Moog-Type-S

.....nope not in the U.S.........in Brazil.

http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

Watch the vid....eye-opening to say the least.
They will never be able to build such an incredible factory like that in the U.S.

....and that is why the Big 3 are doomed.

agranado

damn. Last snippet at the end of that saying the UAW is blocking this. I can kinda see why.. lotsa jobs will be lost and pay will probably drop, but that is really damn efficient and would probably save billions of dollars in the long run.

Sucks we cant have it here

Black Tire

I have seen this before. If the Big 3 made cars like this in the first place without the UAW/CAW...then they wouldn't be on the brink of failure.

chill_dog

Yep, never happening here...you can thank the unions.

Yumcha

More appropriate for Car Talk, perhaps...?

S A CHO

That's incredible. I love how the suppliers are based inside the actual plant.

Bearcat94

Isn't this very similar to how Toyota works in Georgetown?

What about other non-American manufacturers here: Acura/Honda (Marysville); BMW (Spartanburg) - are their facilities similar to this?

I know I've heard the Spartanburg has xxx BMW suppliers with mfg facilities near the main plant.

Gfaze

That's awesome!

Costco

That's so funny..... the UAW tries to help out the low level workers but in the end hurts the company that they're affiliated with so much. So much that they can't build a plant like THAT here.

F23A4

I'm surprised the UAW has not met with Brazillian government officials to nip this type of operation in the bud. If the Big 3 default into bankruptcy (pun), then we could probably anticipate this type of assembly process retrofited stateside as part of their restructuring.

phile

I don't think Honda has the suppliers within their factory like this Ford plant, but Honda also has a flexible assembly-line. That's why you rarely hear about Honda shutting down plants, they just switch building cars on the same assembly line. Started around the same time as Ford too, 2000 for Honda, 2001 for Ford.

Shoofin

What you just saw there is 99% of what BMW's facility is in Spartanburg, SC...it's all about efficiency, and without the UAW.

SouthernBoy

Around 20 years ago, Ford built a "lean" plant in Atlanta and it rivaled the best in the world. Throughout the South, vehicle manufacturers have built and operated plants with success. And the UAW has virtually no presence in Southern automobile plants because the workers do not want them there.