Assembly lines, robots, grinders and mills were on the auction block this week as Motors Liquidation Co. — the old General Motors — sold off idled equipment at its shuttered Livonia engine plant.
The sale, which drew about 350 and lasted more than 10 hours, is one of several planned for this year and next as the old GM seeks to dispose of "bad assets" left behind when the new General Motors Co. emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.
The auction was at the plant and was webcast to bidders worldwide. The 1-million-square-foot plant once built the Northstar engine line for Cadillac and other high-end models. Only factory equipment was sold at the auction, not property. Another auction is planned for Nov. 4 at GM's now-closed Pontiac Assembly plant, which used to make full-size pickups. That sale will include basic manufacturing machinery, as well as some factory mementos, such as old Chevrolet signs, said Robert Levy, a partner with Hilco Industrial, LLC, which was hired by the old GM to liquidate factory machinery. Steve Blow, a spokesman for Motors Liquidation Co., declined to comment on how much money was made at the Livonia auction or the specifics of the sale.
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