High-Tech Car Factory

[johnastovall]

Volkswagen's incredible transparent car factory

[tc95]

Wow....everyone looks happy working there...!!! That is incredible....I want those floors in my house...just move my computer around...and don't need wires to run it...!!!

[knowimagination]

I love VW... I have seen the factory before, but never that video that was pretty cool

[BigC]

The Germans got nothing on GM. Their's are becoming invisable.

[kenw]

Not that I'm saying VW is junk (I'll let the market determine that), but I've been involved in a lot of high-tech factory efforts over the years, and you can't high-tech a sow's ear into a silk purse.

But it is a neat video effort.

[Concisus Cognatus]

Whoa, that is a cool, monumental, statement on German engineering.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by kenw

Not that I'm saying VW is junk (I'll let the market determine that), but I've been involved in a lot of high-tech factory efforts over the years, and you can't high-tech a sow's ear into a silk purse.

But it is a neat video effort.

The Phaeton is not your average VW and more than a silk pure in the W-12 configuration and it's back in the U.S.A. in 2010....

[kenw]

Originally Posted by johnastovall

The Phaeton is not your average VW and more than a silk pure in the W-12 configuration and it's back in the U.S.A. in 2010....

hopefully it incorporates the engineering design changes that VW needs to turn around their quality slide of recent decades. Since the German (and most European) manufacturers have long depended on craft assembly, they typically didn't have the need for as precision engineering as was purported, since the excellent craftsmen (and women) on the mfg floor were more than capable of "file to fit" techniques.

The "German Engineering" lore was in reality a tribute to the determination and craft of the factory workers who made it fit and fit quite well, rather than a quality "assemble-able" design. In low volume assembly, that worked for eons. In modern high-volume mfg, it is a death sentence.

Ask Mercedes-Benz.....

[d2creative]

VW and AUDI have some great cars with some technology and engineering that bests pretty much every other major brand. Their popular 2.0 engine for instance has won numerous awards and their DSG dual clutch transmission is outstanding. Their clean diesel TDI is another one.

Their real problem here in the states is their lack of control over their dealer's customer service operations. It varies from dealer to dealer but it's some of the worst in the industry. This is where Lexus and Infiniti rise to the top. My wife has a new infiniti G37 coupe and I'd take my Audi A3 over that car any day of the week... and hers cost quite a bit more!