By any standards $439m represents a significant investment. Even more so when the money goes towards the construction of an automotive painting installation covering a little over 500,000 sq.ft (46,451 sq.m) that will, initially at least, process only 40,000 vehicles a year. Nevertheless, that is the amount of money involved and the projected output for the new paintshop that GM is currently running up towards the start of operations at its Bowling Green plant in Kentucky, US, where it produces its high-end Chevrolet Corvette sports cars and ‘super cars’.