Building the Model T

[scgargoyle]

It was interesting watching that video after I took a factory tour of the BMW plant in SC last week! They have 4 million square feet of manufacturing space, and about 4500 employees. They make 32 beemers an hour, and every one they make is specifically ordered. All of the X5 and X6's in the world are made there, and are shipped to 140 countries. Each car gets a little transponder attached that is programmed with all of the options for the car, including the country it's going to, so they can match the safety and emissions equipment. If you order one, you can actually track your car on-line as it's being built. Start to finish takes about 4 days. A few things that surprised me: all of the parts are manufactured elsewhere; they only do assembly at the BMW plant. Using Just-In-Time practices, they only have a 2-4 hour inventory of parts, so there are trucks and trains coming and going constantly. The wiring harness weighs 96 lbs., and they heat it so it will bend to fit the car. They only have 2-1/2 minutes to install the wiring harness. No wooden wheels, though.....

[fishpharmer]

No, don't tell me beemer parts are made in China?  I wonder if the price of rail transport is cut in half the price of BMW goes down.  Doesn't really matter to me.   I would rather have a model T than a beemer.

[scgargoyle]

I don't know if any of the BMW parts come from China- interesting question, though. Most of the parts are manufactured right in SC and the surrounding states. They said for every job at the plant, another four are generated in the local economy. That could get ugly if BMW got in money trouble!