Location Mahwah, New Jersey Defunct 1980 (1980) Owner Ford Motor Company | Industry Automotive Area 70 ha | |
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Operated 1950 (1950)–1980 (1980) Products 1949 Ford, 1957 Ford, Edsel, Ford Fairmont, Ford Galaxie, Ford Granada, Ford LTD, Ford Thunderbird, Lincoln Capri, Lincoln Premiere, Lincoln Versailles, Mercury Colony Park, Mercury Meteor, Mercury Monarch, Mercury Montclair, Mercury Monterey, Mercury Turnpike Cruiser | ||
Mahwah Assembly was a Ford Motor Company manufacturing plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, 30 miles (48 km) from New York City. It was located behind the Sheraton Mahwah, and occupied over 172 acres when it was open. The factory began operations in 1950 building the 1949 Ford and was closed in 1980. It was one of three manufacturing facilities in New Jersey. It was built two years after the Edison Assembly plant opened in 1948 and, when it opened, it replaced the Ford Motor Company Edgewater Assembly Plant.
Mahwah Assembly produced 6 million cars in the 25 years it operated before the last car rolled off the line on June 20, 1980. At the time of its completion, it was the largest motor vehicle assembly plant in the United States. The Ford plant, along with other businesses such as American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company, helped contribute to the economic development of the town and its reputation for low home property taxes. The Mahwah town sports teams remain named Thunderbirds in honor of the Ford plant.
A portion of the plant site is presently the U.S. headquarters of Sharp Corporation.
Popular culture
Bruce Springsteen's 1982 song, "Johnny 99", is about an auto worker who gets laid off from the Mahwah plant and shoots and kills a night clerk while drunk and distraught.