Flint Engine Operations

Last updated
Flint Engine Operations
Flint Engine Operations
Operated2002–present
Location Flint, Michigan
Coordinates 42°55′57″N83°38′42″W / 42.9325°N 83.6450°W / 42.9325; -83.6450
Industry Automotive
Products Engines
Employees706 (2022) [1]
Volume1,165,212 sq ft (108,250 m2) [1]
Address2100 Bristol Road [1]
Owner(s) General Motors
Website gm.com/flint-engine

Flint Engine Operations (previously, Flint Engine South) is a General Motors automobile engine factory in Flint, Michigan. The plant opened in 2002 and is named to replace the Flint North engine plant. The plant currently produces the small four-cylinder SGE and Duramax I6 engines. The factory receives cast engine blocks from Defiance Foundry in Defiance, Ohio and Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan. It replaced Flint North.

Contents

History

Flint Engine South began operations in 2002. [2] It produced inline five and six cylinder versions of the GM Atlas engine [3] [4] until that engine line was discontinued in 2009 alongside the GMT360 platform. [5] Shortly after Flint Engine South was completed, Powertrain Flint (aka Flint North) was closed and demolished. [6]

Flint Engine South also produced 3.6L High Feature DOHC V6 engines (HFV6) for the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, and GMC Acadia crossover utility vehicles and Cadillac CTS and STS sedans. [7] High Feature engines were produced in the northern half of the plant. [8]

On September 25, 2008, GM announced a $370 million investment to build another engine plant at the Flint South complex. The new plant was designed to produce the 1.4L GM Family 0 engine ("FamZero") for the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt models beginning in 2010. [9] However, major work was suspended that December as the automotive industry crisis worsened, [10] eventually resulting in the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization of 2009. By February 2009, GM announced that rather than a new plant, the existing plant would be retooled for FamZero. [4] That October, GM announced it was investing $200 million to complete the retooling, with production scheduled to start in late 2010. [11] In November 2010, GM announced additional investments in Flint to increase production to a planned 1,200 FamZero engines per day by the end of 2012. [7]

Satellite photograph of Flint, showing the former Buick City (top center) and Flint Engine Operations (bottom center) Buick City and Flint Engine in Flint, Michigan by Sentinel-2 2022-06-28 (cropped).jpg
Satellite photograph of Flint, showing the former Buick City (top center) and Flint Engine Operations (bottom center)

The plant was renamed to Flint Engine Operations in approximately 2011. [12] GM announced a $215 million investment in 2013 for the Flint plant, which included plans to retool and upgrade the plant to accommodate production of the new GM small gasoline engine (SGE) and updated HFV6 engines; [13] the SGE was scheduled to replace the FamZero. [14] When the second-generation Chevrolet Colorado was unveiled for North America that November, GM announced the optional 3.6L HFV6 engine would be built at Flint. [15] By 2015, Flint Engine Operations had built one million FamZero engines, shortly before shifting production to the 1.5L SGE I4 "Ecotec". [16]

In January 2018, GM announced it would assemble the Duramax I6 engine at Flint Engine Operations. [2] Five years later, in January 2023, GM announced it would invest $579 million to add an assembly line at Flint for the sixth-generation small-block V8 gasoline engines. [17]

Products

Former products

Product applications

As of September 2022: [1]

Related Research Articles

The GM Ecotec engine, also known by its codename L850, is a family of all-aluminium inline-four engines, displacing between 1.4 and 2.5 litres. Confusingly, the Ecotec name was also applied to the final DOHC derivatives of the previous GM Family II engine, the architecture was substantially re-engineered for this new Ecotec application produced since 2000. This engine family replaced the GM Family II engine, the GM 122 engine, the Saab H engine, and the Quad 4 engine. It is manufactured in multiple locations, to include Spring Hill Manufacturing, in Spring Hill, Tennessee while the engine block and cylinder heads are cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Silverado</span> Range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under Chevrolet

The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the top trim level from the Chevrolet C/K series, the Silverado is offered as a series of full-size pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty trucks. The fourth generation of the model line was introduced for the 2019 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM High Feature engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The GM High Feature engine is a family of modern DOHC V6 engines produced by General Motors. The series was introduced in 2004 with the Cadillac CTS and the Holden Commodore (VZ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duramax V8 engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Duramax V8 engine is a family of 6.6 liter diesel V8 engines produced by DMAX, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors in Moraine, Ohio. The Duramax block and heads are supplied from reliable vendors of General Motors. This engine was initially installed in 2001 Chevrolet and GMC trucks, and has since become an option in pickups, vans, and medium-duty trucks. In 2006, production at Moraine was reportedly limited to approximately 200,000 engines per year. On May 9, 2007, DMAX announced the production of the 1,000,000th Duramax V8 at its Moraine facility, followed by the 2,000,000th on March 24, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Colorado</span> Motor vehicle

