The Volkswagon Plant in Chattanooga, TN could be seeing a big expansion soon. The Chattanooga Times/Free Press reported that the local Industrial Development Board just voted to begin the earthwork for the potential future plant. The aerial photo below shows the site:

Even though VW corporate hasn’t yet agreed to expand the plant, the Industrial Board will spend several million dollars on earthwork to prepare the site for the proposed expansion.

Since the State of TN previously agreed to spend $16M on the project, the money is available. By grading now, the soil will be able to settle prior to the start of the hoped for expansion.

The VW plant now makes about 150,000 Passats annually and some $7M of internal plant renovations now ongoing will increase that to 170,000/year. The proposed expansion could take that to 500,000 vehicles/year.

I rented a Passat on my recent travels and was impressed with the design and the mileage. It’s a bit disconcerting to have the engine shut off at every stop, only to restart as soon as my foot went off the brake. The mileage was phenomenal, though.

So it’s good to see a well built car with great potential for increased American production. Don’t just hear all the bad news…there’s lots going right in this USA economy.