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Coordinates: 42°22′52.0278″N 83°2′49.3002″W / 42.381118833°N 83.047027833°W / 42.381118833; -83.047027833
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* [[Dodge Series D5]]/[[Dodge Series D8]] 1937,1938
* [[Dodge Series D5]]/[[Dodge Series D8]] 1937,1938
* [[M1918 light repair truck]]
* [[M1918 light repair truck]]
* [[Dodge Aspen]] / [[Plymouth Volare]] 1976-1979
* [[Dodge Aspen]] / [[Plymouth Volare]] 1976–1979
* [[Dodge Dart#1971|Dodge Demon]] 1971-1972
* [[Dodge Dart#1971|Dodge Demon]] 1971–1972
* [[Dodge Challenger]] / [[Plymouth Barracuda]] 1970-1974
* [[Dodge Challenger]] / [[Plymouth Barracuda]] 1970–1974
* [[Dodge Charger (B-body)|Dodge Charger]] 1966-1978
* [[Dodge Charger (B-body)|Dodge Charger]] 1966–1978
* [[Dodge Monaco]] 1964-1978
* [[Dodge Monaco]] 1964–1978
* [[Dodge Custom 880]] 1962-1965
* [[Dodge Custom 880]] 1962–1965
* [[Dodge 330]] 1962-1964
* [[Dodge 330]] 1962–1964
* [[Dodge Dart]] 1962-1976
* [[Dodge Dart]] 1962–1976
* [[Dodge Polara]] 1959-1973
* [[Dodge Polara]] 1959–1973
* [[Dodge Matador]] 1959-1960
* [[Dodge Matador]] 1959–1960
* [[Dodge Lancer]] 1955-1962
* [[Dodge Lancer]] 1955–1962
* [[Dodge Royal]] 1954-1959
* [[Dodge Royal]] 1954–1959
* [[Dodge Coronet]] 1949-1976
* [[Dodge Coronet]] 1949–1976
* [[Dodge Meadowbrook]] 1949-1954
* [[Dodge Meadowbrook]] 1949–1954
* [[Dodge Wayfarer]] 1949-1952
* [[Dodge Wayfarer]] 1949–1952
* [[Dodge Custom]] 1946-1949
* [[Dodge Custom]] 1946–1949
* [[Dodge Deluxe]] 1946-1949
* [[Dodge Deluxe]] 1946–1949
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


Revision as of 13:40, 26 March 2023

42°22′52.0278″N 83°2′49.3002″W / 42.381118833°N 83.047027833°W / 42.381118833; -83.047027833

Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly
Map
Built1911
Operated1911–1980, 1985–present [1]
LocationDetroit
Coordinates42°22′52″N 83°02′49″W / 42.38111°N 83.04703°W / 42.38111; -83.04703
IndustryAutomotive
ProductsElectric pickup trucks
Employees924 (2022) [1]
Buildings365 acres (1.48 km2)
Area4,500,000 sq ft (420,000 m2)
Address2500 E Grand Blvd
Owner(s)
Websitegm.com/factory-zero

Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also called Factory Zero, is a General Motors automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. When the facility opened, it was built on the original "Dodge Factory" location that was built in 1911,[2] which was closed in 1980 and demolished in 1981, and the new GM factory built vehicles for GM's "BOC" (Buick/Oldsmobile/Cadillac) Group. The first vehicle, a Cadillac Eldorado, rolled off the assembly line on February 4, 1985.[3]

It replaced GM's Detroit Assembly on Clark Avenue, south of Michigan Avenue (U.S. Route 12) in Detroit which was the main facility for all Cadillacs starting in 1921. It is about one mile west of the former Packard Automotive Plant.

The plant builds vehicles for GM's Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac divisions and had approximately 1,800 hourly and salaried employees in early 2017,[4] and 924 in late 2022.[1] Since opening in 1985, more than 4 million vehicles have been built at the plant.[3]

As of May 2020, the plant is being retooled to produce electric vehicles, including the all-new GMC Hummer EV.[5]

History

Dodge (1911–1980)

