The "Way Forward" has claimed its latest victim, this time in the form of the 50-year-old Wixom plant in Michigan. The production center, tasked with building Lincolns since 1957, has built its final White Chocolate Town Car destined for a customer in Washington D.C.
However, the Town Car hasn't met its demise yet. Production will continue at the St. Thomas plant in Ontario, Canada, along side its Panther brethren, the Crown Victoria and the Grand Marquis.
Wixom was housed production in the recent past for the Lincoln LS, Continental and Ford Thunderbird. Even Ford's ultimate halo car, the GT, received its finishing touches at Wixom.
[Source: Ford]
PRESS RELEASE:
PRODUCTION ENDS AT WIXOM ASSEMBLY PLANT, LINCOLN TOWN CAR MOVES TO ST. THOMAS
DEARBORN, Mich., May 31, 2007 – Production ended today at 12:55 p.m. at Ford Motor Company's Wixom Assembly Plant when the last vehicle, a 2007 White Chocolate Lincoln Town Car, rolled off the assembly line.
The vehicle will be shipped to a dealership in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where an anxious customer will take delivery of the last Wixom-built Lincoln sedan.
Wixom, which opened in 1957 as the Lincoln Assembly Plant, produced 6.6 million vehicles in its 50 years of operation.
Production of the Lincoln Town Car will be moved to St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Ontario and will commence in the fourth quarter there.
About 1,100 employees were on hand to pay tribute to the plant's legacy.
"This is a great workforce, a proud workforce," said Philip Calhoun, plant manager. "They produced a quality vehicle up to the last one they built."
Wixom Assembly Plant is one of 16 Ford facilities to be idled under the Way Forward plan to return the company's North American automotive operations to profitability.
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