Los Angeles Assembly was a former American Ford Motor Company assembly plant located at 8820 Washington Boulevard and Rosemead Boulevard, in Pico Rivera, southeastern Los Angeles County, California.
Known as Los Angeles Plant #2, the Pico Rivera facility started operations in early August 1957 with the production of 1958 Edsel Corsair and Citation hardtop models. Due to the paint booths not being ready, early Edsel bodies were welded together at the new Los Angeles #2 plant and then trucked to the old Maywood, Los Angeles #1 plant where they could be painted. The bodies were then trucked back to Pico Rivera where they were trimmed out and assembled. In mid September 1957, Mercury production commenced at Los Angeles #2. By December 3, 1957, Edsel production at the Los Angeles plants was discontinued. In March 1959, Ford Division's Long Beach Assembly plant was deemed unsafe and operations were moved to Los Angeles #2 with production starting on April 10, 1959. Through the remainder of 1959 up to the end of the 1962 model year, both Ford and Mercury full-size cars were assembled at the Los Angeles plant. Ford Division's Los Angeles Regional offices were also located at the Pico Rivera assembly plant.
In February 1962, full-size Mercury cars were discontinued at Pico Rivera/Los Angeles replaced by the compact Comets, while full-size Ford cars continued to be assembled on the same assembly lines. In 1963 both Ford Falcon compacts and full-size Fords were assembled at Los Angeles in addition to Mercury Comets. For 1964 and 1965, Pico Rivera/Los Angeles assembled full-size Fords and the compact Mercury Comet. This pattern would continue until the end of the 1967 model year. For 1968 the Los Angeles plant assembled both full-size Ford cars as well as Thunderbirds and continued to build these two lines through the end of 1971 model year. Throughout the 1970s, Pico Rivera continued to produce full-size Fords up through the end of the 1978 model year. For the 1979 model year Ford's Fairmont and Mercury's Zephyr passenger cars were assembled at Los Angeles and would continue with these two models up until the final car was assembled in July 1979.
Ford closed its Los Angeles Assembly plant at Pico Rivera on January 31, 1980, as part of a corporate-wide elimination of regional assembly plants, in an ongoing effort to streamline production by shifting assembly to factories situated closer to suppliers, transport links, and customers. [1]
After closure, the plant was then purchased by Northrop Corporation in 1982 where they established their "Advanced Systems Division," which was a cover for the development of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Many of the Los Angeles Assembly workers were rehired by Northrop. [2]
The Northrop site was demolished in 2001, and is now the Pico Rivera Town Center.
Lincoln Motor Company, or simply Lincoln, is the luxury vehicle division of American automobile manufacturer Ford. Marketed among the top luxury vehicle brands in the United States, until 2020, Lincoln was positioned closely against its General Motors counterpart Cadillac; however, beginning with the 2021 model year, they only offer SUV and crossover vehicles.
Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was produced by the Ford Motor Company in the 1958 to 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effort to give Ford a fourth brand to gain additional market share from Chrysler and General Motors. Established as an expansion of the Lincoln-Mercury Division to three brands, Edsel shared a price range with Mercury; the division shared its bodies with both Mercury and Ford.
Mercury was a brand of mid-priced automobiles produced by American manufacturer Ford Motor Company between 1938 and 2011 with 1939 being the first model year. It stood as its own line within Ford until 1945, and thereafter formed half of Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division. Created by Edsel Ford in 1938 to bridge the gap between the Ford and Lincoln model lines, its principal competition was General Motors' Buick and Oldsmobile divisions, and Chrysler Corporation's DeSoto and Chrysler brands.
The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 1960–1969 and 1971–1977 — variously as either a compact or an intermediate car. In its first two years, it was marketed as the "Comet" and from 1962 as the "Mercury Comet".
The Ford Country Squire is a series of full-size station wagons that were assembled by American automaker Ford. Positioned as the top-level station wagon of the Ford division, the Country Squire was distinguished by woodgrain bodyside trim. From 1950 through the 1991 model years, eight generations of the Country Squire were produced. Following the discontinuation of Edsel Bermuda, Mercury marketed the Mercury Colony Park as a divisional counterpart of the Country Squire, sharing bodywork and trim while the Mercury was not available with a six cylinder engine and was more expensive due to the optional equipment on the Ford that was standard on the Mercury.
The Mercury Villager is a minivan that was marketed by Mercury from 1993 to 2002. Taking its name used by Mercury to denote its wood-trimmed station wagons, the Villager was developed in a joint venture between Ford and Nissan; the latter manufacturer marketed the line as the Nissan Quest. The first front-wheel drive van produced by Ford, the Mercury Villager was introduced between the Ford Aerostar and the Ford Windstar, competing against Chrysler minivans and the General Motors APV minivans.
