The Bowling Green Assembly plant, home of the Corvette, is about to undergo some major upgrades as part of GM’s ongoing facility-enhancement program,
The General is dedicating another $290 million to the plant in southcentral Kentucky, which has produced America’s favorite sports car since 1981, after assembly moved there from St. Louis (where it had been built since 1954) and Flint, Michigan, where the Vette was built in its first year.
The investment is being earmarked towards upgrading the assembly line with new technologies and processes, with the improvements set to commence this summer. More than half ($153 million) is being made as part of the Kentucky Business Incentive to encourage manufacturing and other businesses to move to, or remain in, the state.
The manufacturing upgrades follow a previously announced investment of $439 million in the factory’s paint shop. The combined sum of $729 million ought to ensure that the Corvette remains competitive against rivals from both domestic and foreign automakers.
Dodge is winding down production of the Viper, while Ford adds new versions of the Mustang below and rolls out the new GT supercar from above. Meanwhile Honda has chosen to build the new Acura NSX in neighboring Ohio. Other rivals like the Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911 continue to be imported from Japan and Germany, respectively.
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