A few aerial photos of the Kildare Road factory prior to the giant renovation in 1982.
In these old photos you can clearly see the separate buildings. The building on the far right served for many years (1950’s though 1980’s) as Transit Windsor’s Kildare Road garage.
Old saw tooth roofed buildings, along with the old water tower.
After the expansion and renovation… The same as it looks today.
My favourite shot from the batch is this one of the old office building on the east west
(d’oh!) side of Walker at Seminole. Too bad that one didn’t make it.
Have a safe Civic Holiday weekend everyone. See you back here Monday.
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David,
I rarely engage in a debate with a true right-winger. They typically have a better-than-everyone attitude and basically say too bad for the schmuck that does have it as good as them but I think you might be coming around. Your example is spot on. Germany, like most other countries feel their auto industry is extremely important. They put together an automotive “loan” package totaling over 600 billion dollars as a result of the greed driven worldwide market collapse. Volkswagen was the first automaker to tap into it. Beyond that, the debate they are having right now about the elimination of tariffs. European tariffs are at 10% for cars and light commercial vehicles, at 22% for trucks and 16% for busses. The debate is around why eliminate these tariffs when Asian countries have as much as 100% tariffs and extremely prohibitive rules to “certify” imported cars. They are right!!! Guess what, tariffs help to encourage domestic manufacturing, just like we had when the auto pact was in effect. We completely eliminated ours. Duh!!!
So you have an old manufacturing base predominantly in North America, which was built in times where our governments were actively involved in developing solid industries. In the midst of downsizing, suddenly, they get the rug pulled out from under them (and everyone else- even the mighty Toyota took a 5 billion dollar loan from Japan). That is what caused the collapse. It would have been nice if they were more financially nimble but it takes a long time to turn a big ship, and yes they made some mistakes….no shit. But there are some great cars out there right now for those who are not too narrow-minded to see that.
By the way, where are you driving around?? BMW and Mercedes (Daimler) each have 2.3 % market share. Volkswagen has 2.7%. GM has 19% Toyota 15%, Ford 14% and Chrysler 12%. Oh yeah, probably driving around and around your gated community where you can admire everyone else’s imported vehicles and houses bought with bonuses corporate bonuses.
So anyway, thanks for bringing up Germany in our “debate”. That country as well as most others, make decisions that protect their industries as opposed to just the profits of their executives. There really might be hope for you yet!!
What sad news.
Every time I visit Windsor, it looks more and more beat up. I grew up on Drouillard Road, for crying out loud. And I've never seen it look more dismal than it does today.
Isn't amazing that Obama, a Democrat and supposed friend of unions, is elected and says, close plants, close dealerships, cut jobs and giveaway even more of your tiny marketshare, and we'll bail you out?
And the unions, now, are in charge of the pensions? Paying for more and more retirees with contributions from less and less workers? That's going to blow up in the face of the unions, obviously. Probably about the same time lower-payed workers in the new, two-tiered workforce looks at the higher-paid workers, with the easier factory jobs, and says, screw this. We're quitting the union.
The union worker and the high-paid, low-skill worker are on the endangered species list.
it will be a shopping centre or a subdivision. gm is just waiting for top buck. i worked there. no more gm in windsor. a lot of property with a lot of potential. a museum west of walker rd. give me a break from laughing. yeah that will bring in the tourists. im being sarcastic.