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3K views 36 replies 14 participants last post by  I~LUV~Caddys8792 
#1 ·
Spent the weekend in Lansing Aug 5-6. Lots of changes going on there. The Craft Center, where Oldsmobile built engines from the 50s through the 80s, and later the site where the Buick Reatta was built, is almost gone. This massive facility - almost 1.2 million square feet, is being demolished, melted down, and recycled.





Just down the street, the old Oldsmobile Administration building sits empty, as it has since 2004. It soon will be gone also.




Across ML King Blvd. from the Craft Center is the Metal Fab Division, formerly Fisher Body. That plant will be closed in '07 and demolished. Lansing still has Grand River (for the time being at least), which has won JD Power's award for best manufacturing plant for quality in North America three times, and the new Delta plant, which employs just over 400 people.

On the bright side, I had a chance to visit the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum today. Anyone who loves that brand, or is interested in GM in general needs to visit this place. It's small, and only has about 50 cars on display, but every one is just breathtaking: Anyone ever heard of the Darth Vader Cutlass of 1983? It's there and it's mind boggling. Also the Aerotech, the twin engine Olds 442 Hurst drag car, and the 1952 Nascar Champion Olds Rocket 88.
 
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#3 ·
That is sad. I hate to see things like that.
 
#4 ·
That is so sad, yet that perfectly embodies what is going on in GM and detroit right now.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Olds = dead
Lincoln Town Car = Dying soon
Mercury = Comatose
Ford = Ill
Chevy = Condition = Good
Pontiac = Guarded Condition
Buick = Guarded Condition
Cadillac = Improving, almost healthy

So, can we hear a rousing rendition of the Toyota theme song ?
C'mon....OH WHAT A FEELING
THAT should be the caption under that picture.

Damn Foreign Cars. I've never owned one, and never ever will, and I have NEVER owned a "lemon" ! Never!!

Long ago I propossed a plan for G.W. Bush, but many poo pooed it.

$3,000 tax penality to anyone who buys a new foreign car & a $3,000 tax cut to anyone who buys a new Domestic from Ford or GM.
That sure woulda kick started the domestics. But no.....
You can bet your honDUH that Japan woulda done it, if it was all reversed.

But, you see, there is no pride or loyality to anything AMERICAN any longer in the majority of Americans under age 50.

I forsee the day when less than 10% of EVERYTHING we sell is made in America. Depression awaits your children.
 
#6 ·
But sandy what about all the AMERICAN companies opening up places elsewhere...right now there are plenty of ''amercan models'' that are built in Mexico or Canada...and at the same time forign manufacturers bringing thier factories here. The whole built in America thing dosnt work anymore. Things are so globalized. The Camry, Accord as well as other models are built right here in America by American workers. Are you opposed to them brining jobs here...but then support American companies going to Mexico and Canada for work...just because they are ''American''?
 
#8 ·
But we've got lots of drugs to treat depression now... ... ... ... ...

:/
 
#16 ·
Spent the weekend in Lansing Aug 5-6. Lots of changes going on there. The Craft Center, where Oldsmobile built engines from the 50s through the 80s, and later the site where the Buick Reatta was built, is almost gone. This massive facility - almost 1.2 million square feet, is being demolished, melted down, and recycled.

Just down the street, the old Oldsmobile Administration building sits empty, as it has since 2004. It soon will be gone also.

Across ML King Blvd. from the Craft Center is the Metal Fab Division, formerly Fisher Body. That plant will be closed in '07 and demolished. Lansing still has Grand River (for the time being at least), which has won JD Power's award for best manufacturing plant for quality in North America three times, and the new Delta plant, which employs just over 400 people.
what the hell is gm thinking. why dont they keep one of the buildings and make a sweet huge museum out of it. or use it for another division of gm. do they have big plans for that land. because they sure didnt for the land that i can see out of my dorm room window (kettering university (gmi) flint, mi). a huge vacant land mass of concrete where there used to be a plant.



 
#17 ·
what the hell is gm thinking. why dont they keep one of the buildings and make a sweet huge museum out of it. or use it for another division of gm.
That's an interesting question. My brother in law is part of the shutdown team in Lansing, and he told me that they are tearing the plants down because scrap metal is valued really high right now. Ten years ago it would have cost GM 1-2 million to demolish the plant and haul away the refuse. Today, the company stands to make 3 million plus on each building.

BTW, they are making every effort to preserve as much memorabilia and historical stuff as they can. They just delivered a half dozen prototypes to the Olds museum this week.
 
#26 ·
pretty good. i really love this place. its like a home to me, and since the school is 75%+ mechanical engineers, it is very easy to find help if you are having trouble with something.

in one of my classes we were in the foundry for the past two weeks, and for the next two weeks we are going to be doing welding. classes are pretty good, especially the hands on ones. and i start my co-op with MTD in sept. (MTD Products Landing Page). so hopefully i will be able to buy myself i nice car in the near future. :bouncy:
 
#34 ·
I hereby nominate Sandy for President..... You are right on the mark,,, I would venture a guess and go deeper than the big 3. Go into a local Wal-Mart, and ask how much of their products are made in the USA, I would hazard a guess that less than 40 percent is made there, with the amount declining by the year. Wal-Mart does more business with China than some countries. Why? nobody has anymore loyalty to a country anymore, price, price, and price is all people will look at...and they get what they pay for...Chinese junk.....Singapore junk....Taiwan and Hong Kong...Better...Japan they are the same as us...they cannot afford the labor either and have to outsource to the other asian countries in the region. By all means, Tax the importation of cars. Just duck when the epitaths come flying. Quality is what people percieve and I leave it to them to decide what a good car is...
 
#35 ·
Perhaps Sandy and I are dinosaurs. Maybe even he thinks I go overboard with my enthusiasm. My opinion is mine, yours is yours. I'll stand by the quality of American cars based on my own experience, which has been favorable through over 30 years of driving. My only experience with imports was my son's Honda Accord that was nothing but trouble, and my wife's Subaru that went to the boneyard at 112K.

But I'm not alone. For some light reading, I'd suggest:

Consumer complaints about Lexus

Consumer complaints about Volkswagen Beetle

Consumer complaints about Honda

Safety Issues: Recalls Mercedes

Toyota's profit up; so are its recalls - baltimoresun.com


Everybody builds good ones, everybody builds bad ones. I just hope that 10 years from now we at least have the choice to buy an American car.
 
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