General Motors Service and Parts Operations Willow Run plant Ypsilanti

Willow Run Assembly was a

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

factory near

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

, located at 2625 Tyler Road, in the Willow Run manufacturing complex. Willow Run Assembly consisted of an assembly plant of 2.3 million square feet, another building that was known in later years as "Willow Run Company Vehicle Operations", covering 23,000 square feet on 22 acres of land, and perhaps other parcels. Willow Run Assembly was to the south of the former Willow Run Transmission, the site of the bomber plant built by Ford in 1941. Production of automobiles began at Willow Run in 1959 with the

Chevrolet Corvair The Chevrolet Corvair is a Rear-engine design, rear-engined, Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine, air-cooled compact car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet over two generations between 1960 and 1969. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it was of ...

; Willow Run also built the rear-wheel-drive General Motors (RWD)

Chevrolet Nova Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

(1962-1979), Pontiac Ventura,

Pontiac Phoenix The Pontiac Phoenix was a compact car that was sold from 1977 to 1984 by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac. There were two generations of the Phoenix, both based on popular Chevrolet models, and both using the GM X platform designation. It was named ...

, Oldsmobile Omega, Buick Apollo, and

Buick Skylark The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over t ...

, the front-wheel-drive, the X-cars Oldsmobile Omega, and

(1980-1985), the front-wheel-drive H body Oldsmobile 88 and

Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville is a model line of full-size or mid-size FR (until 1987) or FF cars manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. The Bonneville (marketed as the Parisienne in Canada until 1981), and its platform partne ...

, and the B-body Chevrolet Caprice sedan and wagon, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagon, and the Buick Roadmaster Estate wagon. The

was assembled at Willow Run during the car's entire 10-year production run. On May 14, 1969, the media was invited to Willow Run as the last Corvair came down the line; a departure from GM's policy of not permitting reporters to visit their manufacturing facilities. (this should all be re-written for more accuracy.) In 1968, General Motors began reorganizing its body and assembly operations into the GM Assembly Division (GMAD). GMAD required 16 years to completely absorb Fisher Body's operations, and Fisher would manufacture bodies at Willow Run until the 1970s. Assembly operations at Willow Run ended in July 1993 after reduced demand for the full-size B-bodies. Operations were transferred to the Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas. What was the main plant at Willow Run Assembly had by 2010 become a giant warehouse, the "Willow Run Business Center", part of which was leased to GM for use as a parts distribution facility. Willow Run Company Vehicle Operations became part of the abandoned GM properties managed by the RACER Trust in March 2011; in April 2013, RACER sold the Company Vehicle Operations facility to International Turbine Industries, an engine maintenance and repair company headquartered across Tyler Road from the former assembly plant.

References

{{General Motors factories General Motors factories Former motor vehicle assembly plants Motor vehicle assembly plants in Michigan Buildings and structures in Ypsilanti, Michigan 1959 establishments in Michigan 1993 disestablishments in Michigan