Flashback: In 1985, Texas Couldn't Lure a Major Auto Plant… Here's Why State Might Have Better Luck This Time

Editor's note: Toyota and Mazda are joining forces to build a new $1.6 building factory in the U.S., writes Staff Writer Jill Cowan, and Texas is among about a dozen states in the running. The state has a good chance to land the plant. The landscape is different today. Toyota has a factory in San Antonio and just moved its North American headquarters to Plano.Thirty years ago, Texas lost the first new auto plant to be built in years to Tennessee. It was a spirited competition that pitted states against each other and shaped local economic development efforts ever since. Here's a story originally published July 28, 1985 by Staff Writer Maria Halkias. Ross Perot was on General Motors' board back then, but even he couldn't overcome the reason why Texas lost that plum.  Continue reading...