Buick City

Flint's 235-acre complex temporarily known as Buick City was in operation from 1904 until 2010. The facility was partly demolished in 2002.

Buick City was a massive automobile manufacturing complex in the northeast of Flint, Michigan. Elements of the 235-acre (950,000 m2) complex dated from 1904, but it became known as Buick City in 1985. Operations ceased completely in 2010. The site was vacated by GM employees and site responsibilities were transferred to Motors Liquidation Company as of December 6, 2010. The final cars built at Buick City were the Pontiac Bonneville and the Buick LeSabre.

The plant originated with Buick before the formation of General Motors. Other elements were built by early manufacturers and suppliers like Fisher Body. The Buick City concept represented a successful attempt by General Motors to experiment with just-in-time manufacturing methods in response to Japanese manufacturers. The experiment included successes: The 1989 Buick LeSabre built in Buick City was ranked the top car in the J.D. Power and Associates rankings for that year; it was the first American built car to appear on the list. In 1999, the year the plant was closed, Buick City won J. D. Power's Platinum Award for assembly plant quality . As of 2016, it is the only General Motors plant to win the award. The failure of auto manufacturing in Flint was lamented in Michael Moore's documentary film, Roger & Me.

The plant's acreage became an EPA cleanup site .

In 2013, American Cast Iron Pipe Co. announced plans to construct a new 200,000 square foot manufacturing plant on the former Buick City complex.[1]

See also

Further reading

External links

In Pop Culture

The Old 97s 2001 album Satellite Rides features the track "Buick City Complex".

Coordinates: 43°2′52.81″N 83°41′5.41″W / 43.0480028°N 83.6848361°W / 43.0480028; -83.6848361

References

  1. ↑ "American Cast Iron Pipe Co. plans construction start soon, 50-60 employees to open Flint plant". Mlive.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
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