Flint Assembly | |
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Operated | 1947–present |
Location | Flint, Michigan |
Coordinates | 42°59′06″N83°43′01″W / 42.9851°N 83.7169°W |
Industry | Automotive |
Products | Pickup trucks |
Employees | 5,374 (2022) [1] |
Area | 159 acres (0.64 km2) |
Volume | 5,200,000 sq ft (480,000 m2) [1] |
Address | G 3100 Vanslyke Road |
Owner(s) | General Motors |
Website | gm.com/flint-assembly |
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.
The first factory location was in Flint, Michigan at the corner of Wilcox (now Chevrolet Avenue) and Kearsley Street, now known as "Chevy Commons", [2] along the Flint River, across the street from Kettering University. It was commonly known as Chevy in the Hole.
The current plant, at G 3100 Van Slyke Road, was built in 1947. [3]
In 1953 the first 300 Chevrolet Corvettes were hand built here before production was moved to St. Louis in 1954.
This factory also produced Chevrolet Bel Airs for the North American market. Encouraged to collaborate with the nearby Fake Pottery Company, GM shared some of the colors used for the car, such as sky blue, and as of 2020, the pottery manufacturer still makes ceramics using those colors, albeit in limited quantities.
Production was split between Fisher Body and Chevrolet where the body was manufactured by Fisher and the chassis, suspension and engine assembly was performed by Chevrolet. The Fisher operations were halted on June 24, 1970, with the entire factory turned over to Chevrolet.
Flint Assembly ended production of Chevrolet full-size cars in 1969. It last built passenger cars in 1970 with the mid-size Chevrolet Chevelle and Monte Carlo. The last car built at Flint Assembly was a Monte Carlo on June 24, 1970. Since 1971, Flint Truck Assembly has only built full-size pickups, full-size SUVs, full-size vans, and medium-duty commercial trucks.
During the 1970s, Flint was home to the full-size Chevrolet K5 Blazer and Chevrolet Suburban SUVs and the Chevrolet C/K pickup and their GMC counterparts with pickup truck production moved to Pontiac East Assembly in Pontiac, Michigan in May 1987 when Line #1, which made pickups, ceased production. However, the crew cab and chassis cab versions of the old generation R/V-series pickup went into production in Flint in 1989, bringing pickup production back to the plant alongside the related full-size SUVs.
In July 1991, the crew cab and chassis cab versions of the old generation R/V-series pickup ended production. On August 31, 1991, production of the full-size SUVs was moved to Janesville Assembly in Wisconsin when the old generation dating to 1973 finally ended production. All laid-off workers returned to the plant on August 10, 1992 as full-size van production began. After the discontinuation of Lordstown Van Assembly in 1992, Flint began to produce the former Lordstown Vans, the Chevrolet Van/Sportvan and GMC Vandura/Rally Van. Full-size van production was moved to Wentzville Assembly in Missouri in July 1996 when they were redesigned, but a new product, the GMT480, began at Flint the previous year. Additional versions of the GMT400 trucks were added to Flint from 1996-1998. The large commercial Chevrolet/GMC C3500HD chassis cab trucks began production in October 1997 for the 1998 model year.
GM began production of GMT800 based Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD pickup trucks and chassis cabs at the plant in August 2000 for the 2001 model year.
The factory's next-generation product, the GMT900-based trucks, began in February 2007. The factory also produced the GMT560 Chevrolet Kodiak/GMC TopKick medium-duty trucks, which were phased out in 2009 after GM discontinued that division. [4] Starting in 2010, GM produced some light-duty crew cab pickups here, supplementing production in Silao, Mexico. [5]
On September 30, 2010, Flint Truck Assembly built its 13 millionth vehicle, a 2011 GMC Sierra Denali HD. The 13 million vehicles consist of 4 million cars and 9 million trucks. [6]
In January 2014, production began on the new K2XX generation of heavy-duty pickups for the 2015 model year. Some light-duty crew cab trucks were also built at the Flint plant.
A new $600 million paint shop (Flint Assembly Paint Operations) was announced in December 2013 and opened in 2016, replacing the previous paint shop located inside the assembly plant. [7] The new paint shop is further down Van Slyke Road (at 3848 Van Slyke Road) from the assembly plant, on the site of the former V8 engine plant that closed in 1999 and was subsequently demolished. The old V8 engine plant mainly built the Chevrolet small-block V8 engine as well as some 4 and 6-cylinder engines.
In May 2016, General Motors began construction on a $900 million new body shop at the Flint Truck Assembly complex. The project was first announced in 2015 and replaces the old body shop. The new body shop is a separate building that is connected to both the Flint Metal Center stamping plant to the south and the main assembly plant to the northeast. The new body shop was scheduled to open in 2018. GM has spent $2.8 billion on the complex since 2009. [8]
On October 12, 2017, GM announced it would invest $79 million to bring a new trim shop to the complex. [9]
In June 2019, production began on the new T1XX generation of heavy-duty pickups for the 2020 model year. The refreshed 2024 model year T1XX heavy-duty pickups began production in March 2023.
As of 2020, Flint Truck Assembly currently produces the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD Regular, Double, and Crew Cab models. [10] The plant is the sole production facility for GMC Sierra HD and Chevrolet Silverado HD dual-rear-wheel (dually) models. It splits the production of single-rear-wheel Silverado HDs with Oshawa, Ontario.
