DETROIT (AP) — Five General Motors factories in threestates will soon share in a $1.3 billion
investment so they can makehigher-quality pickup trucks and new fuel-efficient engines andtransmissions.GM
says the money will go to the Flint, Mich.,assembly plant; an engine plant in Romulus, Mich., near Detroit;
atransmission factory in Toledo, Ohio; and a casting plant in Bedford,Ind. Most of the work will be done
during the next two years.It’s unclear how many jobs the investment will create. GM would say only that it
will create or keep 1,000 positions.Nearlyhalf the money, $600 million, will go to the Flint factory for a
newpaint shop and other upgrades. The plant makes the Chevrolet Silveradoand GMC Sierra pickup trucks.GM
also will spend $493 million atits Romulus engine plant so it can build a new V-6 engine and
10-speedautomatic tranmissions that will make vehicles more efficient.Around$121 million will go to set up a
manufacturing logistics center at theDetroit-Hamtramck factory, and $31 million will go to the
Toledotransmission plant so it can crank out more six-speed automatictransmissions.In addition, the Indiana
plant will get $29.2million to make parts for the 10-speed transmissions and for six-speedtransmission
components.The investment continues GM’s momentum ina resurgent auto industry, GM North America President
Mark Reuss saidin a statement. "More importantly, these investments add up to higherquality and more
fuel-efficient vehicles for our customers," he said.Reusssaid at an event in Flint that the investments
are important in all theplant cities, but especially so in Flint, the company’s birthplace."It’sa good
business move, yes, but it also will keep the community intactand growing again," he said. "It’s a
community that is very important tous."Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said of the $1.3 billion GM is
investing, $1.2 billion of it is "right here in Michigan.""We should be so proud of that
investment in our state," he said.GMCEO Dan Akerson said last year that the company is behind
competitorson engines and transmissions. The moves to 10-speed automatictransmissions and the new V-6 engine
will help to bridge that gap.Transmissions with more gears help engines operate more efficiently atall
speeds.GM says it has announced more than $10.1 billion ininvestments in U.S. operations since emerging from
bankruptcy protectionin 2009. The company says the investments have created or kept 26,500jobs. The company
has added about 3,000 jobs since 2009.___AP Business Writer Tom Krisher reported from Washington.Copyright
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