TONAWANDA, N.Y. (AP) — General Motors' Buffalo-area engine plant is marking the end of the line for a class of V-8 engine that's been produced there for 50 years.
On Friday, the Tonawanda (ton-uh-WAN-duh) plant will stop production of the latest variation of the "big block" V-8 engines.
The V-8 was the plant's longest-running engine line but has accounted for only about 3 percent of total volume lately as emphasis has shifted to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The latest version of the V-8, the L18, has been in production since 1999. Its end will put about 150 employees on indefinite layoff.
The Tonawanda plant's main engine line is the L850, a four-cylinder found in the Chevy Cobalt and Malibu. Earlier this year, the plant ended production of a V-6 engine.
