Oshawa Car Assembly
Encyclopedia
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
building various automobiles for General Motors Canada
General Motors Canada
General Motors of Canada Limited is General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...
. The factory is one of the largest auto plants in the world and has won a number of awards. The plant is part of the larger GM Autoplex, which includes the now closed Oshawa Truck Assembly
Oshawa Truck Assembly
Oshawa Truck Assembly was a General Motors Canada truck factory in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada that opened in 1965 and closed in 2009. The plant is part of the larger GM Autoplex, which includes Oshawa Car Assembly and a now-closed battery plant...
.
The facility has over 10 million square feet (930,000 m²) of factory floor. It was converted to a state of the art Flexible Manufacturing facility in 2008, which involved the consolidation of two car plants. There are approximately 5,400 hourly employees and 400 salaried employees.
The hourly-rated workers are represented by the Canadian Auto Workers
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
Union (CAW), Local 222. The plant is currently managed by Dan Hermer; plant staff include Gerry Meek (assistant plant manager), Greg Pratt (Body Shop Plant Manager), Paul McLaughlin (Paint Shop Plant Manager), Darcy Ste. Marie (Trim Plant Manager) and Jeff Bantam (Chassis Plant Manager). The contiguous Stamping Plant is managed by Melanie Chandler. The President of CAW Local 222 is Chris Buckley, the GM Shop Committee Chairperson is Greg Moffatt.
Current products include the Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...
, Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet Equinox. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
and Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac Grand Prix
Picking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...
were discontinued in June and November 2007 respectively. The Buick LaCrosse
Buick LaCrosse
The Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size entry-level luxury sedan produced by General Motors. It replaced the Buick Century and Regal in North America beginning in the 2005 model year.-North America:...
was discontinued from Oshawa #2 in 2008 and moved to Fairfax Assembly
Fairfax Assembly
Fairfax Assembly is a General Motors automobile factory at 3201 Fairfax Trafficway, Kansas City, Kansas. The present plant was opened in 1987 and currently produces the Chevrolet Malibu and the Buick LaCrosse. , the local Kansas City council is attempting to entice GM to produce a new mid-size...
for 2009. In the fourth quarter of that year, it began producing the new Chevrolet Camaro
Fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro
The fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro is a pony car produced by General Motors and marketed under the Chevrolet brand. It is the fifth distinct generation of the Camaro to be produced since its original introduction in 1967...
. It has been announced that the Oshawa plant may build the 2012 Cadillac XTS
Cadillac XTS
The Cadillac XTS is an upcoming full-sized luxury car from the Cadillac brand of General Motors.. It is based on an enlarged version of the Epsilon II platform. The XTS will replace both the DTS and the STS sedans. It will begin production in early 2012 at the Oshawa Assembly Plant...
. The Buick Regal
Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a mid-size car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. North American production ended in 2004 and began again in 2011. For the 2011 model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan...
will launch on the flex line in 2011, along with the Camaro Convertible.
In August 2010, the plant began producing the Chevrolet Equinox in partnership with another GM facility in Ingersoll Ontario
Ingersoll, Ontario
Ingersoll is a town in Oxford County on the Thames River in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The nearest cities are Woodstock to the east and London to the west....
, known as CAMI Automotive
CAMI Automotive
CAMI Automotive, originally known as Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc., was an independently incorporated joint venture of automobile manufacturing in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and formed the third step of GM's three-pronged initiative of the mid-1980s to capture and practice the Japanese...
. The metal bodies are made at CAMI, trucked two hours east to Oshawa, where they are inserted on the conveyor just before the paint shop. The bodies are painted and then go through the general assembly process at the Oshawa plant. The entire process was developed as quick way to respond to high demand for the Equinox product. The CAMI facility does make Equinox and GMC Terrain from start to finish at their own plant, but they did not have the capacity to put more bodies through paint and general assembly.
The plant won the J.D. Power Gold Award for initial quality in 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002; as well a numerous other individual awards for the specific models it produces. In 2007, the plant won silver for initial quality, and a Gold Best in Segment award for the Pontiac Grand Prix, and Bronze Best in Segment for the Monte Carlo. In all, the plant has won 19 J.D. Power awards for quality since 1999. In recognition of that achievement, J.D. Power awarded the Founder's Award to the Car Plant in the summer of 2008; it is an award that has been presented only six times in the lengthy history of J.D. Power & Associates. Harbour Consulting rated Oshawa #1 (building the Impala and Monte Carlo) as the second most efficient in North America, the top-rated in the study was Oshawa #2 (building the LaCrosse and Grand Prix).
