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GM investing $439 million in Corvette plant

General Motors is slowly trickling out announcements about its $5.4 billion in US plant upgrades over the next three years. The latest one is something that fans of one of America's most beloved sports car will be happy about. The Bowling Green, KY, factory that assembles the Chevrolet Corvette is receiving $439 million of those funds to build a new paint shop. Covering 450,000 square-feet, the site will make painting the 'Vette more efficient and environmentally friendly. The upgrades there include robots that use paint more effectively, technology to eliminate sludge water, LED lighting to improve inspections, and less energy-intensive baking ovens. While the groundbreaking is already complete for the building, full construction is expected to begin this summer and take two years. This is the biggest upgrade for the Kentucky factory in a few years. In preparation for the latest Corvette, the Bowling Green plant received $131 million in 2011 for upgrades and to add more workers there. Related Video: Chevrolet Corvette Plant Gets $439 Million in Upgrades New, environment-friendly paint shop drives efficient production, retains 150 jobs 2015-05-21 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Torch Red, Shark Gray Metallic and Laguna Blue Tintcoat, three popular palate choices on the 2015 Corvette, kept the marketers who make up names working late. Now they can dream about more painstakingly precise pigments, thanks to a new paint shop that is among $439 million being invested at the only plant in the world that builds Chevrolet's iconic sports car. General Motors announced the moves today that include retaining 150 jobs and building the 450,000 square-foot paint shop that is almost half the size of the entire current production facility. The investment builds on approximately $135 million GM has invested in the plant over the last four years for the new Corvette Stingray and Performance Build Center. The announcement was followed by a groundbreaking event for the new paint shop. "The Corvette is one of Kentucky's most-cherished icons," said. Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen. "Such a significant expansion of the Bowling Green Assembly Plant will help the company remain competitive in the region and around the world." Construction of the new paint shop, which includes substantial technology upgrades, is planned to begin this summer and take approximately two years to complete. Corvette production schedules will be unaffected by the construction.

2018 Ford Expedition vs other big SUVs: How it compares on paper

With our Alex Kierstein rightly impressed in his first-drive review of the new 2018 Ford Expedition, we decided to dig a little deeper into the numbers, and we came up with the spreadsheet below to highlight how the new 2018 Expedition compares on paper to its main full-size SUV competitors: the 2018 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban (and therefore the 2018 GMC Yukon), 2018 Toyota Sequoia and 2018 Nissan Armada. We also threw in the new, even bigger 2018 Chevrolet Traverse since, as you'll see, its massive dimensions should put it on the radar for anyone who needs loads of passenger and cargo space but doesn't care as much about towing. A few notes about the chart above. First, the 6.2-liter V8 that's included with the new-for-2018 Tahoe RST trim level is the standard engine on the GMC Yukon Denali. You can apply most of the Tahoe's numbers to the entire Yukon and Yukon XL lineup. Second, though we highlighted categories where the Traverse led, we also highlighted the runner-up full-size SUV, since this was ultimately about that segment. Traverse numbers are broadly applicable to the new Buick Enclave. Related Video: Chevrolet Ford GMC Nissan Toyota SUV Comparison consumer ford expedition gmc yukon chevy traverse toyota sequoia nissan armada chevrolet tahoe ford expedition max

GM, UAW poaching Nissan workers in Tennessee

General Motors and the United Auto Workers are going on a recruitment drive at the Spring Hill factory in Tennessee, and they're hoping to poach some skilled workers from Nissan's nearby plant in Smyrna, TN. The General and the union even bought a billboard advertising for industrial electricians near the Japanese automaker's facility, according to the Daily News Journal. The reason for the billboard was simple. "GM was short of electricians," said Tim Stannard, the president of the UAW local at Spring Hill, to the Daily News Journal. The factory currently builds the Chevrolet Equinox but has a contract to assemble the next generation of Ecotec engines and the Cadillac XT5, which replaces the SRX. Thanks to the $185-million deal, employment there is expected to double by May 2016, according to Stannard, with roughly 1,800 additional union jobs. Beyond just several billboards, GM has job postings online for the Spring Hill plant looking for workers with specific skills. There has already been some interest in the positions among Nissan employees, Stannard indicated. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research, the average GM worker currently makes $58 an hour, including benefits. Comparatively, Nissan pays an average of $42 an hour with benefits. The General's number could change in the coming weeks because its contract with the UAW is about to expire, and higher wages are among the major negotiating points.