[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index] Re: Been to the Promised Land...
Ok, ok. Some of you have been suggesting that I wipe the slack-jawed look off'n my face and tell you about my experience. In my defense I can only say that you asked for it! We visited the Ingolstadt facility first. Unfortunately, we arrived at just about shift change time. It was honestly quite disturbing to be in a sea of Audis! Everywhere, virtually every car on the road! A4s, A6s, Coupes, A8s as far as the eye could see. I'm more accustomed to a ratio of fine German autos where I am driving most of the ones in visible range. Parking lots full of them, trainloads full of them. Aaaahhh! Seeing all the Bimmers, Benzes and Audis all over the autobahns was one thing, but this was making me twitchy. Soon after the initial shock began to subside, we found ourselves in the Visitors Center. A beautiful big glass dome, reminiscent of a 747 aircraft hanger from a Buckminster Fuller portfolio. Inside, on the second floor was the waiting area for expectant customers, and a railing one could peer over in envy to see A4s, A6s, & wagons (aka Avant) being introduced to their happy new owners at a slow and stately pace. Above us was a large electronic screen with the names of the owners-to-be, and their time of delivery. When the prescribed time came and with usual German precision, a low tone announced the arrival. A door opened from the enclosed area below and the gleaming machine rolled silently onto the rubberized flooring. Ahhh. And for those of us not taking delivery, tons of cool Audi knicknacks were available to placate us in the 'Quattro Boutique'. Then, a peek at the cutaway A8 on display - very interesting, but what a tragedy to vivisect this noble car! Sadly, we weren't able to reconcile the lateness of our schedule with the factory tour. We skulked off to our rented Renault wagon, and slouched down till we arrived at our gasthaus. Then, a few weeks later we stopped in at the Neckarsulm plant, not quite as flashy from the outside, but oolala on the inside! The tour guide lavished my wife and I with English materials and a text book on Audi history, equipped everyone in the tour with a set of wireless headphones tuned to his microphone (rats, had to give the radios back afterwards), and off we struck into the din. Look at all those aluminum chassis' rolling about! Also interesting was the fact that Coupe (I mean Cabriolet - I can't get over the similarities) production had been temporarily diverted to Neckarsulm from Ingolstadt for reasons I didn't catch (my technical German is nicht zo zer gut), so the cars were alternated A8, Cabriolet, A8, Cabriolet... The production line moves at 11 mm per minute if memory serves, and it is simply amazing to see the drivetrain and chassis lines converging perfectly, melding 4.2 Quattro assemblies, 2.8 fwd assemblies, 3.8 fwd assemblies into their new homes. Elsewhere in the factory, huge presses stamped out parts, armies of robots welded and assembled and shuffled, but certainly many of the machines were had skilled human operators controlling 3 story presses with ease. We stopped in to see a video on the A8 fabrication process, and were told that we would not be allowed to approach the A8 painting area, not for reasons of our health, but so as not to introduce imperfections in what we were told is the finest paint available in Deutschland. Also intersting was that part of the Neckarsulm facility had been used by Porsche to manufacture the 944 until recently. We ended the tour with a peek at a stealthy looking A8 sporting a soon to be available satellite navigational system. Just a couple travel notes, if any of you think you may be making a pilgrimmage - Ingolstadt is not the most beautiful city in Germany. However, we thought Neckarsulm a bit nicer, and we stayed at the nearby town of Bad Wimpfen - definately worth the trip! Sadly, pics weren't allowed in the factory. I'll see if I can scan some images from postcards & brochures to put up on my page. More TT pics, anyone? And then, there was the Wolfsburg Volkswagon plant... but that's another story. Cheers, -- Jon
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