Rochester Products Division

Rochester Products Division was a division of General Motors that manufactured carburetors, and related components including emissions control devices and cruise control systems in Rochester, New York. It began as North East Electric Company in the 1800's. They are famous for their highly regarded Quadrajet carburetor, which was originally designed in the 1960s and due to extraordinary engineering, met emissons standards into the 1980s. The Quadrajet became computer controlled in 1980 in California and in 1981 in the rest of the states; its last application was on the 1990 Cadillac Brougham and 1990 full size GM station wagons with the Olds 307 engine. Its longevity is a testament to the expert engineering achieved at Rochester Products Division and GM, even to this day, as RPD was a pioneer in fuel injection systems in road cars in the 1980s when they became the standard fuel induction system. Rochester is now part of Delphi and continue to manufacture fuel injection systems in Rochester, NY.

In 1981, Rochester Products and Diesel Equipment Division merged. The headquarters remained in Rochester. DED had plants in Grand Rapids, Michigan. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E4DD1738F936A15757C0A967948260 Company News; G.M. Announces Merger of 2 Units - New York Times ] ]

In 1988, Rochester Products and AC Spark Plug merged. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDF1030F933A0575BC0A96E948260 COMPANY NEWS; G.M. Merges Units - New York Times ] ] The diesel fuel injection business was sold to Penske.

In 1994, the Grand Rapids operations of AC Rochester were spun off. [ [http://www.secinfo.com/dsvR3.aKm.c.htm SEC Info - General Motors Corp - 10-K405 - For 12/31/94 - EX-10.(B) ] ] (132nd Page of 162)