Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also called Factory Zero, is a

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

automobile assembly plant straddling the border between

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. When the facility opened, it was built on the original "Dodge Factory" location that was built in 1911, which was closed in 1980 and demolished in 1981, and the new GM factory built vehicles for GM's "BOC" (Buick/Oldsmobile/Cadillac) Group. The first vehicle, a

Cadillac Eldorado The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 until 2002 over twelve generations. The Eldorado was at or near the top of the Cadillac line. The original 1953 Eldorado convertible and the Eldorado Brougham ...

, rolled off the assembly line on February 4, 1985. It replaced GM's

Detroit Assembly Detroit Assembly (also known as Detroit Cadillac, Cadillac Assembly or Clark Street Assembly) was a General Motors automobile factory in Detroit, Michigan on Clark Street, south of Michigan Avenue ( U.S. Route 12). It began operations in 1921 and ...

on Clark Avenue, south of Michigan Avenue (

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...

) in Detroit which was the main facility for all

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

s starting in 1921. It is about one mile west of the former

Packard Automotive Plant The Packard Automotive Plant is a former automobile-manufacturing factory in Detroit, Michigan, where luxury cars were made by the Packard Motor Car Company and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In 2022, it was scheduled for demolitio ...

. The plant builds vehicles for GM's

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

, GMC and Cadillac divisions and had approximately 1,800 hourly and salaried employees in early 2017, and 924 in late 2022.Factory Zero
at GM.com Since opening in 1985, more than 4 million vehicles have been built at the plant. As of May 2020, the plant is being retooled to produce

electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...

, including the all-new

GMC Hummer EV The GMC Hummer EV (also known as Hummer EV and badged as HEV) is a line of battery electric full-size vehicles produced by General Motors under the GMC marque, and its own sub-brand. The Hummer EV line was introduced in October 2020 with t ...

History

Dodge (1911–1980)

The Dodge Factory, or "Dodge Main" as it became known, occupied on the edge of the village of Hamtramck, which is surrounded by the city of Detroit. Plant 4, on Conant Avenue, was separated only from the main plant structures by a railroad right-of-way, which was also the boundary line between the two cities. The plant started off as just a few buildings but it grew rapidly as needed, where it ended up as 35 separate buildings, to include a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, before it was demolished. The original plant was designed by noted industrial designer and architect

Albert Kahn Associates Albert Kahn Associates is an architectural design firm in Detroit, Michigan with a second office located in Miami, Florida. It was established in 1895 and is still active. Recent work includes being awarded third place in thVirtual Modeling ...

but were replaced in 1912 by the architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, due to a disagreement with the Dodge brothers. Reflecting an engineering philosophy the brothers shared, the plant was vastly overbuilt. Dodge factory 1916

There were two railroads crossing the area, and plenty of open land at the time. One of the railroad lines went north to the nearby

Highland Park Ford Plant The Highland Park Ford Plant is a former Ford Motor Company factory located at 91 Manchester Avenue (at Woodward Avenue) in Highland Park, Michigan. It was the second American production facility for the Model T automobile and the first facto ...

which had just opened earlier. The original intent was to continue providing parts and subassemblies, and ship them to Ford. It also included the first time a car manufacturer used a vehicle test track, including a portion where newly manufactured cars would drive up a ramp, to test the powertrain durability and the brakes on the way down. John and Horace had grown up on factory floors and machine shops, and they made sure their employees were well cared for. The Dodge facility had a complete medical facility, with doctors and nurses on duty at all times, an efficient plant security department, and a well-equipped firefighting department with direct contact with the local Hamtramck Fire Department. The plant included a "welfare department" which looked after workers’ social needs and, reflecting the innovative nature of the Dodge brothers, a machine shop they called "the Playpen" where employees who wanted to fix or invent things could indulge in their ideas after hours. The facility had an executive dining room for senior plant and corporate officials, and a cafeteria for office and plant employees, complete with a fully equipped kitchen; a smaller facility in Plant 4 prepared hot food for distribution directly to the factory areas via small trolleys. The factory was approximately two miles south of

Lynch Road Assembly Lynch Road Assembly was a Chrysler assembly plant located in Detroit, Michigan near Coleman A. Young International Airport. It is now the location of The Crown Group, a powdered coatings manufacturer which supports the automotive manufacturing indu ...

which built

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

products exclusively until 1962. When the

Chrysler C platform Chrysler's C platform was the basis for rear wheel drive full-size cars from 1965 to 1978. Although often misclassified, 1964 and earlier full-size Chrysler products, and 1966 and earlier Imperials are not C-bodies. Wheelbases: * 119 in ** ...

was introduced in 1965, the factory manufactured Dodge and Plymouth products that shared the platform.

