Willow Run Transmission (also called Ypsilanti Transmission Operations, YTO) was 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 ...

factory in

Ypsilanti Township, Michigan Ypsilanti Charter Township is a charter township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 53,362 at the 2010 census. The city of Ypsilanti is mostly surrounded by the township, but the two are administered autonomou ...

. Acquired by GM in 1953, it produced

Hydramatic Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully-a ...

and other

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

s for use in vehicles built by General Motors and other automakers. The factory first opened in 1941 as the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Willow Run Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manufacture aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator heav ...

facility, which built

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bombers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and its original building (still preserved within the fabric of the GM Powertrain plant) was designed by noted architect Albert Kahn. Following the war, the bomber plant was sold as surplus property to the

Kaiser-Frazer The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation (1947–1953 as Kaiser-Frazer) was the result of a partnership between industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer.Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

and

Graham-Paige Graham-Paige was an American automobile manufacturer founded by brothers Joseph B. Graham (1882-1970), Robert C. Graham (1885-1967), and Ray A. Graham (1887-1932) in 1927. Automobile production ceased in 1940, and its automotive assets were acq ...

executive

Joseph W. Frazer Joseph Washington Frazer (March 4, 1892 – August 7, 1971) was a mid-20th century American automobile company executive. Over the course of his life, Joe Frazer was employed in half a dozen different companies as a mechanic, instructor, financier, ...

. From 1947 to 1953, Willow Run built Kaiser and Frazer cars for Kaiser-Frazer and its successor

Kaiser Motors Kaiser Motors (formerly Kaiser-Frazer) Corporation made automobiles at Willow Run, Michigan, United States, from 1945 to 1953. In 1953, Kaiser merged with Willys-Overland to form Willys Motors Incorporated, moving its production operations ...

. Kaiser also produced cargo planes during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

at Willow Run under license from

Fairchild Aircraft Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1 ...

, including the

C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechaniz ...

General Motors production

The Willow Run factory was acquired by General Motors in late 1953, after the Detroit Transmission plant in

Livonia, Michigan Livonia is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 95,535 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which ranked it as Michigan's ninth most-populated municipality. Livonia is a part ...

, which held GM's only Hydramatic production line, burned down in mid-August; the line was up and running at Willow Run a mere nine weeks after the fire. The plant grew over the years from the bomber plant to the nearly GM Powertrain factory and engineering center that the company abandoned as part of its 2009 bankruptcy. A parcel of land south of the Powertrain facility became

Willow Run Assembly Willow Run Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory near Ypsilanti, Michigan, located at 2625 Tyler Road, in the Willow Run manufacturing complex. Willow Run Assembly consisted of an assembly plant of 2.3 million square feet, another buil ...

, which produced cars until 1992, later being sold by GM and becoming the ''Willow Run Business Center''. In addition to making automatic transmissions, Willow Run Transmission also produced the M16A1 rifle and the M39A1 20mm autocannon for the U.S. military during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Products manufactured

''This list is incomplete; please help by expanding it.'' * GM Turbo-Hydramatic 200 * GM Turbo-HydraMatic 425 * GM Turbo-Hydramatic 400 * GM

Turbo-Hydramatic 125 {{Infobox automobile , image=Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum May 2015 060 (1979-2001 Hydra-Matic 3T40 transmission).jpg , caption=A Hydra-Matic 3T40 transmission, produced between 1979 and 2001, at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum , na ...

* GM Turbo-Hydramatic 325 *

GM 4L80 transmission The 4L80-E (and similar 4L85-E) is a series of automatic transmissions from General Motors. Designed for longitudinal engine configurations, the series included 4 forward gears. It was the 4-speed electronically commanded evolution of the 3-spee ...

GM 4L85 transmission The 4L80-E (and similar 4L85-E) is a series of automatic transmissions from General Motors. Designed for longitudinal engine configurations, the series included 4 forward gears. It was the 4-speed electronically commanded evolution of the 3-spee ...

GM 4T60 transmission {{Infobox automobile , image=Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum May 2015 060 (1979-2001 Hydra-Matic 3T40 transmission).jpg , caption=A Hydra-Matic 3T40 transmission, produced between 1979 and 2001, at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum , na ...

* GM 4T80-E transmission *

GM 6L50 transmission The 6L50 (and similar 6L45) is a 6-speed longitudinally-mounted automatic transmission produced by General Motors. It is very similar in design to the larger 6L80/6L90, and is produced at GM Powertrain plants in Toledo, Ohio; Silao, Guanajuato, ...

GM 6L80 transmission The 6L80 (and similar 6L90) is a six-speed automatic transmission built by General Motors at its Willow Run Transmission plant in Ypsilanti, MI. It was introduced in late 2005, and is very similar in design to the smaller 6L45/6L50, produced at ...

GM 6L90 transmission The 6L80 (and similar 6L90) is a six-speed automatic transmission built by General Motors at its Willow Run Transmission plant in Ypsilanti, MI. It was introduced in late 2005, and is very similar in design to the smaller 6L45/6L50, produced at G ...

* M16A1 rifle * M39A1 20mm autocannon

Closure and redevelopment

On June 1, 2009, GM announced it would be closing the plant as part of its

bankruptcy proceedings Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. The plant was transferred to

Motors Liquidation Company Motors Liquidation Company (MLC), formerly General Motors Corporation, was the company left to settle past liability claims from General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization, Chapter 11 reorganization of American car manufacturer General Motors. It e ...

, and transmission production ended on December 15, 2010. The

RACER Trust Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust ("RACER") Trust was created in March 2011 by a consent decree in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. RACER's mission is to clean up and position for ...

, which was charged with cleaning up and discharging with old GM properties, has controlled the property since March 2011, and received among other proposals an offer from A.E. Equities Group Holdings to buy the plant in 2011.DETROIT FREE PRESS: Former GM Willow Run plant attracts $9 million offer from redeveloper

/ref> In April 2013, the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' confirmed that the

was negotiating with the

Yankee Air Museum The Yankee Air Museum is an aviation museum located at Willow Run Airport in Van Buren Township, Michigan. The museum has a small fleet of flying aircraft and a collection of static display aircraft outdoors. History The Yankee Air Force Inc. w ...

, which had until August 2013 to raise the funds needed to purchase a portion of the original bomber plant, which became part of what was Willow Run Transmission. The museum would consolidate operations scattered on various parcels around Willow Run, and the trust expected to clear the remainder of the Powertrain plant for redevelopment. The main

article has more details on the complex's history, and its redevelopment efforts.

References

{{coord, 42, 14, 32, N, 83, 33, 4, W, region:US_type:landmark, display=title General Motors factories Former motor vehicle assembly plants Motor vehicle assembly plants in Michigan Buildings and structures in Wayne County, Michigan 1941 establishments in Michigan