The Chevrolet Colorado, are a series of compact and later mid-sized pickup trucks marketed by American automaker General Motors. They were introduced in 2004 to replace the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC S-15/Sonoma compact pickups. The Colorado is named after the U.S. state of Colorado, while the Canyon would be the deep chasm between cliffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Equinox</span> American compact crossover SUV

The Chevrolet Equinox is a crossover SUV introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. It was intended as a replacement for the North American Chevrolet Tracker and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The third-generation Equinox also replaced the first-generation Chevrolet Captiva.

Flint Assembly is an automobile factory operated by General Motors in Flint, Michigan. It is the city's only vehicle assembly plant after the closure of Buick City. Flint Truck Assembly is also GM's oldest, still operating assembly plant in North America. As of 2022, the Flint factory currently produces full-size pickup trucks. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, internal engine components were created at Bay City Powertrain and Grand Rapids Operations, and the engines were then assembled at Tonawanda Engine and Romulus Engine. For most of the 20th century Flint Assembly was the home factory for all Chevrolet vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMC Acadia</span> Motor vehicle manufactured by General Motors

The GMC Acadia is a crossover SUV manufactured by General Motors for its GMC marque. The first-generation GMC Acadia shared the GM Lambda platform with the Saturn Outlook, the Chevrolet Traverse, and the Buick Enclave. The Acadia went on sale in 2006 as a 2007 model in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Acadia replaces three of the 7- or 8-seater vehicles on the Pontiac–Buick–GMC dealership network, the midsize GMC Safari van, the GMC Envoy, and the Pontiac Montana SV6 minivan for the domestic market. As of 2009, the Lambda vehicles have replaced the Buick Rainier, Buick Rendezvous, Buick Terraza, and the GMC Envoy XL and then subsequently the GMC Envoy, Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the Isuzu Ascender. A Denali version of the Acadia debuted for 2011. In 2017, the second generation Acadia was repositioned as a mid-size crossover utility vehicle in order to compete within the growing midsize SUV market against the likes of the Ford Explorer, Edge, and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The 4L80-E is a series of automatic transmissions from General Motors. Designed for longitudinal engine configurations, the series included 4 forward gears. It was the 4-speed electronically commanded evolution of the 3-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 400, first produced in October 1963. 4L80-Es were optioned only in Chevrolet/GMC pickups, vans, and commercial vehicles, and the Hummer H1. It was also adopted by Rolls-Royce in 1991 and modified after extensive testing, and used initially in the Bentley Continental R, and subsequently other Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles. The 4L80 and 4L85 were built at Willow Run Transmission in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Kodiak</span> Motor vehicle

The Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick are a range of medium duty trucks that were produced by the Chevrolet and GMC divisions of General Motors from 1980 to 2009. Introduced as a variant of the medium-duty C/K truck line, three generations were produced. Slotted between the C/K trucks and the GMC Brigadier Class 8 conventional, the Kodiak/TopKick were developed as a basis for vocationally oriented trucks, including cargo haulers, dump trucks, and similar vehicles; on later generations, both cutaway and cowled-chassis variants were produced for bus use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romulus Engine</span> Automotive manufacturing facility

Romulus Engine is an automobile engine plant in Romulus, Michigan. Opened in 1976, the factory produces engines for General Motors vehicles. The factory receives cast engine blocks from Defiance Foundry in Defiance, Ohio and Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMT800</span> Motor vehicle platform

The GMT800 was a General Motors full-size truck platform used from the 1999 through 2006 model years. It is the foundation for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups; and the derivative GMT820 and GMT830 versions for the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL full-size SUVs, respectively. This platform was the successor to the GMT400 series of C/K pickups and SUVs, and was replaced for 2007 by the GMT900 line.

Spring Hill Manufacturing is a General Motors factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The plant currently includes vehicle assembly as well as powertrain, stamping and molding operations. The plant originally operated as the sole manufacturing facility for Saturn Corporation.