General Motors

The site was home to a large Polish community that was part of an area that is sometimes referred to as

Poletown Poletown East is a neighborhood area of Detroit, Michigan, bordering the enclave city of Hamtramck. The area was named after the Polish immigrants who originally lived in the area. A portion of residential area known as Poletown became the General ...

. 4,200 residents, 1,400 homes, several churches (including Immaculate Conception Church) and 140 businesses, including the old

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

factory, were located on the proposed site. The residential area was north of the Dodge facility. GM's acquisition of part of the property through

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

, and the subsequent clearing of this section of the neighborhood, was the subject of various protests and court battles. Eventually the case went to the Michigan Supreme Court which ruled in favor of General Motors stating that economic development is a legitimate use of eminent domain. Detroit Mayor

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit. Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...

sided with GM, seeking new jobs and investments. It is south of a former GM facility, called Chevrolet Gear & Axle Division, which was the combination of two former factories, called Detroit Gear and Axle, plus Detroit Forge, which had occupied the location at Holbrook Avenue to the south, Lumpkin Street to the east, Poland Avenue to the north and I-75 to the west. The factories were demolished in 2014, having occupied the location since 1917.History of Dodge Factory
at Allpar.com While some residents protested, others supported the efforts to build the new plant. Gary Campbell, a Poletown resident and bar owner, accused those opposing the new plant of presenting opinions of a small minority as if they represented the entire neighborhood. The controversy led to national news attention and the involvement of

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

and the

Gray Panthers The Gray Panthers are a series of multi-generational local advocacy networks in the United States which confront ageism and many other social justice issues. The organization was formed by Maggie Kuhn in response to her forced retirement from th ...

. Protests centered around the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. The Detroit Archdiocese supported the relocations and had already agreed to sell the two Catholic churches that were in the area. However, Joseph Karasiewicz, the priest at one of the parishes, defied his local Cardinal and fought to keep his building from being sold. The Archdiocese stood firm in its support of the sale. A 29-day

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

at the Immaculate Conception Church came to an end on July 14, 1981 when police forcibly evicted 20 people from the church. Twelve people were arrested; only three of the twelve arrested were from Poletown. Shortly afterward, the site targeted for the plant was razed and construction began on the new $500 million auto assembly plant. The controversy inspired at least one short film:
"Poletown Lives!"
A small Jewish cemetery
Beth Olem
occupies part of the grounds of the GM Assembly at the extreme northwest corner of the property, next to the water treatment facility. The older pre-existing auto plant parking lot engulfed the small cemetery long before General Motors built the new assembly plant. Visitation is currently limited to twice a year on the Sundays preceding

Rosh Hashana Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...

and

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

. GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant was opened in February 1985. Cadillac K-body production was consolidated there in the 1990s. The Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly later received the contract for the production of

Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in t ...

, which uses the Delta II/Voltec body. On April 21, 2010, GM announced it would invest $121 million into the Detroit/Hamtramck factory to ensure GM could keep up with the demand for the next generation

Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-drive ...

. In May 2011, GM announced it would invest $69 million in the plant for the

Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles in ...

. In 2013, production of the

Cadillac ELR The Cadillac ELR is a two-door, four-passenger luxury plug-in hybrid compact coupé manufactured and marketed by Cadillac for model years (MY) 2014 and 2016 – with a hiatus for MY 2015. Using a retuned version of the Chevrolet Volt's Voltec E ...

equivalent of the

) began, followed two years later by production of the

Cadillac CT6 The Cadillac CT6 (short for ''Cadillac Touring 6'') is a full-size luxury car manufactured by Cadillac. The CT6 was introduced at the 2015 New York International Auto Show and went on sale in the U.S. in March 2016. It is the first car to adopt ...

and then the third-generation

Buick LaCrosse The Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size sedan manufactured and marketed by Buick since 2004. The LaCrosse is now in its third generation, slotted above the Buick Regal as the brand's flagship vehicle. The first-generation LaCrosse replaced the Century ...

