Flint Postcards: Buick Skylark Coupe

Fashion Business: Automotive Pioneers Versus Tech Giants

Google's Sergey Brin, in jogging socks and mom jeans, just looks depressed in a faceoff with the dapper Alfred P. Sloan, who turned G.M. into the world's largest corporation.

Twitter's Jack Dorsey, with the collar pop and sunglasses, is no match for G.M. kingpin Charles Stewart Mott's eyebrows and lap dog combination.

This one really isn't fair. G.M. founder Billy Durant, in his jaunty driving cap, can't help but laugh at Google founder Larry Page's unfortunate shirt.

Louis Chevrolet shows Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg that a t-shirt and fleece is not how you do casual by opting for a suit, tie, goggles, and leather driving gloves. Mustache and cigarette are optional but highly recommended.

Jobs by the Numbers

"In 1955 General Motors employed nearly 600,000 people. Today, in a much larger economy, Google employs fewer than 50,000; eBay employs about 20,000 people in the United States; Facebook fewer than 6,000."
— Jeff Madrick, Harper's Magazine.

The Final Act of an Industrial Icon

It's official. 

The final 287 jobs at Delphi Flint East have been shipped off to Mexico, bringing to a close the eventful and illustrious manufacturing history that took place on a stretch of N. Dort Highway in Flint.

The site began as a Dort Motor Company plant; became the world headquarters of A.C. Spark Plug; and, at various points, fell under the auspices of General Motors, Delco Systems, and Delphi. As Jeremy Allen of The Flint Journal explains, the site's confusing history was peppered with bankruptcies and strikes:

On June 11, 1998, Flint East followed in the footsteps of Flint Metal Fab, taking part in one of the longest strikes in GM history. The 54-day strike for which Flint East was a part almost stalled operations for the entire company within two weeks.

On July 28, GM agreed to the investment to Flint Metal Fab and to keep Flint East open until at least 2000.The union agreed to cooperate on efforts to increase productivity at both plants. The strike cost GM an estimated US$2.8 billion.

It's a confusing, chaotic trajectory, but the bottom line is that the place many Flintoids knew simply as Plant 43 is no more.

G.M. Closes Deal on Factory 1 in Flint

G.M. has finalized the deal to purchase the birthplace of the auto company — Factory 1 on Water Street — in Flint's Carriage Town neighborhood. Jeremy Allen of mLive reports:

Initial plans for the factory on Water Street include repairing the roof and walls and making structural improvements throughout the 25,000-square-foot building. Work on the facility is expected to start in late 2013. Parts of the factory date back to 1880 when it was constructed as part of the Flint Cotton & Woolen Mills.

Future plans for the site are the subject of ongoing meetings within GM. No date has been set for publicly outlining how the Durant-Dort facility will be used.

Reuss said that he'd like to see the site used as a museum to potentially showcase some of General Motors' historic vehicles and classic pieces, but plans are still in the works.

Flint Photos: Gold-Plated 1955 Chevy

G.M. celebrated its 50 millionth car in true style. James M. Miller of The Flint Journal wrote:

The gold-colored 1955 Chevy two-door hardtop was built on Nov. 23 at the Van Slyke Road assembly plant.More than 600 pieces of trim, fasteners and other parts were plated with 24-karat gold.

As soon as the car was finished, factory whistles around the city blared in celebration. The car was loaded onto a float and taken downtown for a huge parade that included 72 new vehicles and a series of GM milestone vehicles. 

Anyone know what happened to the car?

Buick Electra 225

This is how Flint used to roll...1970 Buick Electra 225.

Flint Photos: Buick, July 1984

Should We Be Worried?

Reuters reports: The world's largest auto maker, General Motors Co, is in talks with lenders to double its line of credit currently worth $5 billion in a bid to consolidate its balance sheet and shrink its pension obligations, The Wall Street Journal said quoting unnamed sources.

Ben Hamper: Welcome to the Jungle

It's always good to start a Sunday out with a little Ben Hamper:

"I was assigned to the Cab Shop, an area more commonly known to its inhabitants as the Jungle. Lifers had told me that on a scale from one to ten — with one representing midtown Pompeii and ten being then GM Chairman Roger Smith's summer home — the Jungle rates about a minus six. 

"It wasn't difficult to see how they had come up with the name for the place. Ropes, wires and assorted black rubber cables drooped down and entangled everything. Sparks shot out in all direction — bouncing in the aisles, flying into the rafters and even ricocheting off the natives' heads. The noise level was deafening. It was like some hideous unrelenting tape loop of trains having sex. I realized instantly that, as far as new homes go, the Jungle left a lot to be desired. Me Tarzan, you screwed."

              — Rivethead: Tales From the Assembly Line

G.M.'s Record Profits

With only 7,000 G.M. employees left in the Flint area, this news doesn't have the same impact it would have once had, but it's still good to see a glimmer of hope for Michigan's economy.

Nick Bunkley of The New York Times reports:

General Motors reported the largest annual profit in its history on Thursday, even as losses in Europe dragged down fourth-quarter earnings.

G.M. said it earned a quarterly profit of $472 million, or 28 cents a share, down from $510 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago. It was the eighth-consecutive quarterly profit for the carmaker, which cleansed much of its debt in bankruptcy years ago, but also the smallest during that stretch.

For all of 2011, G.M. earned $7.6 billion, nearly all of it from North America. That was 62 percent higher than the $4.7 billion it earned a year ago and more than G.M.’s previous record of $6.7 billion in 1997.

