A Buick LeSabre crosses the finish line as the last auto to be made at GM's Buick City factory RELATED VIDEO 'It's so hard to say good-bye': CNN's Ed Garsten is on hand for the closing of Buick City. (June 29) Windows Media 28K 80K

GM closes one of the largest auto plants in the nation

June 29, 1999
Web posted at: 10:09 p.m. EDT (0209 GMT)

By Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten

FLINT, Michigan (CNN) -- A white Pontiac Bonneville made its way down the assembly line, followed by a gleaming gray Buick LeSabre. After them, there would be no more.

After 92 years and 15.8 million vehicles, one of the largest auto plants in the country produced its last cars Tuesday, marking the end of an era and the demise of a General Motors "city" named Buick.

As workers left the plant for the last time, some hugged each other.

"It's going to be rough, man ... it's going to be hard to say goodbye," said Jesse Todd.

Susie Grant clutched the manifest for the final Bonneville as a souvenir.

"It's heart-wrenching, because I worked there for 22 years," she said. "I've never worked anywhere else."

Buick City comprises 60 different buildings, including eight factories stretching over 2.5 miles. The first Buick made here was a 1908 model.

Over the years the cars took on different looks, but they always represented luxury and style.

General Motors poured $250 million into improving the plant and it became one of its most efficient, but the market simply didn't want what it produced.

As pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles went up in popularity, the big sedans with V8 engines just weren't going anywhere. Two other plants in Michigan that turn out the GM vehicles are more than meeting market demand, so it wasn't surprising that the company decided to close Buick City.

Most of the plant's 1,300 workers will either retire or be offered jobs at other GM plants. Buick City, meanwhile, becomes a ghost town.

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