. In December 2016, GM announced the elimination of the second shift and 1,300 jobs at the plant in March 2017; less than twelve months after the second shift was added. In October 2017, GM announced to scale back production at the plant as falling sales and excess inventory of sedans made there, resulting in about 200 job lost. On November 26, 2018, GM announced that the plant would be "unallocated" in 2019. The plant has an annual production capacity of 230,000 units.1 Utilization rate in 2018 was 28 percent. In February, 2019,

(GM) announced that production of the

and

would continue at Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly until early 2020. With the discontinuation of the CT6 and Impala, the factory is currently in the process of retooling to build electric vehicles, starting with the

. The first GMC Hummer EV Pickup rolled off the assembly line at Factory Zero on December 17, 2021.

Vehicles produced

Chrysler Corp.

Dodge 30-35 The Dodge 30-35 is an automobile that was the first car produced by Dodge in Detroit, introduced on November 14, 1914. The car had an L-head inline-four engine of displacement, which had a power output of 35 hp (25.7 kW). The rear wheels were ...

First Dodge engineered vehicle *

Dodge Series D5 The Dodge Series D5 appeared in October 1936 for the 1937 model year, replacing the previous year's Series D2 (also known as the "Dodge Beauty Winner"). Series D5 The D5 did not differ particularly from its predecessor, continuing to use the sa ...

Dodge Series D8 The Dodge Series D8 appeared in October 1937 for the 1938 model year, replacing the previous year's Series D5. Production of the 1938 Dodges ran from September 1937 until July 1938, which was the typical pattern for Dodge in this period. As befor ...

1937,1938 *

M1918 light repair truck The Dodge M1918 light repair truck (G10) was an open cab pickup used to carry tools for emergency repair of vehicles. It was used by the U.S. Army during and after World War I. Specifications The truck consists of a small steel body, built by In ...

Dodge Aspen The Dodge Aspen, and the nearly-identical Plymouth Volaré, are compact cars that were produced from 1976 until 1980. The Volaré/Aspen model line offered a four-door sedan, a two-door coupe, and a four-door wagon. During the time that the Vol ...

Plymouth Volare Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

1976-1979 * Dodge Demon 1971-1972 *

Dodge Challenger The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles (two of those being pony cars) produced by American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge was in 1959 for marketing a ...

Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth from 1964 to 1974. The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A platform, Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 to 1966. A ...

1970-1974 *

Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. The Charger has ...

1966-1978 *

Dodge Monaco The Dodge Monaco is an automobile that was marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler Corporation. Introduced as the flagship of the Dodge product line, the Monaco was introduced for 1965 to replace the Custom 880, later then later joining as a su ...

1964-1978 *

Dodge Custom 880 The Dodge Custom 880 is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge from 1962 through the end of the 1965 model year. It was to fill Dodge's product offer in the mid-price full-size market segment, as well as to help fill the void in Chrysler's line ...

1962-1965 *

Dodge 330 The Dodge 330 is a full-size automobile that was marketed by Dodge from 1962 to 1964 (1965 in Canada). Available in 2-door or 4-door sedan body designs utilizing the B-body. Design The car had a wheelbase and was long. There was also a higher ...

1962-1964 *

Dodge Dart Dodge Dart is a line of automobiles marketed by Dodge from the 1959 to 1976 model years in North America, with production extended to later years in various other markets. The Dart name originally appeared on a 1956 Chrysler show car featuring ...

1962-1976 *

Dodge Polara The Dodge Polara is an automobile introduced in the United States for the 1960 model year as Dodge's top-of-the-line full-size car. After the introduction of the Dodge Custom 880 in 1962, the Polara nameplate designated a step below the full-size ...

1959-1973 *

Dodge Matador The Dodge Matador is a full-sized automobile that was produced for the 1960 model year by Dodge. The Matadors were base model equivalents to the top trimmed Dodge Polara that also used the wheelbase platform of the Chrysler Windsor and ...

1959-1960 *

Dodge Lancer The Dodge Lancer is an automobile that was marketed in three unrelated versions by Dodge during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s. The first version debuted as a hardtop version of the full-sized 1955 Dodge, and was produced in that form until 1959 ...

1955-1962 *

Dodge Royal The Dodge Royal is an automobile which was produced by Dodge in the United States for the 1954 through 1959 model years. First generation (1954) The Royal was introduced for the 1954 model year as the top trim level of the Dodge line, above ...