History
The facility has produced vehicles since the 1950s.1953 land cleared for car production went into 1965 for final truck moving into the plant from north OshawaOshawa has Built Cars as McLaughlin Car company of Canada limited 1907 and Chevrolet Motor Company of Canada 1915 and Merged both in 1918 to become General Motors of Canada Limited in 1918 as McLaughlin became Director and Vice-President General Motors Corporation. and Merged with General Motors Corporation.( under Durant as President)
In the mid-1980s, GM began a large transformation of the facility, naming the site "Autoplex." The changeover came in three steps, the first being conversion of the truck plant to GMT400
GMT400
The GMT 400 and similar GMT 480 is the platform for the 1988-1998 full-size pickup truck platform. The GMT 410, GMT 420, GMT 425, and GMT 430 were used for full-size SUVs from 1991 to 2000. This was the first GMT designation for the C and K full-size trucks and SUV's.GMT 400 frames were built by...
production in 1986. The next step was retooling Line 2 for the new W-body
GM W platform
The W-body is an automobile platform from General Motors which underpins mid-size cars with front-wheel drive. The platform, originally code named GM10, began in 1982 under Chairman Roger B. Smith and debuted in 1988 with the Pontiac Grand Prix, the Buick Regal, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme...
Regal
Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a mid-size car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. North American production ended in 2004 and began again in 2011. For the 2011 model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan...
, which began production in mid-1987. The final instalment was a long changeover of Line 1 for the Chevrolet Lumina
Chevrolet Lumina
The North American Chevrolet Lumina sedan , coupe and minivan were first introduced in 1989 for the 1990 model year as a new range of vehicles from the Chevrolet brand of General Motors to replace the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, and the Monte Carlo coupe. The Lumina was an answer...
, which went into production on January 8, 1989 as a 1990 model.
In January 1988, Oshawa became the first North American GM plant to minimize the issue of large scale layoffs by cutting the second shift and alternating day- and night-shift workers at two-week intervals. This system was later adopted at other plants around the continent.
Current models
- 2010–present Chevrolet CamaroChevrolet CamaroThe Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...
(New Flexible Assembly Line) - 1999–present Chevrolet ImpalaChevrolet ImpalaThe Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...
- 2011– Buick RegalBuick RegalThe Buick Regal is a mid-size car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. North American production ended in 2004 and began again in 2011. For the 2011 model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan...
- 2010- Present Chevrolet Equinox Chevrolet EquinoxThe second generation Equinox was announced by GM on December 21, 2008, and debuted at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The 2010 Equinox went on sale in June 2009. It is built on a stiffened version of the same "Theta" platform used in the previous model. The new Equinox...
Former models
The following dates refers to the years that the particular model was produced at Oshawa facilities.- 1908-2011 McLaughlin Car Company of Canada Limited/with Buick motor
- 1915-2011 ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
- 1918 General Motors of Canada Limited was the name after the merge in Canada and later with the Corporation
- 1919-2010 Chevrolet Trucks/1923 GMC/1940-1958 Pontiac Trucks
- 1920-1969 Oldsmobile OldsmobileOldsmobile 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...
- 1920-1921 Sampson Truck
- 1923-1936 Cadillac/LaSalle 1927-1935
- 1926-2007 PontiacPontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
- 1929-1930 Marquette
- 1961-1969 AcadianAcadianThe Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
- 2005–2008 Buick LaCrosse/AllureBuick LaCrosseThe Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size entry-level luxury sedan produced by General Motors. It replaced the Buick Century and Regal in North America beginning in the 2005 model year.-North America:...
- 1995–2007 Chevrolet Monte CarloChevrolet Monte CarloThe Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
- 2004–2007 Pontiac Grand PrixPontiac Grand PrixPicking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...
- 1988–2004 Buick RegalBuick RegalThe Buick Regal is a mid-size car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. North American production ended in 2004 and began again in 2011. For the 2011 model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan...
- 1982–2005 Buick CenturyBuick CenturyBuick Century is the model name used by the Buick division of General Motors for a line of full-size performance vehicles from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, and from 1973 to 2005 for a mid-size car....
- 1982–1990 Chevrolet CelebrityChevrolet CelebrityThe Chevrolet Celebrity is a mid-size car produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors . The Celebrity was introduced in 1981 for the 1982 model year. The Celebrity was the best-selling car in the United States in 1986...
- 1990–2001 Chevrolet LuminaChevrolet LuminaThe North American Chevrolet Lumina sedan , coupe and minivan were first introduced in 1989 for the 1990 model year as a new range of vehicles from the Chevrolet brand of General Motors to replace the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, and the Monte Carlo coupe. The Lumina was an answer...
