Validation Testing

At the start, everything has to be right. Rigorous testing and refinement of design, engineering and build processes is needed before going to full production, since difficulty in making changes multiplies as mass production increases. Testing vehicles in sample road conditions and technical centers at proving grounds is one method used. During World War II, General Motors tested its military products, including amphibious vehicles and guns, at sites in and around Pontiac. General Motors invested $103 million in a validation testing center, opened in 2001 at the former Pontiac West Assembly Plant, to build prototype trucks and test production systems, the first of its kind. There is no substitute for testing on the roads driven every day. The Pontiac East Assembly Plant on Opdyke Road once produced 200,000 trucks a year before closing in 2009.

Pontiac, Michigan · United States