General Motors Production
The Willow Run factory was acquired by General Motors in late 1953, after the Detroit Transmission plant in Livonia, Michigan burned down in mid-August; GM's only Hydramatic production line was up and running at Willow Run a mere nine weeks after the fire. The plant grew over the years from the 175,000-square-foot bomber plant to the nearly 5-million-square-foot 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, 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.
Read more about this topic: Willow Run Transmission
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