As of 2023, Flint Truck Assembly has produced over 15 million vehicles. [11]
As of April, 2023: [1]
GMC is a division of American automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) for trucks and utility vehicles. GMC currently makes SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, transit buses, and medium duty trucks.
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.
The Chevrolet C/K is a series of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1960 to 2002 model years. Marketed by both the Chevrolet and GMC divisions, the C/K series encompassed a wide range of vehicles. While most commonly associated with pickup trucks, the model line also included chassis-cab trucks and medium-duty trucks and served as the basis for GM full-size SUVs. Through its entire production, the model line competed directly against the Ford F-Series and the Dodge D series.
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.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. In production since the 1935 model year, the model line is currently in its twelfth generation; it is the longest-used automobile nameplate in the world. Beginning life as one of the first metal-bodied station wagons, the Suburban is the progenitor of modern full-size SUVs, combining a station wagon body with the chassis and powertrain of a pickup truck. Alongside its Advance Design, Task Force and C/K predecessors, the Silverado pickup trucks share chassis and mechanical commonality with the Suburban.
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.
The Chevrolet Express is a series of full-size vans produced by General Motors since 1996. The successor to the Chevrolet G-series van, the Express is produced in passenger and cargo variants. Alongside the standard van body, the line is offered as a cutaway van chassis; the latter vehicle is a chassis cab variant developed for commercial-grade applications, including ambulances, buses, motorhomes, and small trucks.
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.
Toledo Propulsion Systems is a 2.8 million square feet; 151 acres General Motors transmission factory in Toledo, Ohio.
The GMT900 is a General Motors full-size pickup and SUV platform used from the 2007 to 2014 model years. The platform was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, as the replacement for the GMT800 platform. The first GMT900 vehicle introduced was the next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe.
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.
Oshawa Assembly is a manufacturing facility in the city of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, that built various automobiles for General Motors Canada.
Scarborough Van Assembly was a vehicle manufacturing plant owned by General Motors Canada in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, which opened in 1952 to build Frigidaire refrigerators. Vehicle production began in 1974. It was located in Golden Mile, between Victoria Park Avenue and Warden Avenue. The plant employed 2,800 workers before closing in 1993. The site is now a retail shopping mall, known as Eglinton Town Centre.
The Chevrolet Van or Chevy Van is a range of vans that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1964 to 1996 model years. Introduced as the successor for the rear-engine Corvair Corvan/Greenbrier, the model line also replaced the panel van configuration of the Chevrolet Suburban. The vehicle was sold both in passenger van and cargo van configurations as well as a cutaway van chassis that served as the basis for a variety of custom applications.
GMT K2XX is an assembly code for a vehicle platform architecture developed by General Motors for its line of full-size trucks and large SUVs that started production with the 2014 model year. The "XX" is a placeholder for the last two digits of the specific assembly code for each model. The platform, which replaced the GMT900 series that had been in production from 2007 to 2013, was introduced in April 2013 for the 2014 Model Year on the trucks, followed by the December 2013 production on the 2015 large SUVs that debuted in February 2014. The GMT K2XX products are being produced at four GM assembly plants: Arlington, Flint, and Fort Wayne in the United States, along with Silao Assembly in Mexico for the crew cab light duty pickups.
The second generation of the C/K series is a range of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors. Marketed by both the Chevrolet and GMC divisions from the 1967 to 1972 model years, this generation was given the "Action Line" moniker by General Motors. As with its predecessor, the second generation C/K included full-size pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty commercial trucks.
The third generation of theC/K series is a range of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1973 to 1991 model years. Serving as the replacement for the "Action Line" C/K trucks, GM designated the generation under "Rounded Line" moniker. Again offered as a two-door pickup truck and chassis cab, the Rounded Line trucks marked the introduction of a four-door cab configuration.
The fourth generation of the C/K series is a range of trucks that was manufactured by General Motors. Marketed by the Chevrolet and GMC brands from the 1988 to the 2002 model years, this is the final generation of the C/K model line. In a branding change, GMC adopted the GMC Sierra nameplate for all its full-size pickup trucks, leaving the C/K nomenclature exclusive to Chevrolet.
The Chevrolet Silverado EV is a battery electric full-size pickup truck manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced in January 2022, the Silverado EV will go on sale in the fall 2023 for the 2024 model year in the North American market.
The first generation of the Chevrolet Silverado is a series of trucks manufactured by General Motors from 1998 until 2007 under the Chevrolet brand and also as the GMC Sierra. Built on the new GMT800 platform, the Silverado/Sierra 1500 and 2500 pickup trucks were first released in August 1998 as 1999 models. The "classic" light-duty GMT400 C/K trucks were kept in production alongside the new types for the first model year, while the heavy-duty GMT400 pickups were continued until 2000, with the new GMT800 Silverado/Sierra HD released in model year 2001. A 3500 model was added later for 2001, with the introduction of the HD moniker. A refresh for 2003 models was introduced in 2002, bringing slight design changes and an upgrade to the audio and HVAC controls. The 2007 GMT800 trucks, built after the new GMT900 had gone on sale, used the name Classic to denote the difference between the two generations.