this was the fastest rate in the world. Within months Lordstown produced 73.5 Vegas an hour. Lordstown workers had 36 seconds to perform their tasks instead of the customary minute. With 25 percent more line workers than needed, they formed groups in which three worked while a fourth rested. Although there were mechanical flaws, the quality of early Vega assembly, e.g. fit and finish, was acceptable. The car earned Motor Trend's 1971 Car of the Year award. In October 1971, General Motors handed management of Lordstown from Chevrolet and Fisher Body to General Motors Assembly Division (GMAD). GMAD imposed more rigorous discipline and cut costs by dropping the fourth "extra" worker. The United Auto Workers (UAW) said 800 workers were laid off at Lordstown in the first year under GMAD; GMAD said 370. Management accused workers of slowing the line and sabotaging cars by omitting parts and doing shoddy work. Workers said GMAD sped up the line and cut staffing. Quality suffered. In March 1972, the 7,700 workers called a wildcat strike that lasted a month and cost GM $150 million. Vega production rose by over 100,000 units for 1972, and would have been stronger but for the strike. 1975 was a "rolling model change" at 100 cars per hour with no downtime. As production approached 100 vehicles per hour problems arose in the paint shop. At 85 units per hour, nearly all required repair. Conventional spray pressures and atomizing tips could not apply the paint fast enough, but increasing pressures and tip apertures produced runs and sags. Fisher Body and lacquer paint supplier DuPont, over one weekend, developed new paint chemistry and application specifics: Non-Aqueous Dispersion Lacquer (NAD). The new formulation raised paint shop throughput to 106 units per hour. Vertical rail transport Although Lordstown Assembly had a purpose-built exit off of the Ohio Turnpike built to make shipment easier, the Vega was designed for vertical shipment, nose down. General Motors and Southern Pacific designed "Vert-A-Pac" rail cars to hold 30 Vegas each, compared with conventional tri-level autoracks which held 18. The Vega was fitted with four removable cast-steel sockets on the underside and had plastic spacers—removed at unloading—to protect engine and transmission mounts. The rail car ramp/doors were opened and closed via forklift. Vibration and low-speed crash tests ensured the cars would not shift or suffer damage in transit. The Vega was delivered topped with fluids, ready to