GM's AZ proving ground closes today
 

This news is actually NOT related to GM's bankruptcy. GM announced years ago that it would be closing its Arizona proving ground in Mesa, AZ. They sold the property a few years ago, and have since been leasing it back.

But it closes today for good after 56 years. They've moved operations to Yuma AZ.

The main reason for closing it is due to population growth in the Phoenix area. The track is at in the SE edge of the metro area -- and used to be miles from anything. But as this area grew, civizilization was on their doorstep -- and that hindered development.

I remember being a kid and seeing disguised prototype cars around on a fairly frequent basis (and less frequently see an undisguised non-US production model with manufacturer plates). I still see some every once in a while. Most of the other car makers have some sort of desert testing facility near Phoenix, so we'll still see some, just not any GM product...

http://www.azcentral.com/community/m...aving0611.html

On my first trip home with the Atom, I ran into people testing prototypes in both Death Valley and Mount Evans (-282, +14260 elevation, respectively). Some of them even stopped and chatted. Mostly because I was was willing to talk about the Atom and not ask them what they were driving. A couple of them initially thought I was testing a new engine and just had the minimum frame necessary to roll it down the road. They were quite surprised to discover that this was the complete car. :D

:cool: