Kyflyer

The General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant will have an extended shutdown this year, officials said Monday. The shutdown will come as the plant makes the conversion to new facilities and the eventual building of the seventh-generation 2018 Chevrolet Corvette by United Auto Workers 2164 employees. Employees received word of the planned shutdown Monday, said Lauren Langille, plant communications manager for General Motors Bowling Green Assembly & Spring Hill Manufacturing plants.
Langille said the shutdown is expected to occur during the third and fourth quarters of 2017. Length of the shutdown was not disclosed. The extended shutdown is for equipment installation, setting up the new car build process for the 2018 Corvette and finishing construction of the nearly $500 million paint shop announced in 2015. “Once the facility resumes (production), we will go about building the seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette,” Langille said. The exact date for the shutdown has not been decided, she said.
But a comment on the National Corvette Museum Facebook page Monday shed some light on a possible shutdown date.
“Tours at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant will be closed starting June 16, 2017 due to the 2018 model year changeover. We do not have additional details about when tours will resume,” the Facebook post said.
The shutdown of tours doesn’t necessarily equate to shutdown of the plant. Langille said employment levels at the plant once production resumes “will be similar” to those before the shutdown. The Bowling Green plant employs about 1,000 workers.

Dfwz06

Well they don't call it an eighth generation corvette yet

tobaccokid

Well, is it 2,164, or is it 1,000?

laserdude2215

It's UAW Local 2164.

NWbluez06

Here we come mid-engine corvette or should I say Cadillac... Its been done before! First time I toured the plant they were building caddies there to. Last time I was there picking up my Callaway Z06, I saw the size of the expansion... It looks big enough for two production lines and a new paint dept. especially since they ran both lines and still got them painted in the "old" building! A new Cadillac in my future Hmmm....

jordanC6Z06

I find it so hard to believe that the C7 will only be around for 4 years? The C6 was 9 years and the C5 was 8....

BMadden

It was posted in another thread on here that the final build out date for 2017 is early this year coming on 6/2/17. When is the final build date in a normal year?

MSG C5

Shutting the plant down for the buildout doesn't mean the C7 will only run 4 years (2014-2017). The article points out that the plant will be used to continue to build the seventh generation Corvette in 2018.

I do think that the C7 will only go through 2019 or 6 years with the C8 making it's debut in 2020. GM execs announced early on that they did not plan for the C7 generation to last as long as the C5 or C6 generations.

etekberg

Hasn't that always been the case?

Kyflyer

http://www.bgdailynews.com/search/?l...n&nsa=eedition

It is great fun to speculate here at time kill central, but GM is being pretty tight lipped about everything. Also, a supercharged C7 ZR1 may be somewhere in the mix as well. The Z06 is more than enough for me, it is exhilarating and after taking the Ron Fellows course I feel much better about it. It scared the crap out'ta me the first time I drove it, but I fell in love with it at once. What a performance bargain. If GM does offer the ZR1 I will probably wait and see what the C8 has to offer.

MSG C5

Yes. I guess that's why they announced it early on.

Spacewalker

The last C7 will be 2019, but the C8 will be delayed when Civil war breaks out over the west coast's decision to join Canada.

etekberg

Or when GM decides they want to save some some cash by cutting the C8 design budget and milking the C7 model some more.

Redc8z06

500 Million dollar paint booth now that's funny!

tail_lights

Dang and I was hoping to visit the plant when we head up there in August.

Psyence

Is the plant still shut down? I would beg to differ. I ordered my C7Z a couple of months ago and after a long wait for this news, I was told last week it would be build after this week. Sounds like its up and running now?

Kyflyer

^^^ If you read the press release the shutdown is for the 3rd and 4th quarters. This is the 1st quarter.

MSG C5

Based on the planned shutdown dates, does anyone know when is the last day to order a new 2017 Corvette? The Bash is scheduled for April 27, so I'm curious how long the final order window will be after we (hopefully) find out the 2018 model year changes at the Bash. Does anyone know last year's date for the 2016 models?

Chappie

Resurrecting this old thread. I knew about the plant being closed to visitors for sometime now, but just this Saturday when we ordered a 2018 LBR Stingray coupe we were told of the plant shut down.

Are there any updates on when production with resume? Dealership says early September.

Chappie

onfire

They told me production would resume in September when we toured the plant in May.