- 1982–1988 Pontiac 6000Pontiac 6000The Pontiac 6000 was a mid-size car introduced by the Pontiac division of General Motors in 1981 for the 1982 model year, positioned between the smaller Phoenix and the slightly upscale Bonneville...
- Chevrolet Caprice Classic
- 1978–1981 Chevrolet MalibuChevrolet MalibuMalibus 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...
- 1976–1981 Chevrolet Bel AirChevrolet Bel AirThe Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1950–1975 model years. Hardtops in the Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950–1952, but it was not a distinct series of its own until...
- 1973–1975 Chevrolet BiscayneChevrolet Biscayne-Biscayne Fleetmaster:In 1960, a lower-priced, sparsely trimmed version of the Biscayne called the Fleetmaster was produced. Aimed primarily at the fleet market, the Fleetmaster included a lower grade of upholstery than the standard Biscayne and deleted routine convenience items such as a cigarette...
- Chevrolet Kingswood EstateChevrolet Kingswood EstateThe Chevrolet Kingswood Estate was a station wagon produced by Chevrolet from model years 1969 through 1972. Features which distinguish it from the Kingswood are the addition of faux-wood paneling on the sides and tailgate, and a slightly fancier interior. Optional concealed headlamps provided...
(Chevrolet CapriceChevrolet CapriceThe Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors in North America for the 1965 through 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular American car in the sixties and early seventies....
) - Chevrolet KingswoodChevrolet KingswoodThe Chevrolet Kingswood was a station wagon produced by Chevrolet in 1959 and 1960 and again from 1969 to 1972. It was based on the rear-wheel drive GM B platform....
(Chevrolet ImpalaChevrolet ImpalaThe Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...
) - Chevrolet TownsmanChevrolet TownsmanThe Chevrolet Townsman was a full-size station wagon produced by Chevrolet from 1953 to 1957 and again from 1969 to 1972.-1953-1957:The Townsman name was first used in 1953 on the 210 series four-door station wagon. For 1954, the name was shifted to the luxury Bel Air series station wagon, which...
(Chevrolet Bel AirChevrolet Bel AirThe Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1950–1975 model years. Hardtops in the Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950–1952, but it was not a distinct series of its own until...
) - 1969–1972 Chevrolet BrookwoodChevrolet BrookwoodBrookwood was a name used by Chevrolet on certain models in its station wagon offerings between 1958 and 1972.-1958–1961:Introduced in 1958 as Chevrolet's mid-priced station wagon, Brookwoods were trimmed in line with Chevrolet's mid-priced Chevrolet Biscayne models...
(Chevrolet BiscayneChevrolet Biscayne-Biscayne Fleetmaster:In 1960, a lower-priced, sparsely trimmed version of the Biscayne called the Fleetmaster was produced. Aimed primarily at the fleet market, the Fleetmaster included a lower grade of upholstery than the standard Biscayne and deleted routine convenience items such as a cigarette...
) station wagons - Pontiac Strato Chief
- Pontiac Laurentian
- 1958–1986 Pontiac ParisiennePontiac ParisienneThe Pontiac Parisienne is a full-size rear-wheel drive vehicle that was sold by Pontiac on the GM B platform in Canada from 1958 to 1986 and in the US from 1983 to 1986...
- Pontiac Grande Parisienne
- Pontiac CatalinaPontiac CatalinaThe Pontiac Catalina was part of Pontiac's full-sized automobile line. Initially, the name was used strictly to denote hardtop body styles, first appearing in the 1950 Chieftain Eight and DeLuxe Eight lines...
- Pontiac BonnevillePontiac BonnevilleThe Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...
- Pontiac LeMansPontiac LeMansThe Pontiac LeMans was a model name applied to compact and intermediate-sized automobiles offered by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1962 to 1981. The LeMans was replaced by the downsized Pontiac Bonneville for the 1982 model year...
- Chevrolet Monte CarloChevrolet Monte CarloThe Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
See also
- Oshawa Truck AssemblyOshawa Truck AssemblyOshawa Truck Assembly was a General Motors Canada truck factory in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada that opened in 1965 and closed in 2009. The plant is part of the larger GM Autoplex, which includes Oshawa Car Assembly and a now-closed battery plant...
- located on the same site next to Oshawa Car Assembly. - General Motors CanadaGeneral Motors CanadaGeneral Motors of Canada Limited is General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...
- Final OfferFinal OfferFinal Offer is a Canadian film documenting the 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers Union and GM. Ultimately, it provided a historical record of the birth of the Canadian Auto Workers Union as Bob White, then head of the Canadian sector of the UAW, led his membership out of...
- 1984 documentary film that shows life on the floor of the Oshawa Plant.