The Mercury Monarch is a compact automobile that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from the 1975 to 1980 model years. Designed as the original successor for the Mercury Comet, the Monarch was marketed as a luxury compact vehicle; alongside its Ford Granada counterpart, the Monarch expanded the segment in the United States as automakers responded to the 1973 fuel crisis.
The Lincoln Versailles is a mid-size luxury car that was marketed by Lincoln from the 1977 to 1980 model years. The first Lincoln introduced outside of the full-size segment, the Versailles is a rebranded version of the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch. Replacing the Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia, the model line was introduced as a competitor to the Cadillac Seville.
The Ford River Rouge complex is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the River Rouge, upstream from its confluence with the Detroit River at Zug Island. Construction began in 1917, and when it was completed in 1928, it was the largest integrated factory in the world, surpassing Buick City, built in 1904.
San Jose Assembly was a Ford Motor Company manufacturing site in Northern California, outside of San Jose in what is now the town of Milpitas. It was the automaker's primary factory in that region from 1955 to 1983, replacing the Richmond Assembly facility. Numerous vehicles were produced at the plant including the Ford Falcon, Ford Maverick and Ford Mustang. It was also the West Coast manufacturing location of the Ford Fairlane, Ford Torino, Ford Pinto, Ford Escort and the short lived Edsel Ranger and Edsel Pacer. Mercury products such as the Mustang-based Cougar, Montego, Comet, Bobcat, Capri and the Lynx were also assembled there. Ford F-series trucks were produced there, from shortly after the inception of the plant until its closure in 1983.
The Mercury Meteor is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from the 1961 to 1963 model years. Adopting its nameplate from the namesake Ford of Canada brand, the Meteor was introduced as the base-trim full-size Mercury sedan, while the compact Mercury Comet shared a naming convention associated with the ongoing Space Race of the early 1960s. Slotted below the Mercury Monterey, the Meteor was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Fairlane.
The Oakville Assembly Complex is a Ford Motor Company of Canada automobile factory in Oakville, Ontario, spanning 487 acres. This landmark occupies the same site as, and combines, the former Ontario Truck plant and Oakville Assembly Plant. Clearly visible from the Queen Elizabeth Way and the Lakeshore West GO Train line, it relies on the nearby railway service to transport parts and vehicles throughout the country.
The Ford Falcon is a model line of cars that was produced by Ford from the 1960 to 1970 model years. Though preceded by the Rambler American, the Falcon was the first compact car marketed by the Big Three American manufacturers.
The Wayne Stamping and Assembly Plant is a Ford manufacturing plant in Wayne, Michigan, United States. Many of its more than 3,000 employees are represented by UAW Local 900.
The Ford Motor Company is an American automaker, the world's fifth largest based on worldwide vehicle sales. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, it was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903. Ford Motor Company would go on to become one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. The largest family-controlled company in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 110 years. Ford now encompasses two brands: Ford and Lincoln. Ford once owned 5 other luxury brands: Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Mercury. Over time, those brands were sold to other companies and Mercury was discontinued.
The Louisville Assembly Plant is an automobile manufacturing plant owned by Ford Motor Company in Louisville, Kentucky. The 3,154,173-square-foot (293,032.3 m2) plant on 180 acres opened in 1955 and currently employs a total of 4,554 people. It is located adjacent to the Louisville International Airport on the south side of the city. Ford also operates another plant in Louisville, Kentucky Truck Assembly. The plant houses approximately 20.1 miles (32.3 km) of conveyor belts.
The Ford Ranger is a compact or mid-size pickup marketed globally by Ford over a series of generations, varying between both in-house or outside development and manufacturing — and with a hiatus in North America from 2011-2018.
Los Angeles (Maywood) Assembly was a Chrysler assembly plant located in the City of Commerce, near Maywood in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. It was an assembly location where vehicles were shipped by railroad in "knock-down kits" from Detroit, where they were locally assembled, combined with locally sourced parts. Vehicles assembled at Maywood were largely sold in California and the Western United States. It operated from 1932 until 1971, at 5800 Eastern Avenue and Slauson Boulevard.
Long Beach Assembly is a former Ford Motor Company assembly plant located at the Cerritos Channel on Terminal Island, at 700 Henry Ford Avenue in Long Beach, Southern California. It operated from 1930 through 1958.
Maywood Assembly or Los Angeles No. 1, was a Ford Motor Company assembly plant located in City of Commerce, southwestern Los Angeles County, California.