Since it opened in 1990, the Saturn auto plant has been a magnet for tourists in the hills of central Tennessee. But until this summer visitors were turned away at the gate, Now, however, the General Motors subsidiary is welcoming tourists inside, giving them tours in guided trams through the plant.
Tours of car plants in other states are just as popular. Tourism officials in Kentucky say the Chevrolet Corvette factory in Bowling Green, which offers public tours, is among the state’s top attractions.
The only plant near Detroit, the nation’s Motor City, that offers tours is a Lincoln plant in the suburbs.
Other factories in and around Detroit had offered tours from time to time, but all were canceled because of plant renovations, budget cuts or disruptions that the companies said they caused in the plants.
On the plant tours, visitors can see the production process from steel being stamped into body panels to the finished cars rolling off the assembly line.
People planning to take a tour should be aware that some factories do not allow children younger than 12. And though rules vary from plant to plant, some items are often barred– cameras and open-toe shoes, for instance.
These U.S. assembly plants generally offer tours to the public:
– BMW: Visitors to the new plant near Spartanburg, S.C., which has been building 3-Series models and is being converted to make the Z3 roadster exclusively, can tour a museum and visitors center that opened July 4. The Zentrum, as the crescent-shaped glass-and-steel structure is known, contains a historical exhibition of rarely seen BMW cars, engines and motorcycles; a motor sports display; BMW’s “Art Cars,” which have been painted by noted artists, and demonstrations of automotive technology.
Factory tours, which begin this month on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, can be arranged by calling 888-868-7269.
– Chevrolet Corvette: The Kentucky plant has temporarily suspended its public tours because of the construction required to convert production to the redesigned 1997 Corvette, but will resume early next year.
The guided walking tours are typically offered five days a week at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and can be arranged as part of a package that includes a visit to the nearby National Corvette Museum. For tour reservations, required only for large groups, call 502-745-8228.
– General Motors trucks: Groups of 10 to 25 people can tour the Baltimore plant, where Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari vans are assembled, by appointment. Call 410-631-2112.
– Lincoln: The Ford plant in Wixom, Mich., a northwest Detroit suburb, builds the Town Car, Continental and Mark VIII. Two-hour walking tours are offered on Fridays, but only to those who make written requests. Despite that, the tours are booked through October and some dates are filled after that. Call 810-344-5358.
– Nissan: Public tours are given twice a week at the factory in Smyrna, Tenn., where the company builds Sentra and Altima sedans and Nissan pickups.
Visitors ride in a tram for the 90-minute tour, offered at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Thursdays. For reservations, which are required, call 615-459-1444.
– Saturn: Public tours begin at 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. The tour schedule is likely to be expanded later in the year. For reservations, which are required, call 615-486-5083.
– Toyota: Some 37,000 people a year take the tram-guided tour of Toyota’s largest assembly complex in the U.S., in Georgetown, Ky. The company has suspended tours until fall while it shifts production to 1997 models, but the plant’s visitors center, which includes displays of cars and interactive video screens, remains open.
