero.AndtheA lerowould be made inLansing.

That wasgood news.

(Then)Isaid,Whats thebadnews?

Hesaid,Thebad newsis whenthisseriesofcars completesits cycle,... weare goingto closethe plantsin La nsingandtherewill be no productforLa nsingafter thatatall.

That wasastunning andshocking announcement.

That then ledtothe

Keep GM effortthat we

organizedlocally to

convince

General Motorsnot to leave mid-Michiganbut tobuild newplantshere.

Thatledthentoab outafive-tosix-yeareffort thatled tothecreationofthe Grand Riverplantand later theDelta(Township) plant.

TEN MEMORABLE CARSPONTIAC GRAND AMThe Grand Amshistory runsinstops and

starts.

Itdebuted as a mid-size car, made from 1973to 1975 at GMsplantin Pontiac. It was revived

from 1978to 1980 as a limited-run productionthatoffered newfeatures,such aspowerwindows, locks andseats. It alsowasmade inPontiac. It wasnt untilthethird generation oftheGrand Am in 1984that the modelreally took off.Pontiacs best-sellingvehiclewould be made inLansing. It alsowould be one ofthe firstnon-Oldsmobile productsmade by GMs Lansingworkers.

TheGrandAmwouldreceivetwoupdatesduring itslocalrun.When productionatLansingCarAssemblybeganto falterasOldsmobilewasdiscontinuedandGMpreparedto move

productiontothe newLansingDeltaTownship plant, it was theGrandAm,alongwiththeChevroletClassic,thatkeptworkersonthe job.

Despite the Grand Ams long-runningsuccess, GM opted to discontinue themodelin 2005. It was replaced with the Pontiac G6and production was shifted out ofLansing.


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THE

PEOPLE

ALEX HERNANDEZ 27-YEAR GMemployeeWhen I was8yearsold,I a lreadymade

mymind (up)thatI wantedtoworkatF isherBody.Myfatherdid hewalkedtoworkeveryday,rain,snow,wind andsunshine.Itdidntmatter, hewalked.We had onecar(astationwagon) that wasallwe needed.Notbad forafamilyof eight.

Igrew uprightby the plant. Ourhouse

wasdownthestreet. When Iwasat school,playing at the playground,riding mybike ordoing mypaper route,the plant wasalwaysin my sight.

I havethesame friends sincesecond grade.I

sa

idtob

oth ofthemwhenwewere pla

ying onthe playground by the plant:Im goingtoworktheresomeday and build carslike myfather.

Myfriends were DanJackson and SteveWoodward. Dansaidto me:Whydoyou want toworkthere for? Youre nuts.

W

e la

ughab

outitnow,butI wentinthereanyway,and mydreamcametrue.

GARYCASTEEL

GM retireeGaryCasteel,64,saw theinside ofseveralLansing-areaGMplantsin his timeat theautomaker,and heworkedboth hourlyandsalaried jobs.Butofallthe projectsonwhich heworked, one inparticular standsoutin hismemory:theEV1.

Iwonder wherewedbenowifGMhad builtonwhatwe hadwiththeEV 1,Casteelsaid.

GMscrappedthe project,butnotall oftheca rs weredestroyed.Someweredonatedtouniversities.

Hisgrandson, Nick, foundone atNorthernMichiganUniversity and got tostudyhow the car worked.

ROD SANFORD/Lansing State Journal file photo

Boyhooddreamcome true: AlexHernandezgrewup near theFisherBodyplant, dreaminghed like towork there, just likehisdad.Hernandezdidgrowupto buildGMcars in Lansing. Above,hesreflectedin the chromeofa new SaturnOutlookon display in2006 at the LansingDelta Townshipplant.

BECKYSHINK/State Journal

GMmemorabilia:Gary

Casteel keepsGM

memorabilia, includinga

lightgi

ven

to him

byhi

s

sonand grandson.Casteelretired fromGMin 1997.

TEN MEMORABLE CARS EV1BeforetheChevroletVolt,GMshigh-profile

electricvehicle dueto hit showroomsin2010,cametheEV1.The firstall-electric carfromamajormanufacturer wasdevelopedbecauseCa

lifornia

ha

d enac

teda

Z

eroE

missionV

ehic

leMandate, requiringthe largestautomakers tomake pollution-freevehiclesavailable.

GMrespondedwithanall-electric carinthemid-1990sbut tookaunique marketing path.TheEV1wasonlyavailable forlease.Manyofthetakers were environmentalactivists,includingactorEdBegleyJr.

For productionoftheniche vehicle, GM turnedto the Lansing Craft Centre. Unlike all other GMassembly plants, the facility was designedspecifically to makelow-volume vehicles.

Thats what theEV1was,with fewer than1,200ofthem made in its three-yearproductionrun from 1996 to 1999.

