General Motors  plans to invest $20 million in machinery and equipment for its Fairfax Assembly plant to add future technologies and improvements to the Buick LaCrosse including eAssist, a piece electrification technology that will boost highway fuel economy by 25 percent over the current model.  

   "The LaCrosse has been critical to the resurgence of Buick, bringing many new customers to Buick showrooms," said GM Manufacturing Manager Jim Glynn. "This investment to improve an already strong car will help us continue winning converts to the brand." 

  The Fairfax announcement is part of the $2 billion in U.S. investment GM back in May.   So far, GM plants in Bowling Green, Ky.; Arlington, Tex.; Toledo and Defiance, Ohio; Bedford, Ind., and Bay City, Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Warren have gotten new investments that will boost employment and productivity. The investments build on the $3.4 billion invested and 9,000 jobs created or retained in the United States since mid-2009. 

 The Fairfax investment is primarily for manufacturing machinery, equipment and special tooling for the current facility. The plant, which opened in 1987, is home to the LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Malibu.  The plant operates on three shifts and in 2010 produced 320,000 Malibus and LaCrosses.

 Joe Ashton, UAW Vice President-GM Department, added:  “The UAW realizes the importance of investments that provide our members with the tools they need to compete.  Today’s investment in the Fairfax plant not only upgrades the facility, it provides our members of UAW Local 31 with a chance to succeed in a very competitive segment of today’s U.S. auto industry.  I am confident that our members will continue to build high-quality, affordable cars for our customers,” Ashton said.