- Buick City
Buick City was a massive
automobile manufacturing complex inFlint, Michigan . Elements of the 235 acre (951,000 m²) complex dated from 1904, but it became known as Buick City in 1984. The complex was closed onJune 29 ,1999 and demolished in March of 2002. It was the lastBuick plant in Flint, long a center of automobile production. The final cars built at Buick City were thePontiac Bonneville and theBuick LeSabre .The plant originated with
Buick before the formation ofGeneral Motors . Other elements were built by early manufacturers and suppliers likeFisher Body . GM employment in the city peaked in 1978 at 77,000, with Buick City workers reaching a high of 28,000 in the 1980s.The Buick City concept represented a failed attempt by General Motors to ramp up production volume in response to Japanese manufacturers. However, the experiment wasn't without its 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 show up on the list. In 1999, the year the plant was closed, Buick City won the Platinum Award. As of 2006, it was the only General Motors plant given this award.On
July 31 ,2007 it was reported that a major shipping company wants to turn the old Buick City site into a shipping mecca. The company would utilize I-75, I-69, I-475, and the railroad. The shipping center could bring 600 new jobs and spur multiple small businesses around the center.Cultural references
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Old 97's have a song set in the area called "Buick City Complex".
* The failure of auto manufacturing in Flint was lamented inMichael Moore 'sdocumentary film , "Roger & Me ".ee also
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List of GM factories External links
* [http://www.buickclub.org/BuickCity/buick_city_demolition_march_2002.htm Demolition photos]
* [http://www.friendsofbuick.com/about.html Friends of Buick FAQ]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/j-d-power-and-associates JD Powers and Associates from Answers.com]References
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