Despitean enthusiasticfollowingandalistof peoplewaiting foranewgeneration ofthecar,GMpulledthe plug ontheEV1 in2003.Many with leasesaskedtobuy theirEV1s,butGMrequiredall ofthecars tobereturned.


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THEPEOP

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BETTY ROMSEKAssistantplantmanager,

LansingDelta Township

Fifteenyears ago,Betty Romsekwasnthaving an easyfirst week on hernewjob.

Just appointedthesuperintendentof p roduction atLansing MetalCenter,a G eneral Motors stamping plantonSaginawStreet,Romsekwas unsure ofwhy shewasselected for the post.

She didntknow the peopleat the plant.

She didnthave day-to-dayexperienceworkingwithUnited Auto Workers unionrepresentatives.

Shewas the first womanto holdsuchahighrole at theplant,andshe didntknowifanyonetherereally wanted

heraround.That wasdayone .

On day two,she gotapositive pregnancy testforherfirst child.

Iwasafraid.Reallyafraid,Romseksaid.

She laughsaboutitnow.

These days,Romsek feelsathome inamanufacturingplant,andthe peoplewhoworkthereare likeasecondfamily. Youhavetotrustothers. Theyre goingto helpyou, shesaid ofthe peoplewithwhomsheworks.

The Lansing MetalCenterisnowc losed and intheprocessofbeing demolished,butRomsek hasntlefttown.She isnow the assistantplantmanageratLa nsing

Delta Township .

DON

WILLEMSGMworker

Lansing Delta Township

In his 26 years atGeneral Motors, itisnt the carshe helped buildthatgiveDonWillems the mostpride.

Willems,avehicle purchasing assistantcoordinatorinthe plant wherethe BuickEnclave, SaturnOutlookand GMC Acadiaare made, finds the most satisfaction fortherole he played insettinguptheEmergencyResponseTeam.

The first respondergrouprushes tothescene ofanacc identorproblem inthe

plant. Becausethe factoryis tucked awayin farmcountry, plant workers canrespondtoa co-workerin need beforeanambulancecanarrive, forexample.

Theteam originated inthe oldF isherBodyplant,apartofthe La nsing Ca rAssemblyplant thatisnow torn down.

Butanew teamwasestablishedwhenthe plantin Delta Township openedtwoyears ago.

GMisnowa benchmark for safety,but

itdidnt usedto bethat way,Willemssaid.

TheteamthatWillemshelpedstartwasone ofthe firstof itskind inthe GMplant system.

Now,the national laboragreementbetween GM andthe UnitedAutoWorkersunion haslanguage ca lling for theestablishmentof emergency responseteams.

TEN MEMORABLE CARSCADILLAC CTS

WhenGMopened itsLansing GrandRiverplantin2001,workershad morethan newequipment toworkwith theyalso hada b rand newCadillacmodel.

The CTSwasedgy literally.Itscrisp linesindicatedthatCadillacwasabout toturn in anewdirection.

The CTSquicklyprovedtobeawinner.Theentry-level luxury sedanwasfeatured ina c hasesceneinMatrixReloadedthesecond ofatrio ofMatrixsci-fi movies starringKeanuReeves.Italsowasat theforefrontofwhathasbeen dubbedtheCadillac

Renaissance.

Ahigh-poweredCTS-Vversion ofthecaralsowasintroduced, pushingthe image ofCadillac awayfrom

the golfclub crowdandtowardyoungergenerations.The enthusiasm for the CTShasledtocreation of

new variantsbased onthe originalsedanbody.Nextyear,LansingGrand Rivers1,800 workers willbeginmakingtwo-doorcoupeCTSesas wellasawagonversion ofthecar.

Therewere 57,029CTSes sold last year.This year,theCTSisontracktobeatlast years sales.


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September15,2008

THE

PEOPLE

HOPEMORRIS

General Motors

quality control engineerHope Morris wasone ofthe

first women engineersin herdepartment whenshestartedwork29years ago afterearningadegree in mechanicalengineering from CornellUniversity.

Shewasone of only10 women in hergraduatingclassof 100,soshe knew shewould be inthe minorityathernewjob.Still, her welcomewasnt what she mighthavehoped.

Ontheveryfirstday, one ofthe mentook measide andsaid,Idont thinkyoure goingto make it,andyoure goingtohaveto proveyourself.

That she did.

Morris becamec lose friendswiththatearlycritic,who hassinceretired.Shethinksof himeverydayon herhire-in date.

I ca ll him every yearon myanniversary andsay,Imstillhere, andyoure not, Morris

saidwithalaugh.

BRIANFREDLINE

President,

United AutoWorkers Local602BrianFredline isasproudaunion manas

theycome.ButFredlinesfirstgoal didntinvolvebeinga union member.

