forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1837641

amazing

Jeebus.

Dayum! Industrious little bastards them Jerries, eh?

Dresden?

wasnt there an unfortunate incedent there....

Just cant set my sights on it...

Maybe it will come to me in a firestorm of brain activity...

Amazing !

That is a pretty nice set up there.

And some of us wonder why GM is going under? Germans have there shit together when it comes to cars.  

Quoted: And some of us wonder why GM is going under? Germans have there shit together when it comes to cars.

Yeah, but those are $300,000 cars. I wondered why, they are extremely labor intensive, not like the rest of the mass-produced cars that take a couple of hours to slap together..

i now see ONE reason they are 300k......

could normal assembly lined em' fer 20k.

Quoted: And some of us wonder why GM is going under? Germans have there shit together when it comes to cars.

VW's have the worst rep of any German cars (and Mercedes' star has been somewhat tarnished by less than top-notch quality over the past decade)

But if you want to pay >$100K for a car (for the privilege of touring a wood-floored factory, getting a complimentary beverage and trying to impress the neighbors) then to each their own.

(If I were going to go offshore for a high-end vehicle I would be looking at BMW first, and Lexus second, VW wouldn't even be on the list)

Quoted: And some of us wonder why GM is going under? Germans have there shit together when it comes to cars.

That's not a mass-production line.
Practically hand-built.

Go to one of their Golf or Jetta factories and you won't see a difference.

I'm impressed, it looks more like a lab than an assembly line.  Gone are the days when the Germans and Japanese come to the USA to study production methodology from GM, Ford, & Chrysler.

Quoted: I'm impressed, it looks more like a lab than an assembly line.  Gone are the days when the Germans and Japanese come to the USA to study production methodology from GM, Ford, & Chrysler.

That's a boutique shop, not an assembly line.

I've had plenty of "visitors" from Germany, Japan, Korea & China tour plants (and management gave them carte blanche to photograph everything and ask any questions, while when the other way round, everything was VERBOTEN and a camera would have got your ass thrown out.

We were dumb, we gave them the store and the bastards happily stole everything they could.

Deming taught the Japanese half of what they know about production, they don't create, they copy (and they do a damn good job of it. We're too myopic to see that the lack of R&D investment in this country will do us in.

As for Germany, read this little gem and then ask yourself if you really want to give those cocksuckers a dime.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm impressed, it looks more like a lab than an assembly line.  Gone are the days when the Germans and Japanese come to the USA to study production methodology from GM, Ford, & Chrysler. That's a boutique shop, not an assembly line. I've had plenty of "visitors" from Germany, Japan, Korea & China tour plants (and management gave them carte blanche to photograph everything and ask any questions, while when the other way round, everything was VERBOTEN and a camera would have got your ass thrown out. We were dumb, we gave them the store and the bastards happily stole everything they could. Deming taught the Japanese half of what they know about production, they don't create, they copy (and they do a damn good job of it. We're too myopic to see that the lack of R&D investment in this country will do us in. As for Germany, read this little gem and then ask yourself if you really want to give those cocksuckers a dime.

Yep.
If I want to see a real automotive manufacturing operation, all I have to do is call Toyota and schedule a tour.  They'll let representatives of ANY automotive company tour their facilities.

Got give them Germs architecture style points. God knows they must use all their brain power on that rather than personal style, grooming, and hygene.

Phaeton are not 300K!!!

I have owned many cars over the years and the best cars me or my family had were VW's and Toyotas.

85 Golf 265,000 Miles on Org Engine and Tranny the body finally rusted out so bad my Dad DROVE it to the scrap yard this year.

84 GTI 120,00 when I sold it . I SCCA autocrossed this car andit still drove me to work everyday with out a problem. The other buyer took it well over 200k and it was still going last time I checked.

My best friends Dad had a 86 Golf Diesel that had over 350k!! on the org drivetrain and he sold it in 98 or 99 and it was still driving in 2003 the last time he saw it.

We have a 2001 Jetta GLX 5 speed that is very fast and runs like a top, it also gets about 32 mpg on the highway. 70,000 miles with out a problem.

If VW is so bad why do they have one of the safest cars with the 06 Jetta and why is the TDI version is so sought after there is waiting lists on them at most dealers? I have seen some of the complaints and for the most part it was from people bitching about stupid minor problems. I think it is more important to have a good drivetrain then bitch about a rear window defroster that broke at 150,000 miles. Some people you just can't please no matter what. I am not saying there was not a few lemons, but from my view VW builds a fine product.

I would love to buy Americian, but for smalll cars most US made Dodge, Ford and Chevy  are not well made. Sorry but the truth hurts sometimes. My wife had a 90 something Escort with low miles and it fell apart before it ever reached 50,000 miles. We traded it on a used Toyota 4 runner and kept the 4 runner for over 150,000 miles when we  traded it on the Jetta. It was running like new with 150,000 miles on it when we traded it in.

The big 3 build great large trucks,but if Toyata ever builds a Diesel truck like the Powerstroke or the Duramax types the big 3 will loose that market also.

Cars are a huge investment for most folks. Would you rather buy a car that can go 200k plus with normal maint or one that wears out before 100K?

Quoted: Quoted: And some of us wonder why GM is going under? Germans have there shit together when it comes to cars.   Yeah, but those are $300,000 cars. I wondered why, they are extremely labor intensive, not like the rest of the mass-produced cars that take a couple of hours to slap together..

They ain't 300G. They base at $66G for the V8. 96G if you want the W12. Some of the paint jobs alone are 4K.

tg

Quoted: We're too myopic to see that the lack of R&D investment in this country will do us in.

Cutting R&D is the surest way to raise your profiitabilty the current year and quarter. \Wall Street looks at these numbers real hard, and people can sell and buy shares of stock on a whim, but running a long-term company is not like buying & selling stock.  In order to have a study stream of new products, there must be R&D.  Some companies choose to buy their products from a contractor in that case there is no R&D cost, but you're at the mercy of the contractor and you could end up selling something that another company also has.

Sweet factory!  My experience (second hand) with VW's has been hit and miss, my unlcles and cousins all owned Rabbits, and that Rabbit-up truck/car thingy.  ALL were EXCELLENT.  My brother owns a Jetta, and it is NOTHING BUT TROUBLE!

Tagged for home.

The only factory I've been to is Mitsubishi's plant in Normal, IL that builds the Galant, the Endeavor and the Eclipse.  They also used to make Eagle Talons when they were in production.

The plant in Germany is clean, well lit, and it has WOOD FLOORS for God's sakes!

The Mitsu plant is dark, and somewhat clean(although I haven't been there in a few years)

I've been to the factory in Wolfsburg, the grounds are amazing too. I've had 4 VW's and the have all been great