GM to invest $370 million to build new small engine plant

[doh]

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...&siteid=yhoof2



GM 10.40, +0.05, +0.5%) will invest $370 million to build a new manufacturing facility for 4-cylinder engines in Flint, Mich., the company said Thursday. Construction on the new facility will begin immediately, with completion expected in 2010. The project will result in about 300 hourly jobs, the automaker said. In a separate statement, GM also said it plans to double the production of four-cylinder engines--those with capacity of 1 liter to 1.4 liters--by 2011. "One-third of GM's North American engine volume will be four-cylinders by 2011, and 21% of the four-cylinder volume will be turbocharged--a seven-fold increase over today's volume of turbo engines," said GM

[doh]

Originally Posted by doh

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...&siteid=yhoof2

"One-third of GM's North American engine volume will be four-cylinders by 2011, and 21% of the four-cylinder volume will be turbocharged--a seven-fold increase over today's volume of turbo engines," said GM

Wow 1/3rd 4 cylinders

[spaz]

im assuming these engines will be used in the Cruze, and other DeltaII apps, and possibly as the "range extender" on the Volt

[tomcat_cool17]

Yah!!!

[Clownzilla]

Good move for GM

[bdubsee]

+1 for my hometown.

[osv_alero]

Will this mean the upcoming Buick will get a turbo charged 1.4 4-cyl?

[benroethig]

Originally Posted by spaz

im assuming these engines will be used in the Cruze, and other DeltaII apps, and possibly as the "range extender" on the Volt

And probably Theta and epsilon II vehicles as well. The new turbo large displacement I-4s that debut with the Equinox are very close the 3.6L when it comes to power.

[nadepalma]

Wasn't it rumored that GM was to produce a naturally aspirated 2.3L I4 with 200hp that was supposed to be the base engine in the next Equinox? Has anyone heard anything more about this?

I wonder if it will be built at this new engine plant...

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by osv_alero

Will this mean the upcoming Buick will get a turbo charged 1.4 4-cyl?

I'd assume that if the new Skylark makes it to our shores, it veyr well may have a turbo I4 -- but I doubt it will be this engine. Instead, I'd expect GM to leave that to the Cobalt (and the G5s replacement?) and focus on an "uplevel" engine package as standard fare for their offering. That would put some distance between the more mainstream compacts and an upscale luxury compact like Buick is rumored to have.

But that's just me...

[johnny smallblock]

This is the right thing to do. Even if it only saves a few mpg, for a lot of customers that will make the difference.

[doh]

More http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080925/gm_en...lant.html?.v=4

"This will be one of the places. You will be one of the teams that help GM lead into our second century," Wagoner told workers and government officials gathered for the announcement.

Production at the new $370 million plant will begin in 2010, and both cars are slated to go on sale in the same year.

Workers from the nearby Flint Engine North plant that closed last month said the announcement is good news for an area hard hit by auto job losses.

Although GM said the new plant won't create any new jobs, it will retain about 300 hourly positions, and workers said they are hopeful the new plant will create more employment in the industrial city about 50 miles northwest of Detroit.

"This also means that there's a future for our youth in this area," said Jean Adams-Anderson, who worked at Flint Engine North.

The state of Michigan on Tuesday approved $132.5 million in tax incentives for the automaker to spend $838 million on the new plant and to upgrade four other facilities, including the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant where the Volt will be built.

The Flint investment includes the 552,000-square-foot plant as well as machinery and other equipment. GM says it will invest another $21 million in tooling for its suppliers to support the new Flint factory.

The new plant will double its global production of GM's small four-cylinder engines by 2011, with more than half the increase going into North America.

The factory, GM said, will have 300 flexible work stations that will allow the company to build different four-cylinder engines without retooling.

GM's U.S. sales are down 18 percent so far this year due to a declining market and high gasoline prices that have caused a dramatic shift away from trucks and sport utility vehicles to smaller, more efficient cars.

The new plant will help GM roll out new models designed to adjust to the shift, which GM and other automakers say is permanent.

The struggling automaker has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, including $15.5 billion in the second quarter. Its U.S. market share has fallen to about 23 percent this year from a peak of nearly 51 percent in 1962.

The company is banking on the much-ballyhooed Volt to be its car of the future, although it conceded this week that the Volt won't operate exactly as advertised.

GM initially said the Volt would be able to run 40 miles on its lithium-ion batteries, with a small internal combustion engine recharging the batteries to extend the range hundreds of miles. A top executive said the same thing as recently as last week.

But company spokesman Rob Peterson said Wednesday that engineers changed the design so the Volt engine will power a generator that would run the electric motor after the batteries are depleted. A small amount of power from the generator will recharge the batteries, but most will be used to directly run the car, he said.

[A Bum In A Bus]

I'm glad Flint getting this plant, they have been through some hard times. Flint also has some of the best workers around. I'm glad to see GM bringing jobs back to the US.

[Buickman]

Durant's "baby" still has some ties with his hometown Flint. the Chevy engines that started here with Arthur Mason and Big Bill Little at the Flint Wagon Works continue their heritage in the Vehicle City.

[K-1]

Instead of building a new plant, why not just retool Flint North?

Originally Posted by doh

The company is banking on the much-ballyhooed Volt to be its car of the future, although it conceded this week that the Volt won't operate exactly as advertised.

GM initially said the Volt would be able to run 40 miles on its lithium-ion batteries, with a small internal combustion engine recharging the batteries to extend the range hundreds of miles. A top executive said the same thing as recently as last week.

But company spokesman Rob Peterson said Wednesday that engineers changed the design so the Volt engine will power a generator that would run the electric motor after the batteries are depleted. A small amount of power from the generator will recharge the batteries, but most will be used to directly run the car, he said.

I don't see what changed in the design...