© 2024 Western New York Public Broadcasting Association

140 Lower Terrace
Buffalo, NY 14202

Mailing Address:
Horizons Plaza P.O. Box 1263
Buffalo, NY 14240-1263

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | Phone 716-845-7000
WBFO Newsroom | Phone: 716-845-7040
Your NPR Station
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Engine in new Corvette made in Tonawanda

chevrolet.com

General Motors unveiled its 2014 Corvette Stingray at the Detroit auto show. Every car will have an engine made by the GM Powertrain Plant in the Town of Tonawanda.This is the seventh generation of the iconic car, which features 450 horsepower and better fuel efficiency. Chevy has put a lot of design effort into the car including a computer game, which has been out since last year, to let people cyber-drive the vehicle.

That was around the time management and workers in Tonawanda learned they would be manufacturing a new engine for the car. Plant Manager Steve Finch says his plant was the right choice.

" They've made a lot of investment in this plant over the years and we had about a $450 million investment to turn the plant around for this new engine line. It's starting to come into play here for the new products, so we're pretty excited about it," Finch told WBFO.

Finch says the Corvette engine comes off the same assembly line as a new engine for the Chevy Malibu and GM trucks, mostly using the same workers.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.