The last S.U.V.s rolled off the assembly line at General Motors' plants in Janesville, Wisconsin and Moraine, Ohio, victims of both the economic crisis and the plummeting market for gas guzzlers.
"The moves followed the shutdown last Friday of Chrysler's factory in Newark, Del., which produced full-size S.U.V.'s.
The last Chevrolet Tahoe rolled off the line here in Janesville shortly after 7 a.m. in the 90-year-old plant, which had built more than 3.7 million big S.U.V.'s since the early 1990s.
Most of the plant's 1,100 remaining workers were not scheduled to work the final day, but many showed up for an emotional closing ceremony. Dan Doubleday, who had 22 years on the job, broke down in the plant's snowy parking lot afterward.
'I was a fork lift driver,' he said, glancing at his watch through welling tears. 'Until about seven minutes ago.'''
Thanks to Robert Bregoff
FULL STORY: Nearly the End of the Line for S.U.V.’s
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