In the small village of Lordstown, Ohio there’s been a lot of buzz lately. The small village has been busy with the production of one of the most anticipated new cars by Chevrolet, the Cruze.
As soon as you take the thruway exit into Lordstown, you see their pride and joy represented as a giant billboard on the side of their assembly plant. The assembly plant has been the staple business of Lordstown since 1966 when they first started assembling the Chevrolet Impala. Since then, the plan has been the final piece of production for GM cars like the Impala, Vega, Vans, the Chevrolet Cavalier, Cobalt, and now Cruze.
We were invited to Lordstown to take a tour of the assembly plant, test drive the Cruze and comparable models, as well as drive our first 2011 Chevy Cruze back home to Paddock Chevrolet.
When we pulled into the lot, we were greeted by a sea of Crystal Red Metallic 2LT Chevrolet Cruze. I have a feeling that Crystal Red is going to be one of the most popular colors. It accentuates the crisp and stylish lines of the Cruze and just grabs your attention.
After a quick lunch, and hearing a few people from the plant sing the praises of the work their employees have done and how hard they have worked to bring the Chevy Cruze to production, we were able to take a tour of the plant. The Lordstown Plant handles the entire assembly process from paint to final assembly. The plant was very clean and well organized. A mix of robotic automation as well as assembly workers work to complete the 960 or so complete units per day.
Cars would pass us by in every color option that is offered. The Crystal Red seemed to be one of the most popular colors along the assembly line.
After paint, the Cruze would be carried through the conveyor system through different departments, adding interior or exterior components,and trim pieces, however the most impressive section was when the car body met up with the drivetrain. A line of computer controlled carriers would glide along the assembly with the entire drivetrain for the Cruze. Everything from wheel to wheel, engine, transmission, and exhaust would be on the carrier. They would arrive at an exact location under the body of the Cruze. Some double checks for alignment and they would be mated in less than 30 seconds.
The Cruze would then get their rims and tires installed. Tires and rims would be carried through a conveyor system, 4 at a time to meet up with the Cruze.
Close to being a completed vehicle, it is carried through the rest of the process. Electrical system is hooked up, computer is programmed, and fit and finish is tested.
The Cruze assembly is just about done. It is now ready for fit and finish, pull of protective covers and panels, and prepare for ship. Dealer window sticker is also affixed at this time. The Cruze is gone over one more time with great detail before being brought out to the shipping yard. The assembly process is done, repeated 650 times today. Soon production will double to accommodate the high demand for the car that says “Get used to more”