The Dodge Factory, or "Dodge Main" as it became known, occupied 67 acres (0.27 km2) on the edge of the village of Hamtramck, which is surrounded by the city of Detroit.[6] Plant 4, on Conant Avenue, was separated only from the main plant structures by a railroad right-of-way, which was also the boundary line between the two cities. The plant started off as just a few buildings but it grew rapidly as needed, where it ended up as 35 separate buildings, to include a foundry, before it was demolished. The original plant was designed by noted industrial designer and architect Albert Kahn Associates but were replaced in 1912 by the architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, due to a disagreement with the Dodge brothers. Reflecting an engineering philosophy the brothers shared, the plant was vastly overbuilt.[7]

Factory assembly line in 1916

There were two railroads crossing the area, and plenty of open land at the time. One of the railroad lines went north to the nearby Highland Park Ford Plant which had just opened earlier. The original intent was to continue providing parts and subassemblies, and ship them to Ford. It also included the first time a car manufacturer used a vehicle test track, including a portion where newly manufactured cars would drive up a ramp, to test the powertrain durability and the brakes on the way down.

John and Horace had grown up on factory floors and machine shops, and they made sure their employees were well cared for. The Dodge facility had a complete medical facility, with doctors and nurses on duty at all times, an efficient plant security department, and a well-equipped firefighting department with direct contact with the local Hamtramck Fire Department. The plant included a "welfare department" which looked after workers’ social needs and, reflecting the innovative nature of the Dodge brothers, a machine shop they called "the Playpen" where employees who wanted to fix or invent things could indulge in their ideas after hours. The facility had an executive dining room for senior plant and corporate officials, and a cafeteria for office and plant employees, complete with a fully equipped kitchen; a smaller facility in Plant 4 prepared hot food for distribution directly to the factory areas via small trolleys. The factory was approximately two miles south of Lynch Road Assembly which built Plymouth products exclusively until 1962. When the Chrysler C platform was introduced in 1965, the factory manufactured Dodge and Plymouth products that shared the platform.[8]

General Motors

The 362 acres (1.46 km2) site was home to a large Polish community that was part of an area that is sometimes referred to as Poletown. 4,200 residents, 1,400 homes, several churches (including Immaculate Conception Church) and 140 businesses, including the old Dodge factory, were located on the proposed site. The residential area was north of the Dodge facility. GM's acquisition of part of the property through eminent domain, and the subsequent clearing of this section of the neighborhood, was the subject of various protests and court battles. Eventually the case went to the Michigan Supreme Court which ruled in favor of General Motors stating that economic development is a legitimate use of eminent domain. Detroit Mayor Coleman Young sided with GM, seeking new jobs and investments.

It is south of a former GM facility, called Chevrolet Gear & Axle Division, which was the combination of two former factories, called Detroit Gear and Axle, plus Detroit Forge, which had occupied the location at Holbrook Avenue to the south, Lumpkin Street to the east, Poland Avenue to the north and I-75 to the west. The factories were demolished in 2014, having occupied the location since 1917.[9][10]

While some residents protested, others supported the efforts to build the new plant. Gary Campbell, a Poletown resident and bar owner, accused those opposing the new plant of presenting opinions of a small minority as if they represented the entire neighborhood. The controversy led to national news attention and the involvement of Ralph Nader and the Gray Panthers. Protests centered around the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. The Detroit Archdiocese supported the relocations and had already agreed to sell the two Catholic churches that were in the area. However, Joseph Karasiewicz, the priest at one of the parishes, defied his local Cardinal and fought to keep his building from being sold. The Archdiocese stood firm in its support of the sale. A 29-day sit-in at the Immaculate Conception Church came to an end on July 14, 1981 when police forcibly evicted 20 people from the church. Twelve people were arrested; only three of the twelve arrested were from Poletown. Shortly afterward, the site targeted for the plant was razed and construction began on the new $500 million auto assembly plant.[11] The controversy inspired at least one short film: "Poletown Lives!"[12]

A small Jewish cemetery, Beth Olem, occupies part of the grounds of the GM Assembly at the extreme northwest corner of the property, next to the water treatment facility. The older pre-existing auto plant parking lot engulfed the small cemetery long before General Motors built the new assembly plant. Visitation is currently limited to twice a year on the Sundays preceding Rosh Hashana and Passover.[13][14]

GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant was opened in February 1985.[4] Cadillac K-body production was consolidated there in the 1990s. The Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly later received the contract for the production of Chevrolet Volt, which uses the Delta II/Voltec body. On April 21, 2010, GM announced it would invest $121 million into the Detroit/Hamtramck factory to ensure GM could keep up with the demand for the next generation Chevrolet Malibu.[15] In May 2011, GM announced it would invest $69 million in the plant for the Chevrolet Impala.[16] In 2013, production of the Cadillac ELR (a Cadillac equivalent of the Chevrolet Volt) began, followed two years later by production of the Cadillac CT6 and then the third-generation Buick LaCrosse.

