LORDSTOWN, Ohio -- Dave Green entered General Motors Co.'s Lordstown West plant early Tuesday morning and found it eerie. "All the normal work stations were empty," the president of Local 1714 of the United Auto Workers said, hours after the plant had assembled the underbody for the last model of the Chevrolet Cobalt.
For years, those workers held the line in the fabricating plant by producing parts for the small vehicle, the last of which rolled off the assembly line at 3:35 p.m. Wednesday.
"Everyone is working at different stations now, preparing for the Cruze," Green said. Lordstown West has been converted from a traditional fabricating operation into a sleek, high-tech body shop.
GM has pumped about $350 million into the Lordstown West plant and the assembly area to prepare the complex for production of the Chevrolet Cruze, the small, fuel-efficient vehicle GM is betting will outsell and outperform all others in its market segment.
But on Wednesday, it was the Cobalt's turn to shine as workers, labor officials and managers bid farewell to a car they say did its job and proved the salvation of a plant that many feared would be the first GM placed on the chopping block.
"We're sorry to see the Cobalt leave, but you know what's right behind it -- the Cruze," said Jim Graham, president of Local 1112 minutes after the last Cobalt sped off the line. "It served its purpose -- it was a great car, great sales numbers."
Graham said the Cobalt served as a bridge vehicle for the new Cruze and laid the groundwork for Lordstown to become the centerpiece plant for General Motors North American operations.
The Lordstown Complex will shut down two weeks and resume production July 12. When workers return, they'll be manufacturing the Cruze in limited quantities. "We'll produce about 300 units in July," he reported. By August, the plant should turn out 3,000 cars, and in September, "hold onto your hats," he said.
Graham was mum about the potential of Lordstown to secure another vehicle to build alongside the Cruze when it's launched. "Right now, we are focused on the Cruze and we want a flawless launch. It's been getting rave reviews – even in Europe, the UAW leader said. “I'm extremely proud of our plant."
The last Cobalt -- a white, four-door sedan -- moved down the final stretch of the line with about 25 assembly workers taking the ride alongside the car.
Plant worker Charmaine Phillips then gunned up the vehicle and drove it off the line to a final inspection area.
From Lordstown, the car is to be shipped to a dealership in West Franklin, N.H.
Lordstown won production of the Cobalt in 2002 after the plant secured competitive labor agreements with its two unions, locals 1112 and 1714 of the Auto Workers.
Those agreements were instrumental in convincing GM to pump in about $1 billion so the massive plant could retool its production lines as it phased out the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire. That investment included a $250 million paint shop, one of the most sophisticated of its kind in North America.
"Clearly without the Cobalt, we'd never have the Cruze," said Local 1714's Green, whose union represents about 1,000 workers in the Lordstown West plant. "The work force agreed to concessions in 2001 and the shelf agreement played a big part in landing the Cobalt," he noted.
Without those agreements and concessions, the plant was in danger of shutting down after production of the Cavalier and Sunfire ceased, said Local 1112's Graham.
"If we didn't win the Cobalt in 2002, we wouldn't be talking about the Cruze," he said. "This place would be dark."
A total of 1.1 million Cobalts have rolled out of Lordstown's production line since 2004. The final Cobalt Tuesday was number 1.1 million.
"We've seen reports that are calling the Cobalt a failure," Local 1714's Green said. "We don't think that at all."
The Cobalt may not have been the best car on the market, Green allowed, but it served its purpose by introducing a dependable vehicle at an affordable price. "It's been a successful car and there are a lot of happy customers," he said. "I own one."
The plant will begin its traditional two-week shutdown starting next week for the Fourth of July holiday, but preparation for the launch of the Chevrolet Cruze will continue.
The Cruze, considered a flagship model for GM's Chevrolet brand, is to arrive in dealerships by September and carry a base sticker price of $16,900.
"We have had more training on this car than any other car in our history," Graham said. "This is the main car for General Motors going into the future. We are the cornerstone of General Motors in this country."
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