There has been a lack of 2018 C7 Corvettes rolling out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, in the past few months after GM shut the plant down for scheduled upgrades. However, the plant will reopen and workers will report for duty once again on November 6, 2017, reports Bowling Green Daily News.
The plant will reopen with a new assembly line to provide added flexibility; the previous line dated back to the C5 Corvette era. The Bowling Green assembly also suspended plant tours this summer, but those won’t restart for another year at least. Clearly, the plant is hiding more significant changes—likely mid-engine Corvette secrets.
The updates include the new $430 million paint facility, which will be completely integrated into the production process when Corvettes begin leaving the plant next month. Now, the freshly painted body panels will be one of the last stops on the assembly line, which will improve paint quality in appearance and finish, a Lauren Langille, a plant spokesperson, said.
“Customers can expect to see an improved paint appearance and finish. In addition, the paint shop is equipped with the latest advanced environmental controls to minimize our ecological footprint,” she explained.
Workers will report back on November 6, but production of the 2018 C7 Corvette won’t actually begin until later in the month, potentially November 20. In January, the 2018 model year will end and 2019 Corvettes will begin production on the January 29. Thus, the 2018 model year will be one of the shortest in the Corvette’s history.
Comment
when do you expect “the glut” of cars to be at a reasonable level where suppliers,which i work for one,can resume full production?