Wixom Assembly Plant
From Ford Wiki
Wixom Assembly Plant is a former Ford Motor Company Automobile assembly plant in Wixom, Michigan, United States. It was one of the company's largest and oldest manufacturing sites. The Wixom plant opened April 15, 1957, and encompassed 4.7 million ft², employing 1,600 workers. The last car produced was a white chocolate Lincoln Town Car which rolled off the line at 12:55pm on 31 May, 2007.
During its long and continuing history, the plant has been mainly used for the manufacture of Lincolns and the Ford Thunderbird. The Lincoln Town Car and the Ford GT were produced there. Production of the Lincoln LS ended in the first week of April, 2006.
Wixom was the most profitable plant in the industry during the 1980s when Cadillac downsized its lineup and lost ground to Lincoln. Recently however, Lincoln has not kept up with changing tastes among luxury car consumers, who now prefer sportier, more performance-focused Luxury car instead of ostentatious "luxury yachts".
Due to Lincoln's falling sales, Ford announced on January 23, 2006 that the Wixom plant would be idled in 2007, as part of The Way Forward. Some analyists argued that the plant might not be closed. A report in The Oakland Press stated, "The fate of the Wixom plant, however, will depend on the shape of Ford's future product plan, which seems to be currently in flux." Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm, reportedly offered $115 million in tax cuts to keep the plant open. The plant was nonetheless idled in 2007, and by mid-June 2008, while Ford was able to find buyers for other idled plants, Wixom remains unsold.[1]
Products:
- 1958–2002 Lincoln Continental
- 1958–2005 Ford Thunderbird
- 1980–1983 Lincoln Mark VI
- 1981–2007 Lincoln Town Car
- 1984–1992 Lincoln Mark VII
- 1993–1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
- 2000–2006 Lincoln LS
- 2005–2006 Ford GT
See also
Notes
- ↑ Brent Snavely and Alex P. Kellogg. "Ford sells off its 2nd closed plant in week", Detroit Free Press, June 13, 2008. Accessed 17 August 2008.
References
- "Wixom plant might be shut down". The Oakland Press. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/012206/loc_2006012201.shtml. Retrieved on January 22.
- "Ford's plans to slash production include Wixom". The Oakland Press. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/081906/loc_2006081942.shtml. Retrieved on August 19.
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