Trenton Area Former Industry

ATSF2419 wrote:

JADes718 wrote:The GM Plant manufactured aircraft motors for the Navy Avengers which were assembled across the street during the war (they transported them across the street in a tunnel). They assembled varrious GM models until sometime in the early 80's, when they stopped assembly and just made parts. I think the plant was torn down sometime around 1996.

I don't *think* the plant ever produced full blown car models - it's size doesn't seem to bear that out. Take a look at the size of any plant that assembles the cars themselves and you'll see the Ewing plant was small compared to them.

The Ewing plant was a Fisher Body plant, which most likely made probably every part that could ever go into a car body, if not the full blown carbodies themselves. Remember the GM cars of the early and mid 80s always had a "Body by Fisher" or similar stamping on the door sill. Well, there you go.

Up until GM's 1984 reorganization, Fisher Body made the bodies and GM Assembly Division (GMAD) put the [Fisher] bodies with the drivetrains to make the final product. I'm not sure when the plant actually lost its Fisher Body signs, but it probably became Inland Fisher Guide (at least on paper) when the 1984 reorganization went off. IFG is the consolidation of the Inland Division, Fisher Body, and Guide (which I believe made most of the headlights that went into GM cars back in the day).

The plant became part of Delphi (still a GM subsidiary until 1999) at some point in the mid-90s. The plant closed for good in 1998. Demolition started a couple of years later.

Didn't GM buy up 'Mercer' the automobile manufactured in the Trenton area?

wis bang wrote:

ATSF2419 wrote:

JADes718 wrote:The GM Plant manufactured aircraft motors for the Navy Avengers which were assembled across the street during the war (they transported them across the street in a tunnel). They assembled varrious GM models until sometime in the early 80's, when they stopped assembly and just made parts. I think the plant was torn down sometime around 1996.

I don't *think* the plant ever produced full blown car models - it's size doesn't seem to bear that out. Take a look at the size of any plant that assembles the cars themselves and you'll see the Ewing plant was small compared to them.

The Ewing plant was a Fisher Body plant, which most likely made probably every part that could ever go into a car body, if not the full blown carbodies themselves. Remember the GM cars of the early and mid 80s always had a "Body by Fisher" or similar stamping on the door sill. Well, there you go.

Up until GM's 1984 reorganization, Fisher Body made the bodies and GM Assembly Division (GMAD) put the [Fisher] bodies with the drivetrains to make the final product. I'm not sure when the plant actually lost its Fisher Body signs, but it probably became Inland Fisher Guide (at least on paper) when the 1984 reorganization went off. IFG is the consolidation of the Inland Division, Fisher Body, and Guide (which I believe made most of the headlights that went into GM cars back in the day).

The plant became part of Delphi (still a GM subsidiary until 1999) at some point in the mid-90s. The plant closed for good in 1998. Demolition started a couple of years later.

Didn't GM buy up 'Mercer' the automobile manufactured in the Trenton area?

It sounds like a very likely scenairo, although my knowledge of the history of GMs early days is sketchy. I do the Ewing plant was built new in 1937-1938.

When Billy Durant was at the helm, GM went on buying binges and swallowed just about any company it could get its hands on that did anything related to automobiles (vertical integration) and also companies that made cars themselves (Olds, Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Oakland [became Pontiac], Grabowski Motor Company [GMC]) and even one that made locomotives (Electo-Motive Corporation). Mercer could well have been one of the companies that GM swallowed in those early years. There are a few books out there on Mr. Durant, although I haven't read any of them. I know he died broke, running a bowling alley in Flint, MI.