G.M.'s Tax Burden in Genesee County

Who was the largest taxpayer in Genesee County in 2010? Despite all the layoffs and abandoned factories, it was our old friend G.M. But the automaker's tax burden is getting smaller. The Chicago Tribune reports:

Tax appeals filed by General Motors Corp. have resulted in more than $8 million in lost revenue for local governments in the Flint area since 2010.

Powertrain North Ends Production

When production at Powertrain Flint North ended yesterday — the same day the "new" G.M. went public — the last operating element of the old Buick City complex disappeared. At its peak, Buick City employed close to 30,000.

Ron Fonger of The Flint Journal reports:

The property has been owned by Motors Liquidation Company since GM emerged from bankruptcy protection last year, leaving its "bad assets" with MLC. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing a planned environmental cleanup of the site.

General Motors' High Powered I.P.O.

With common shares priced at $33 each, G.M. will set a record for the largest initial public offering in American corporate history.

Michael J. de la Merced of The New York Times reports:

G.M. will return to the stock markets on Thursday, a year and a half after it filed for a quick government-sponsored bankruptcy to shed billions of dollars in debt and reshape its business.

The stock sale will also halve the Treasury Department’s stake to about 26 percent, speeding up the Obama administration’s effort to remove itself from G.M. That has also been a important goal for the company, which has long wanted to regain private ownership and shed the “Government Motors” label.

G.M. will sell 549.7 million common shares at $33 apiece, raising $18.1 billion by taking advantage of an overallotment option to cash in on bigger-than-expected demand. It will also sell 92 million preferred shares at $50 each, raising $4.6 billion.

G.M. Posts Profit Ahead of Initial Public Offering

General Motors will post $2 billion in profits for the 3rd quarter and expects to end the year in the black for the first time since 2004.

Nick Bunkley of The New York Times reports:

New models, including redesigned versions of the Buick Lacrosse sedan and Chevrolet EquinoxChevrolet Cruze, have been brisk, and G.M. is about a month away from introducing the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid car that it says represents the company’s future direction. crossover vehicle, have been well-received by critics and consumers, to the point that G.M. has struggled to keep up with demand. Early sales of a critical new small car, the

G.M.’s public stock offering, expected to occur Nov. 18 and be worth at least $10.6 billion, will allow the federal government to begin recouping the bulk of its $49.5 billion investment in the automaker. The government plans to initially sell about a third of its 61 percent stake in G.M., in the hope that it can divest the remaining portion as the shares’ value increase.

No comment yet from Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, who opposed helping the Big Three, saying "This is a dead end. It's a road to nowhere and it's a big burden on the American taxpayer."

Auto Sales Up for Almost Everyone in October

Who was the only major automaker to report a decline in sales last month?

Hint: It's not G.M.

Buick City Clean Up

Money is on the way to clean up the Buick City site. David Shepardson of The Detroit News reports:

An $836 million plan to prepare 90 former General Motors Corp. sites for new economic life will boost nearly four dozen Michigan properties, including the polluted vestiges of Buick City, Pontiac Assembly and Willow Run.

The program, announced by the White House on Tuesday, includes $161 million for the restoration of 47 sites in 14 Michigan communities. Many are along the I-75 corridor -- the backbone of Michigan manufacturing -- in communities such as Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Bay City.

The idea behind the massive cleanup effort in 14 states is to "revitalize and redevelop old, shuttered GM facilities, preparing them for new industries, new jobs, and new opportunity," President Barack Obama said.

The Detroit News learned that Buick City in Flint, shuttered in 1999, will be the first project funded through the program because the cleanup plan for that site has already been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. The official announcement is expected today.

That's good news for economically ravaged Flint.

"The city of Flint was built around the central General Motors sites, but they've been in the deep freeze through GM's financial challenges," Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said in an interview.

Aerial Destruction

John von Linsowe, a Delphi employee who happens to be a pilot and an amateur photographer, has chronicled the demolition of the old AC Spark Plug plant. A booklet of the photos is available on eBay for $29.95. Included are extra aerial photos of other General Motors facilities demolished in the Flint area. It's 40 pages of 5" x 7" high-resolution photographs. That price seems a little steep but he seems like a nice guy, and he did fly around in a plane and everything.

Here's a more uplifting image of the old AC from Lori Wenzel.

Economic Crisis Brings Us All Together

Suddenly, Japan feels some of Michigan's pain.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"In Nagoya, a nearby city that is also largely dependent on Toyota, there's been a fivefold increase in distressed businesses seeking emergency government loans to stay afloat, according to a new report by the local chamber of commerce. Sales at major department stores in Nagoya dropped 8.7 percent in September, the largest decline among 10 major cities in Japan, the report said.

"The Aichi Prefectural government, which depends on Toyota for about one-quarter of corporate-tax revenue, is projecting a 100 billion yen ($1.05 billion) shortfall in tax revenue, its first in 15 years.

"Toyota City businesses that rely on a healthy auto industry are feeling the pinch. 'Everyone is concerned,' said Yoshiyuki Takahashi, 51 years old, manager of ERA Realty in Toyota City. Property sales are down and vacancies are rising in weekly apartments for temporary workers as Toyota and its suppliers scale back."

Michael Moore Looks Back

"If you go back and look, actually, at Roger and Me now, Flint, Michigan looks pretty good. Even though 30,000 jobs at that time had been eliminated, there were still 50,000 people working there. I think the last number I saw is that there’s somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 people working for General Motors in Flint now, so almost 40,000 jobs less in Flint since I made that film. So it’s—I just can’t tell you how distressing that is for me."

— Michael Moore in a recent interview