NUMMI Completes Final Vehicle Production

[IMakeVibes]

Couple of pics of the activities surrounding the last vehicles produced at NUMMI. Unfortunately it wasn't a Vibe. To kind of stay on topic here, I've also included a pic of the last Vibe built back in August '09. And finally text of a press release NUMMI issued after the last car was completed today.Last Tacoma coming off the line on 3/26/10Last Corolla coming off the line:And the gathering afterwards:An odd looking empty assembly line:A feeling shared thousands of times over the past few weeks:Employees entering the "exit center" where last check and unemployment information was picked up and badges deactivated:Only pic I have of the last Vibe. This is a scan out of a commemorative photo book all employees were given a few weeks ago.Text of a press release issued by NUMMI after the end of production:For Immediate ReleaseMedia Contact Lance Tomasu at (510) 498-5667 or Sam Singer at (415) 227-9700NUMMI Completes Final Vehicle Production at Fremont PlantFocus Now Shifts to Repurposing Manufacturing SiteFremont, California (April 1, 2010) – The NUMMI auto plant completed build-out of its last car today before shutting down manufacturing at the 25-year-old assembly site.“We want to thank generations of NUMMI team members whose skill and pride in their work contributed to numerous innovations in automotive assembly here in Fremont,” said NUMMI President and CEO Kent Ogura. “We also want to thank Toyota for helping to retain NUMMI workers and ensure efficient production until the last day of operations at this plant. Our attention now will focus on helping to find a new owner that will re-use this site so that it continues to serve the Fremont community and the Bay Area.”For 25 years, NUMMI was a venture between General Motors and Toyota. The decision to close NUMMI came after GM declared bankruptcy last year and pulled out of the venture.The last model produced at NUMMI today was a red S-grade Corolla, which will be sold to NUMMI customer Toyota. The final line-off time was 9:21 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time. NUMMI produced nearly 8 million cars and trucks throughout its 25-year history. Some team members will stay on site over the next few months to support asset sales, perform any remediation and provide security.NUMMI will endeavor to find a buyer as well as continue to work with Fremont and state officials to identify the best re-use of the site.“Over 75 percent of the acreage here at NUMMI is open space and pavement,” said Mike Truax, general manager of Engineering. “The plant was operated to stringent environmental standards and received numerous environmental awards. This site is located between two major freeways on a prime parcel of Bay Area real estate and is immediately adjacent to the planned Warm Springs BART station.”###

[keithvibe]

thanks for the photos... though it's sad

[lovemyraffe]

Sad it had to end.

[star_deceiver]

Sorry to see NUMMI go, I hope somebody buys it and builds something of the same quality that exited those doors for the past 25 years.But it's nice to see that all the final vehicles were the right colour!!!

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Sorry to see NUMMI go, I hope somebody buys it and builds something of the same quality that exited those doors for the past 25 years.But it's nice to see that all the final vehicles were the right colour!!!Lol agreed!Probably because it makes for a good picture.

[ColonelPanic]

Thank you for sharing those pics... And thanks for building all those Vibes for us.

[ou.grizzly]

You wouldn't happen to have the VIN and or destination of that 4 Door Sport Edition Tacoma would you?

[vibolista]

They say that there's still too much capacity in the industry. Right now there might be, but as the economy ramps back up, is it possible that the car industry will find itself with too little capacity? I hope all those people can find work. How many NUMMI employees lost their jobs today? The tragedy here is not that there are no more Vibes being built, it's that these workers no longer build them.

[IMakeVibes]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »You wouldn't happen to have the VIN and or destination of that 4 Door Sport Edition Tacoma would you?No clue. Apparently that last Corolla is going to Toyota's museum in Japan. Makes sense, they have the first one NUMMI built there which is also the first Toyota built in North America. I have a feeling that Tacoma may be going there as well, but I'm not sure. I'll try to find out.Quote, originally posted by vibolista »They say that there's still too much capacity in the industry. Right now there might be, but as the economy ramps back up, is it possible that the car industry will find itself with too little capacity? I hope all those people can find work. How many NUMMI employees lost their jobs today? The tragedy here is not that there are no more Vibes being built, it's that these workers no longer build them.It is possible that at some point in time, there will be a lack of capacity in the NA auto industry soon. GM has already added shifts to some of their plants and is working to reopen some idled plants, although I don't know which or when. Toyota still has a new plant which is 90% complete sitting idle in Mississippi. Although I don't know and have no inside information, I think they will soon announce that plant will be completed and will start producing Prius's and Corollas there probably in 2012 or maybe 2013...all that is just a guess on my part though.The official number directly unemployed at NUMMI is 4700. There are many more suppliers in California that will be forced to shut down due to this. Many of the components that you see inside your Vibes (seats, carpet, radio, steering wheel, airbags, door panels, windows, etc.) are all made by different suppliers.The total numbers are estimated to be between 20,000 and 50,000 layoffs in the state due to the shutdown. I think its closer to the lower number, but either way, a huge hit to the San Francisco area and the state as a whole. I'm in an ok position financially and plan to go to school fulltime and not look for a job for a while. There are many others who also planned accordingly and will come out ok. But there are also many more who have only done this one job their whole lives. They really have no other marketable skills, are not computer literate, and really don't know what to do. They are the ones that this will hit very hard. When GM shut this plant down in '82, there were several suicides before and soon after. I shouldn't say this, but already there was one suicide of a NUMMI employee just before the holidays last year. It wasn't directly related to the shutdown, but that, combined with everything else he had going on in his life influenced his decision. I'm keeping everyone there in my prayers as we all go through this difficult time, hopefully you'll consider doing the same.