The Hydra-Matic 6T40 and similar 6T30, 6T45, and 6T50 are transversely-mounted six speed automatic transmissions produced by General Motors. The 6T40, referred to in GM inner circles as the GF6, made its debut in the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, available with the 2.4 L LE5Ecotec engine making 164 horsepower (122 kW), and has since also been made available on the Chevrolet Cruze, Daewoo Tosca and Buick LaCrosse. It features clutch-to-clutch shifting, eliminating the bands used on older transmission designs. GM chose an "on-axis" design as opposed to folding the gearset behind the engine and transferring power through the use of a chain, as is used in most other GM front wheel drive transaxles. Ford Motor Company also produces their own variant, called the 6F35. The Buick Encore uses the 6F35 mated to the 1.4 turbo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonawanda Engine</span> General Motors engine factory in Islip, New York

Tonawanda Engine is a General Motors engine factory in Buffalo, New York. The plant consists of three facilities totaling 3.1 million square feet (290,000 m2) and sits upon 190 acres (77 ha). The factory receives cast engine blocks from Defiance Foundry in Defiance, Ohio and Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan, and received engine block castings and cylinder heads from the former Massena Castings Plant in Massena, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM small gasoline engine</span> Family of small displacement three and four cylinder gasoline engines designed by GM.

The GM Small Gasoline Engine (SGE) is a family of small-displacement three- and four-cylinder gasoline engines ranging from 1.0 L to 1.5 L, developed by Adam Opel AG, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), MG Motor (MG), Shanghai GM (SGM) and the Pan-Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).

The Duramax I6 engine is a diesel engine available in select models of General Motors light-duty trucks and SUVs. Applications include the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500, Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. The engine was developed together with Opel, who are manufacturing three- and four-cylinder versions displacing 1.5 and 2.0 liters, using the same engine architecture.

Saginaw Metal Casting Operations is an automobile engine foundry plant in Saginaw, Michigan. Opened under GM management in 1919, the factory produces engine blocks and cylinder heads for General Motors vehicles. The factory currently occupies 1.9 million square feet on 490 acres. Historically in September 1927 it was known as the Chevrolet Grey Iron Foundry. In the past when it was called GM-Saginaw Product Company (SPC) a cloverleaf casting symbol mark was cast onto the iron component.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duramax I4 engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Duramax I4 engine is a family of turbocharged diesel I4 engines sold by General Motors in 2.5 and 2.8 liter sizes as an option for the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Chevrolet Express, and GMC Savana in southeast Asia and Oceania from 2012, and in North America from 2016 through 2022. They are closely related to the VM Motori R 425 and A 428, and were produced at the General Motors Thailand plant in Rayong.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Flint Engine Op Archived 2022-09-11 at the Wayback Machine at GM.com
  2. 1 2 Fonger, Ron (January 17, 2018). "GM's Flint Engine Operations will build Chevy Silverado turbo-diesel engine". Michigan Live. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 Cobb, James G. (June 10, 2001). "A Straight Approach to a New Engine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fonger, Ron (February 24, 2009). "Chevrolet Volt engine to be built at Flint Engine South". MLive. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  5. ↑ McNabb, Mark (October 21, 2016). "The Forgotten Inline Engine: GM's 4.2-liter Atlas I-6". Top Speed. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  6. ↑ Fonger, Ron (January 19, 2023). "GM to make 'positive plant manufacturing announcement' at Flint Engine". Michigan Live. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  7. 1 2 Bailey, David (November 24, 2010). "GM to invest $163 million at three plants". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "GM breaks ground on new additions at Flint Engine facility". NBC25 Mid-Michigan Now. December 5, 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Fonger, Ron (September 25, 2008). "GM expected to announce new engine plant for Flint". Michigan Live. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. ↑ Krolicki, Kevin (December 17, 2008). "GM suspends major work on Flint engine plant". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Woodall, Bernie (October 13, 2009). "Key GM engine plant to be running by late 2010". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  12. ↑ Fonger, Ron (February 2, 2011). "General Motors cancels part of second shift at Flint Engine Operations". MLive. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  13. ↑ Jewett, Dale (April 3, 2013). "GM Preps For New Engines, 8-Speed Transmission". Autoweek. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Woodall, Bernie (March 19, 2014). "GM to build 2.5 million new 'Ecotec' small engines by 2017". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  15. 1 2 Allen, Jeremy (November 20, 2013). "General Motors unveils Flint-built V6 engine for new Chevrolet Colorado trucks at Flint Engine plant". MLive. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  16. ↑ Adams, Dominic (August 27, 2015). "GM builds milionth 1.4-liter engine, will shift production to Ecotec". The Flint Journal. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  17. ↑ LaReau, Jamie L. (January 20, 2023). "GM to invest close to $1B in 4 US factories, 2 in Michigan". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "GM 1.5-Liter Turbo I4 Ecotec LFV Engine". GM Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "GM Duramax 3.0-Liter I-6 LM2 Turbo Diesel Engine". GM Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "GM Duramax 3.0-Liter I-6 LZ0 Turbo Diesel Engine". GM Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "GM 1.4 Liter I4 LUU Engine". GM Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "GM 1.4 Liter Turbo I4 Ecotec LUJ/LUV Engine". GM Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.