Lansing Car Assembly was a General Motors automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 factory in Lansing, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

. It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors

Durant Motors

Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers that financed GM.-Corporate relationships:...

 factory on Lansing's Far Westside.

The Lansing plant was the longest-operating automobile factory in the United States when it closed on May 6, 2005, and one of General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 last assembly plants where vehicle bodies were made at one plant, and then trucked to another plant to be finished. General Motors began demolition of the plant in the spring of 2006, and demolition was completed in 2007. A new plant at nearby Delta Township

Delta Charter Township, Michigan

Delta Charter Township, officially known as the Charter Township of Delta and commonly known as simply Delta Township, is a charter township of Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 32,408. Delta Township is currently the fourth largest...

 took its place when it began production in 2006.

History

Lansing Car Assembly (LCA) began in 1901 when Ransom E. Olds

Ransom E. Olds

Ransom Eli Olds was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1894, and his first gasoline powered car in 1896...

 moved his Olds Motor Works

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 to the city. He set up his plant on the site of the fair

Fair

A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

grounds next to the Grand River

Grand River (Michigan)

The Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It runs through the cities of Jackson, Eaton Rapids, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven.-Description:...

. This plant in downtown Lansing would later be known as Lansing Car Assembly - Chassis Plant.

Lansing Car Assembly - Body Shop (Plant #6)

The plant along Verlinden Avenue, on Lansing's border with Lansing Township

Lansing Charter Township, Michigan

-Township description:The cities of Lansing and East Lansing have incorporated much of the land that formerly constituted the township reducing the township from its original to its current ....

, opened in 1920 as a factory for Durant Motor Works. After the demise of Durant, it remained closed until GM purchased it in 1935. It restarted production for GM's Fisher Body

Fisher Body

Fisher Body is an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan; it is now an operating division of General Motors Company...

 division, later becoming the Buick

Buick

Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...

-Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

-Cadillac factory. Its final name was Lansing Car Assembly - Body Plant.

The last cars that Lansing Car Assembly produced were the Chevrolet Malibu

Chevrolet Malibu

Malibus and all other Chevelles were completely restyled for 1968 with semi-fastback rooflines on two-door hardtops and wheelbases split to on two-door models and 118 for four-door sedans and station wagons. Engine offerings included a new V8 rated at that replaced the V8 that had served as the...

/Chevrolet Classic

Chevrolet Classic

General Motors used the Chevrolet Classic nameplate for the following vehicles:* The second generation Chevrolet Corsa, produced in Brazil since 2002...

, Oldsmobile Alero

Oldsmobile Alero

The Oldsmobile Alero was a compact car produced by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1999 to 2004.The Alero was introduced in spring 1998 as a 1999 model to replace the Achieva and Cutlass. The Alero went into production on April 6, 1998. All Aleros were built in Lansing, Michigan...

, and Pontiac Grand Am

Pontiac Grand Am

The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform along with other cars such as the Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Chevelle, Buick Century, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme...

, which was the final vehicle built there. The plant built the very last Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

, a 2004 Alero.

LCA was regularly ranked among the most productive automobile assembly plants in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. In 2002, it was ranked the number one most productive assembly plant in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 by The Harbour Report, the auto industry's leading measurement of plant efficiency.

Lansing Car Assembly - Main Plant (Plant #1)

The main plant was located in downtown Lansing, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

 located along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard/Logan Street at the Grand River

Grand River (Michigan)

The Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It runs through the cities of Jackson, Eaton Rapids, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven.-Description:...

. It sat on the original site of the Michigan State Fairgrounds. The plant also included the unique Lansing GM Building 150 which sat in between Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard bridges.

It featured two separate assembly lines. Partially completed vehicles were transported by truck from the Body Plant to either the North Line "M" or the South Line "C" for completion. Upon completion, cars were driven off the assembly line and over northbound Martin Luther King, Jr. using a skybridge. After final inspection, the cars were placed in staging yards to either be shipped by truck or by rail.

The first factory on site opened in 1902 as part of Olds Motor Works, and became part of General Motors when they bought that company out in 1908. The complex was closed in 2005, finally being demolished in 2007. Harbour Consulting rated it as the sixth most efficient auto plant in North America in 2006.