GM $425 Million Investment Boosts Tonawanda Engine

• Community benefits from GM Foundation grants to local charities A $425 million investment by General Motors in its Tonawanda Engine plant bore its first fruits Friday: the latest technology that will go into the next generation Ecotec 4-cylinder engines that will power the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu and 2013 Cadillac ATS. GM and UAW employees showed off flexible manufacturing that will support high-quality production of the 2.5L and 2.0L turbo and enable quick changeovers from one engine product to another. There are about 10,000 items to track to ensure launch quality and timing. 'The men and women of Tonawanda have always focused on safety, quality, and cost,' said GM Manufacturing Manager Jim Glynn. 'Although competitive reasons keep me from revealing actual dollar figures, I am happy to report that Tonawanda Engine has the best engine warranty in all of General Motors.' In a plant ceremony marking the start of production, UAW Local 774 Shop Chairman Bob Coleman said, 'I am very proud of the UAW members who have built our reputation for producing quality engines. Most of all, I'd like to thank our customers for buying our products. We're not going to let them down.' Tonawanda Engine Plant Manager Steve Finch said the goal for the next-generation engines is to delight customers. From 650 employees a year ago with 130 on permanent layoff, Tonawanda has brought back all laid-off workers and added 54 additional jobs, 21 from GM Components Holdings plants and 33 new-hires. More hiring is expected at Tonawanda with the addition of shifts for the Ecotec engines and the upcoming launch of the GEN V V8 engine line in Plant 1. 'This plant today is focused on producing quality engines; we're placing all of our energies on the future,' Finch said. As part of Friday's activities, the General Motors Foundation awarded $50,000 in grants to these local charities: United Way of Buffalo and Erie County - $20,000 American Cancer Society - $20,000 Boys and Girls Club of Western New York - $5,000 American Heart Association - $5,000 In total, the GM Foundation will provide more than $1 million in funding to nearly 200 organizations in 43 plant cities where GM employees live and work. The goal is to build stronger communities. 'The communities that our employees and their families call home are important to the General Motors Foundation,' said GM Foundation President Vivian Pickard. 'The grants that we provide benefit education, community centers, cultural organizations and many other important areas that strengthen and improve these communities.' About Tonawanda Engine Tonawanda currently produces the Inline 4 (4-cyl.) – 2.9L and Inline 5 (5-cyl.) – 3.7L engines found in the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups and the Ecotec 2.4L (4-cyl.) engines found in the Chevrolet Malibu and for China and Korea applications. In February 2010 the plant was awarded a $425 million investment for the Ecotec 2.0L/2.5L (4-cyl.) engine that will be used in the next generation Chevrolet Malibu and the Cadillac ATS, and a $400 million investment awarded in April 2010 to build an all-new V8 engine for pickup trucks.

Recent Articles

CHEVROLET MALIBU MAKES VEHICLE ENTRY EASIER The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu sedan equipped with four-door passive entry makes life a little easier for those frantically searching for keys in the bottom of a deep purse or fumbling to find them when carrying a child or bags of groceries. Chevrolet placed small buttons on all four doors allowing the driver to unlock the door with one press and all four doors and the trunk with two presses. An option on the Malibu LTZ, four-door passive entry is a common feature on luxury vehicles, but scarce....

INFINITI U.S. SALES UP NINE PERCENT IN MARCH Infiniti today reported U.S. sales of 11,103 units in March, up 9.0 percent from 10,185 units a year earlier. For the year, Infiniti has sold 27,376 vehicles, up 4.4 percent versus 2012. Contributing to Infiniti's increase in March were its luxury crossovers and sport utility vehicles, which were up 50.9 percent. The Infiniti JX 7-passenger luxury crossover, which launched exactly one year ago, had sales of 2,633 units in March, an increase of 387 percent over prior year. 'March was a grea....

Powertrain Innovation Comes Standard on 2013 Regal The 2013 Buick Regal luxury sport sedan arrives at dealerships this fall with a standard advanced eAssist powertrain and 36 highway mpg. Two powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engines give Regal one of the most technologically advanced engine ranges in the brand's history. 'With eAssist, Buick is redefining what a 'conventional powertrain' means to customers,' said eAssist global chief engineer Stephen Poulos. 'It changes the fuel economy – but not the experience – for the 97 percent of new....

Chevy Indycar Engine Offers Promise For passenger Cars The unbeaten track performance of the new Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 engine is bringing acclaim to the engineers who created it and hope for its significant technology to find its way into passenger cars. Engineers Mark Kent and Matt Wiles, along with Steve Miller and Steve O'Connor from Ilmor Engineering, took home the 46th annual BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award on Monday for their work on the Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 engine. The award recognizes individuals for innovation and engineering excellen....

2014 Impala Chevrolet
          

---

2013 Encore Buick
          

---

2013 LaCrosse Buick
          

---

2013 Regal Buick
          

---

2013 Verano Buick
          

---

2013 Cruze Chevrolet
          

---

2013 Equinox Chevrolet
          

---

2013 Malibu Chevrolet
          

---

2013 Malibu ECO Chevrolet
          

---

2013 Pink Out Spark Cancer Awareness Concept Chevrolet
    

---

blog comments powered by Disqus