In December 2016, GM announced the elimination of the second shift and 1,300 jobs at the plant in March 2017; less than twelve months after the second shift was added.[17] In October 2017, GM announced to scale back production at the plant as falling sales and excess inventory of sedans made there, resulting in about 200 job lost.[18] On November 26, 2018, GM announced that the plant would be "unallocated" in 2019.[19][20] The plant has an annual production capacity of 230,000 units.[21] Utilization rate in 2018 was 28 percent.[21] In February, 2019, General Motors (GM) announced that production of the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6 would continue at Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly until early 2020.[22] With the discontinuation of the CT6 and Impala, the factory is currently in the process of retooling to build electric vehicles, starting with the GMC Hummer EV.[5]

The first GMC Hummer EV Pickup rolled off the assembly line at Factory Zero on December 17, 2021.[23]

Vehicles produced

Chrysler Corp.

General Motors

See also

Further reading

  • Miner, Scott; Waddell, Richard L. (June 1985). "GM goes high-tech in the inner city - Poletown". Ward's Auto World. Archived from the original on 2006-10-11.
  • Winter, Drew (Nov 1991). "Update: the machines that didn't change the world - robots in the automobile industry". Ward's Auto World. Archived from the original on 2005-05-10.
  • "Condemn nation". The (Colorado Springs) Gazette (August 4, 2004).
  • "GM Commits to Volt Production in Detroit-Hamtramck, Michigan 2010". Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  • Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MI-6, "Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company Plant, Between Joseph Campau & Conant Avenues, Hamtramck, Wayne County, MI", 313 photos, 46 data pages, 10 photo caption pages

References

  1. ^ a b c Factory Zero at GM.com
  2. ^ Dodge Main location
  3. ^ a b "GM Corporate Newsroom - United States - Company". media.gm.com. March 3, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Detroit-Hamtramck". GM Newsroom. GM. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant to build new electric zero-emission Hummer". Click On Detroit. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  6. ^ History of Dodge factory
  7. ^ Hyde, Charles K. (December 1980). "Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company Plant" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Schweitzer, A.E. "Inside the Dodge Main plant: 1910 to 1981". Allpar.com. Allpar.com. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  9. ^ Chevrolet Gear & Axle Division Detroit
  10. ^ History of Dodge Factory at Allpar.com
  11. ^ "Auto plant vs. Neighborhood: The Poletown battle - Michigan History - the Detroit News". 27 January 2000.
  12. ^ http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1983/07/review.html Review of Poletown.
  13. ^ Marwil, Milton (1992). Cantor, Judith Levin (ed.). "The True Story of the Cemetery in the General Motors Parking Lot" (PDF). Michigan Jewish History. 33. Jewish Historical Society of Michigan: 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  14. ^ Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Clover Hill Park Cemetery. "Urban farming in Brightmoor Gardens: Neighbors sow change in Detroit." Retrieved on April 18, 2012.
  15. ^ "GM announces $257M plant investment for next-gen Chevrolet Malibu".
  16. ^ "GM Corporate Newsroom - United States - Company".
  17. ^ Burden, Melissa (19 Dec 2016). "GM to cut second shift, 1,300 jobs at Detroit-Hamtramck". The Detroit News. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  18. ^ "GM to scale back production at Detroit sedan plant". Reuters. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  19. ^ "General Motors Accelerates Transformation" (Press release). 26 Nov 2018. Retrieved 26 Nov 2018.
  20. ^ "Parsing what GM means by 'unallocated'". Automotive News. November 26, 2018. Retrieved 13 Jan 2019.
  21. ^ a b 1"Detroit Three narrowing car production in North America". Reuters. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  22. ^ "GM Gives Cadillac CT6 and Chevrolet Impala a Stay of Execution". 22 February 2019.
  23. ^ "First Production GMC Hummer EV Pickup Edition 1 Rolls off the Assembly Line". 17 December 2021.
  24. ^ Lienert, Paul; Ajmera, Ankit (6 April 2021). "GM to start making Silverado electric pickups late next year in Detroit: source". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
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