Fredline,who grew up in La nsing,wantedto followin hisfathersfootstepsand becomeamanageratone ofthe GeneralMotorsplantsin hishometown.

Hestudied construction managementandlandedajob atGM onthe hourly side.Heworked for severalyearsinaparts ware-house,stillwiththe goal ofbecomingasalariedworker,until hewas transferredtothe Lansing CraftCentre in 1998 .

Suddenly, hisperception changed.

Isawhow working onthe line could beback-breakingwork,hesaid. Igot

passionateabout servingthe member-ship.About servingtheirneeds,rather

than managingtheirneeds.Fredlinetold hisfather thathe

wantedtobecome anactiveunion man, and hisfather tookthe newsinstride,Fredline

said.

Mydadwasone ofthefinestmenwho ever

walkedthe planet,Fredlinesaid. Heunderstood com-pletely.

TEN MEMORABLE CARS CHEVROLET SSRBefore it was releasedin 2003, the

development ofthe Chevrolet SSR drewintense interest from car enthusiasts whoeagerly anticipated the retro-themed roadster.

But it wasnt a sales winner.

Workers at the Lansing Craft Centre built theSSR. And it had a promising start the SSRwas the pace car at the 2003 Indianapolis 500.

But theenthusiasm amongdiehard fansdidnt translate into mass sales, whichfellfrom9,648 vehicles in 2004 to 3,803 in 2006, theyear it went out of production.

Part ofthe problem was price. With a pricetag topping $42,000, some would-be buyersbacked away.

Even so, the SSR generated a hard-core

following. Self-proclaimed SSR fanatics heldget-togethers on the lawn ofthe Craft Centreand took tours oftheplant.

But that wasnt enough to save the vehicle.Faltering sales led to severalmonths of layoffsat the Craft Centre in 2005, andboththe plantandthevehiclewere killed offthe followingyear.


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HEPEOPLE

VIRG BERNEROLansing mayor

Mydadretired fromGeneral Motors. General Motorshasbeen apartof

myfamilyfromDayOne.Lansingshistoryisinterwovenwiththe historyofGeneralMotors.

Ithinkthat whatGeneralMotorshasdone inthe lastdecade, inthe lastfew years, intermsofreinventing itself...itsphenomenal.Theyvebeenrisingtothe challenge.

Istillwonderathow theycould producethe MotorTrend Ca roftheYearhere in La nsing amidst allthis turmoil inthe auto industry. Thatsanincredible,singularachievement that weshould all be proud of.

Thisisa company thathasproven itself.Whenyoucancreatetheproduct theyrecreating inthischallenging environment,I say theyregoingto make itandtheyre goingto make it with flying colors.

Weve got the latest, greatestplants righthere in Michigan.Lansing canbe proud of its connection.

JOHNANTHONYGMw

or

ker

Withthe oil embargowreaking havoconthe Americancarindustryinthe 1970s,JohnAnthony sawlayoffsheading hisway.

Rather than fighting it, hevolunteeredtobe laid off.Butitwasnt time off or relaxationAnthony wasafter.

Iwantedto getinvolvedwiththeskilledtrades,Anthony saidofthe electricians, millwrightsand other specialtyjobs at the

factory.Anthony used his time offto

learnthreetrades, learningelectricalwork, millwright skillsand machinerepair.

By thetime GM was ready tostarthiring in 1984,Anthony wasready to go.

Noteveryone in hisfamilyfeltthesame.Anthony said he hasrelatives who leftGM over theyears to followopportunities atothercompanies. Inevitably, hesaid,theyallsaidthesame

thing:IwishI hadstayed atGM.

Anthonyhasnoregrets.

Im gladIstuck itout,hesaid.

After yearsofspeculationabout what vehicles wouldbe madeat the newLansingDelta Townshipplant,GMgave itsanswerat the2006NorthAmericanInternationalAutoShowinDetroit.

There, it releasedtheconcept version ofthe BuickEnclavecrossover.

Elegancewouldbethe emphasisof its styling.Withsmooth, graceful lines,the Enclavewontheheartsofautomotivereviewers.And insidethe crossover,GMtookcareto maketherideas quietaspossible,somethingthat wouldbe keyinwinning overbuyersfrombrands suchasLexusandInfiniti.

It worked.Reviewersfawned over thevehicle once it wasputinto production inApril2007.And carbuyersaddedthemselves to lists,sometimes waiting formonths to get theiridealEnclave delivered.Therewere29,286ofthemsold last year.

ThesuccessoftheEnclavealso led itsinteriordesigner,Lansing nativeMichaelBurton,tobe featuredinadsfor thecrossover.

TEN MEMORABLE CARSBUICK ENCLAVE


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100 years of GM special section