General Motors operates several proving grounds.
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33°19′27″N 111°37′13″W / 33.324265°N 111.620192°W
GM Desert Proving Ground in Mesa, Arizona is a General Motors facility for the testing of HVAC, propulsion, and various automotive systems in a harsh climate. This facility is in the process of being sold and it will be replaced by a new facility in Yuma, Arizona.
42°35′01″N 83°41′04″W / 42.583603°N 83.684449°W
The General Motors Milford Proving Ground was the industry's first dedicated automobile testing facility when it opened in 1924. It is located in Milford, Michigan and covers 4,000 acres (16 km²). 4,800 staff work in its 107 buildings today. The proving ground includes the equivalent of 132 mi (212 km) of highway-quality roads for vehicle testing. Some roads are open only to drivers who have passed special performance driving training. The saying goes that each mile driven on the grounds is the same as 5 miles in the real world.
18°46′59″N 102°10′07″W / 18.783056°N 102.168611°W
General Motors Proving Ground Cupuan del Rio is situated between Lázaro Cárdenas and Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico. The facility opened in 2006 and features a circle track, several off-road courses, and is primarily used for testing HVAC systems.
23°08′33″S 47°16′10″W / 23.1425°S 47.269444°W
General Motors Cruz Alta Proving Ground at Indaiatuba, Brazil [1]
52°02′43″N 0°31′58″W / 52.045219°N 0.532665°W
Millbrook Proving Ground is a vehicle testing centre located at Millbrook in Bedfordshire, England. One of the largest vehicle testing centres in Europe, it is near to the M1 motorway and Milton Keynes.
Modelled on the Milford Proving Ground, in Michigan, USA, Millbrook was constructed [1] in the 1960s by the GM subsidiary Vauxhall. The two mile five lane high speed track came into use in 1969, and construction of other sections continued into the early 1970s[1].
Due to the geographical needs of a full testing centre, including both hills and flat land, the traditional choice of a former RAF airfield was ruled out and many sites around the UK were surveyed before the location at Millbrook was decided upon, especially due to having the benefit of being close to Vauxhall's production site at Luton.
Construction began in 1968 and once opened acted as the testing site for many European GM models from, amongst others, the Vauxhall and Bedford companies. In 1988 the site was transferred to a new company, Millbrook Proving Ground Ltd as part of Group Lotus and began to offer its facilities as well to non-GM companies. With the sale of Lotus in 1993 Millbrook was transferred to GM Holdings UK Ltd as an independently managed company and began to diversify into all aspects of vehicle testing including emission control.
Facilities:
The centre provides vehicle test and development facilities including:
These are staffed by engineering teams who work with manufacturers on their test and development programmes.
Millbrook has a wide range of types of test tracks. The most prominent are the:
The proving ground maintains a high standard of security and secrecy to protect the commercial interests of its customers. Public access is not generally permitted and the facility is hidden from view by belts of trees. Limited supervised access to the facilities is available through some driver training organizations.
Millbrook was the site of many challenges featured in BBC's Top Gear (current format), such as the Non-Porsche Coupé challenge in Series 6 (using the Hill Route, dubbed the "Alpine Circuit" by the presenters), the Convertible People Carrier challenge in Series 8 (using the High Speed bowl), the British Leyland challenge in Series 10 (using the Skid Pan and one of the Handling Circuits) and the "Lorryist" challenge in Series 12 (using the Skid Pan, the Hill Route and the High Speed Bowl).
38°21′14″S 145°35′27″E / 38.353889°S 145.590833°E
The Holden Lang Lang Proving Ground is a vehicle testing facility located at Lang Lang in Victoria, Australia, approximately 90 km south-east of Melbourne.
It was opened in 1957 by GM-Holden and has been used to test every Holden model from the Holden FC onwards. It is a dedicated 877-hectare site with 44 kilometres of road systems, including a 4.7 km 4 lane circular track (speed bowl), 5.5 km ride and handling course, a 1.8 km noise road and 98m diameter skid pan. It is also equipped with an Emissions Laboratory and Safety Test Facility with crash barrier and hyge sled.[3]
GM's proposed facility at Mezcala, Mexico was terminated in the planning phase due to breakdown in land negotiations. The facility was to take over Desert Proving Ground tasks when GM announced DPG's closing in 2000. DPG is still operating as of late 2008. Soon to be closed and replaced with the new facility in Yuma, Arizona.
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