[tpollauf]

Mirror image on those scans! Oh well they meant well. This is truly a sad time with this plant closing. I was able to listen to the full hour on PBS radio last Sunday about WHY this was happening. Made me sick to my stomach to hear all that wend down and the unnecessary mistakes made by Execs, management, and labor leaders. It all could have been avoided and the plant would still be active. If only ............................Hopefully this plant is resurrected by another automotive firm and then maybe, just maybe, they can LEARN from past mistakes and operate it successfully. We can only hope at this point! I agree with that interesting observation that ALL last vehicles were of the RED color (nice choice). I'm proud to be a recipient of ONE of the 8 million vehicles that rolled down the assembly line. In fact mine is an exact replica of the last vibe produced! I will enjoy mine for years, decades, maybe till dooms day!

[waveresponder]

Thank you for the pictures and your work at NUMMI. Goodluck with school.

[808 Vibes]

The hugs made me weepy-eyed...thank you and good luck in your future endeavors, NUMMI family.

[scherry2]

good luck in whatever you do.

[ClunkClunk]

From another thread.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by IMakeVibes »I'm in an ok position financially and plan to go to school fulltime and not look for a job for a while. There are many others who also planned accordingly and will come out ok. But there are also many more who have only done this one job their whole lives. They really have no other marketable skills, are not computer literate, and really don't know what to do. They are the ones that this will hit very hard. When GM shut this plant down in '82, there were several suicides before and soon after. I shouldn't say this, but already there was one suicide of a NUMMI employee just before the holidays last year. It wasn't directly related to the shutdown, but that, combined with everything else he had going on in his life influenced his decision. I'm keeping everyone there in my prayers as we all go through this difficult time, hopefully you'll consider doing the same.Glad to hear you personally will be okay. Good luck with school .I too will keep everyone in my prayers. Hope everyone makes it through okay.Thank you all again so much for building such great vehicles for us .

[vibebuilder]

I thought I read somewhere that it was sold to someone in Fremont.

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[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by vibebuilder »I thought I read somewhere that it was sold to someone in Fremont.Hopefully it went to someone who knows the significance of it and will love it for a long time! The Corolla going to the museum is a nice touch too.Much better than how the last Pontiac ended up... IIRC the last Pontiac made in the US was a G6 -- and I hear GM allowed for it to up in a rental fleet where it will be hated and have the crap beaten out of it on a regular basis. What a way to recognize the death of a loved brand. And thanks for the additional pics. I take it the bottom shot is the mold for the front bumpers? Very cool.Really regretting how we never made it out west to tour the facility to see all those Vibes going down the line.

[jkm311]

Myself and the five NUMMI vehicles I have owned or leased over the years sincerely thank you. The photos are priceless, and were taken by someone who knows how to tell a story.

[vibebuilder]

Yes, that's the mold for the GT front bumper. The standard front bumper has its own mold. It's a conventional mold, there's nothing fancy going on here. I may have been in trouble if I had shown this in 2006. Thanks to everyone for their support of the Vibe and the people who built them. My plan for the future is similar to IMakeVibes'. Some time off, some school to level-up my skills and then jump back in.Good luck to IMakeVibes, VibeBC and the others here who worked at NUMMI.If I find any other benign pictures to show, I'll post them.

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[IMakeVibes]

Quote, originally posted by vibebuilder »Yes, that's the mold for the GT front bumper. The standard front bumper has its own mold. It's a conventional mold, there's nothing fancy going on here. I may have been in trouble if I had shown this in 2006. Thanks to everyone for their support of the Vibe and the people who built them. My plan for the future is similar to IMakeVibes'. Some time off, some school to level-up my skills and then jump back in.Good luck to IMakeVibes, VibeBC and the others here who worked at NUMMI.If I find any other benign pictures to show, I'll post them.Thanks for the well wishes, same to you. So you worked in Plastics?

[KNINE]

Thanks for building my Vibe. Maybe you can autograph the dash board some day.