1954-1959 *

Dodge Coronet The Dodge Coronet is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge in seven generations, and shared nameplates with the same bodyshell with varying levels of equipment installed. Introduced as a full-size car in 1949, it was the division's highest tr ...

1949-1976 *

Dodge Meadowbrook The Dodge Meadowbrook is a full-size car that was produced by Dodge in the United States from 1949 to 1954. History The Dodge Meadowbrook was produced by Dodge and offered as the midline trim level from February 1949 until 1954, above the Wayfar ...

1949-1954 *

Dodge Wayfarer The Dodge Wayfarer is an automobile produced by Dodge from February 1949 until 1952. It was discontinued without a replacement in the United States, although the Kingsway series remained available in export markets. The Wayfarer was the first tr ...

1949-1952 *

Dodge Custom The Dodge Custom is a full-size car which was produced by Dodge in the United States from 1946 to early 1949, and was also called the DeLuxe in a more basic trim package. Dodge was very fluid with model nameplates and during the 1930s updated the ...

1946-1949 *

Dodge Deluxe The Dodge Custom is a full-size car which was produced by Dodge in the United States from 1946 to early 1949, and was also called the DeLuxe in a more basic trim package. Dodge was very fluid with model nameplates and during the 1930s updated the ...

1946-1949

General Motors

2016–2020 *

2014–2020 *

2017–2019 *

2014 and 2016 *

2013–2015 * Holden Volt 2013–2015 * Opel/Vauxhall Ampera 2012–2015 *

2011–2019 *

Buick Lucerne The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car manufactured by General Motors from 2005 to 2011. Named for the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, it served as Buick's top-of-the-line sedan until it was replaced by the second generation Buick LaCrosse. History T ...

2006–2011 * Cadillac DTS 2006–2011 *

Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville is an automobile built by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. Bonnevilles were full-size car, full-sized, with the exception of a brief period of mid-size car, mid-size between 1982 and 1986. The brand was in ...

2000–2005 *

Buick LeSabre The Buick LeSabre is a full-size car made by the division Buick of General Motors from 1959 until 2005. Prior to 1959, this position had been retained by the full-size Buick Special model (1936–58). The "LeSabre", which is French for "the ...

2000–2005 *

Cadillac DeVille The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specif ...

1994–2005 *

Buick Riviera The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car that was marketed by Buick from 1963 to 1999, with the exception of the 1994 model year. As General Motors' first entry into the personal luxury car market segment, the Riviera was highly praised by au ...

1988–1993 *

Oldsmobile Toronado The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission ...

1988–1992 *

Cadillac Allanté The Cadillac Allanté is a two-door, two-seater luxury roadster marketed by Cadillac from 1987 until 1993. It used a Cadillac chassis and running gear with a body built in Italy by coachbuilder Pininfarina. It was expensive to produce with ...

1987–1993 *

Cadillac Seville The Seville was manufactured by Cadillac from 1975 to 2004 as a smaller-sized, premium model. It was replaced by the STS in 2004. Origin of the name The name of "Cadillac's first small car" was selected over a revival of LaSalle or the GM des ...

1986–2004 *

1986–2000 *

2021- *

Cadillac Celestiq The Cadillac Celestiq ( ) is an electric car made by General Motors' Cadillac division. It will be its flagship sedan, replacing the Cadillac CT6, expected to begin sales for the 2024 model year. Overview Cadillac stated it plans to build t ...

2024- * Cadillac Escalade IQ 2024- *

Chevrolet Silverado EV The Chevrolet Silverado EV is a battery electric full-size pickup truck to be manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced in January 2022, the Silverado EV will go on sale in 2023 for the 2024 model year in the Nort ...

2024- * GMC Sierra EV 2024- *

Cruise Origin Cruise LLC is an American self-driving car company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2013 by Kyle Vogt and Dan Kan, Cruise tests and develops autonomous car technology. The company is a largely-autonomous subsidiary of Ge ...

2022-

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Chrysler factories General Motors factories Motor vehicle assembly plants in Michigan Hamtramck, Michigan Buildings and structures in Detroit Buildings and structures in Wayne County, Michigan Economy of Detroit Historic American Engineering Record in Michigan 1911 establishments in Michigan

History

Dodge (1911–1980)

General Motors

Vehicles produced

Chrysler Corp.

General Motors

See also

Further reading

References

External links