There’s a lot of confusion about GM’s use of the bomber plant. GM never built cars there. The auto assembly plant was north of Hydra Matic, in a separate assembly plant. In its time, Corvair, Chevy IIs, and full size Impalas were built there. My dad worked for the division, which started at the old Cadillac Riopelle plant, then called Detroit Transmission Division, then the ill fated Livonia plant, which burned down in 1953. When the move to Willow Run took place, Kaiser was still building cars and aircraft at Willow Run. At first, final transmission assembly began there, with various GM factories and suppliers were blanking and cutting gears, machining valve bodies, clutch packs and other parts through the Midwest. Eventually, the entire manufacturing operation was brought under one roof.
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