Among the abandoned robots and industrial equipment strewn about a cavernous truck assembly plant here, Tom Dilworth mused about what brought General Motors Co to its knees last year.
"What we have here," Dilworth, 58, concluded, "is a failure to compete."
As a restructured General Motors races ahead with its landmark initial public offering, it has taken pains to tell investors that it is a leaner, more nimble company able to edge out rivals in the global auto industry.
But this week's auction at a now-closed GM assembly plant in Pontiac served as a reminder of the company's old shell, when it was laden with debt and untenable costs that took GM from U.S. industrial powerhouse to ward of the state.
The plant in Pontiac was among the 15 manufacturing plants closed during the Chapter 11 proceedings and transferred to Motors Liquidation Co -- dubbed "old GM."
Old GM was cobbled together from assets discarded by GM as it went through its government-funded bankruptcy, and over the past year it has been gearing up for a sell-off that represents the largest industrial garage sale of all time.
One by one, the relics of the GM truck plant in Pontiac -- everything from three neon Chevy signs to c-clamps -- were auctioned off to resellers, car enthusiasts and suppliers hoping to snag industrial equipment for a pittance.
The auction on Thursday drew about 500 participants. About half of the bidders followed the action on the Internet.
Larry Heilman, manager of Eclipse Acquisition and Supply International, was scouring the sale -- his third auction this week -- for hydraulic pumps and motors to resell.
Dilworth, an engineer at GM's Warren plant, coveted a pink granite plate that went for $250. The real worth, Dilworth said, was probably around $1,500.
GM engineer Greg Fee, who was attending his first auction, marveled at prices for some of the parts given the higher prices GM had paid for such equipment in his career.
"Trust me, I spent a lot more money," Fee, 47, said.
In a warehouse set off from the plant, Dilworth's friend Brad Siemen, 54, climbed over boxes to examine some hose. He considered bidding on a treadmill.
The treadmill had been part of the plant's gym mandated by part of a contract with the United Auto Workers union that critics say contributed to GM's demise and forced the company to take a $50 billion bailout.
"The government saved our bacon," Dilworth said. "The whole company would be like this if it wasn't for them."
The Pontiac plant, which built GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado full-sized pick-up trucks, had employed some 1,100 people when it closed in October 2009. The plant is 21 miles from General Motors' downtown Detroit headquarters.
Now potential bidders -- mostly men -- in jeans, flannel shirts and worn-in boots walked through the plant examining once-pricey welding equipment and car lifts. They gulped soda and munched on salty chips, a bag for 50 cents.
Maynards and Hilco Industrial LLC ran the auction. The event drew bidders online from around the world including Mexico, United Arab Emirates and India, said Hilco President Robert Levy.
Thursday's auction took place in the brick-walled lobby of the assembly plant, which has the air of being simply abandoned one night.
An earplug dispenser on the wall is still half-full. The message boards bear a 2007 letter warning hourly workers not to punch out too early. Signs in the plant warn passersby of nearby trucks, using six exclamation marks.
"If you think of something in its prime, it was quite the factory," said William Slaughter, a project manager with Strategic Construction Solutions, who attended the auction.
"This is just flat-out heartbreaking," Dilworth said. "There's no other word for it."
The remains of a GM stamping plant near Grand Rapids, Michigan go up for auction next week.
