After 25 years General Motors has ended its joint with Toyota at its plant in Fremont, California. The project, known as the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or Nummi, has manufactured more than 6 million vehicles, including the Corolla sedan and Tacoma pickup truck for Toyota, and the Pontiac Vibe for GM. GM will no longer be producing Pontiacs next year and intends to discontinue the Vibe in August. GM also announced that it did not intend to continue utilizing the Fremont facility after it emerges from bankruptcy, which is expected to occur in late summer, 2009. The venture allowed Toyota to apply its system in the United States and enabled GM to learn from the Toyota manufacturing process. The plant, which has over 4,700 employees, and has more than 5,000,000 square feet of assembly space is the last auto plant operating in California. Toyota has not yet decided whether it will continue to operate in the Fremont facility, and has rejected reports that it was considering building the Prius in Fremont. Both the Corolla and the Tacoma are being assembled and other facilities, the Corolla in Canada and the Tacoma in Mexico.
Think you may be driving a lemon? In California call the California Lemon Law Firm, Delsack & Assoc. at 888-Ex-Lemon (888-395-3666) for a free review.