Visit to the Hybrid Transmission Plant

I had the opportunity to visit the GM Powertrain Allison Transmission plant yesterday where they manufacture the 2-Mode hybrid transmission that is used in the Tahoe, Yukon, and Escalade, and will be available in the GM hybrid pickup and work trucks early in 2009.

I was there as part of a group from GM Corporate related to servicing the transmissions and the GM transmission rebuild supplier, Dynamic. We had a chance to meet with Ron Vasold, the Manufacturing Engineer (and product launch manager) who gave us our tour along with Douglas Kadolph, the Quality Systems Manager, and Ed Tilley, the Quality Lead for Baltimore Transmission. The tour included watching the entire transmission being built from the components through to final testing before shipping out to the assembly plant.

Unlike standard mass production, the highly skilled professionals that we watched on the assembly lines have greater responsibility and control over quality than in a standard assembly line. Don't get me wrong, the professionals that I deal with throughout GM are impressive, this was just different. The care and quality in the building of the transmissions was outstanding and the end of line testing was very stringent. The quality control processes and 'error-proofing' concepts used in the manufacturing process, developed internally, were exceptional.

When we left, I was truly impressed and even more comfortable in my vehicle purchase decision. It also just so happened that one of the VP's of Dynamic was contacted that his 2009 hybrid Tahoe was delivered and he would be able to pick it up once we returned to Chicago. I have found it very interesting the number of people who are exposed to the truck that either purchase right away or make definite plans to buy one in the near future.

Wake up GM marketing - you have a winner here.