Toyota has announced that it will cease production at the Fremont-based assembly plant known as NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.), effective March 2010. This follows on GM backing out of the same facility following their own bankruptcy, and liquidating their stake under court supervision. The NUMMI plant was started in 1984 as a 50-50 joint venture between the two auto makers, and it is the sole auto manufacturing facility on the West Coast. The plant employs 4,600 people, and should no other auto maker emerge to take over the facility, it will mark the end of auto production in California. Per Beth Spotswood's comment as she pointed to this story on SFGate, yes, the East Bay is now Detroit.