Saturday, February 9, 2013

A Visit to the Mercedes Factory; Becoming Motoring Tourists


Last Summer, while I was minding my own business, Larry said the fatal words: "We are going to have to begin thinking about getting you a new car."  I already have a car.  I have a ten year old BMW convertible that is my car. Why would I want a new car?
 
Soon logic won out and we began shopping for a car.  It has been a long time since I have darkened the doorstep of a car dealership and frankly, I was not impressed.  Cars sure have gotten expensive and they have some nice features, but not that nice.  I was ready to invite some car salesmen home for dinner, others, not so much.  It is true that I live on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and it takes a long time for things to get here.  However, it seemed like an awful lot of the cars on the lots were dark grey with black interiors or similar such uninspiring combinations and most of the options less than state of the art.  I understand that dealers want to move what they have, but if I am willing to wait I should at least be able to get the color I want.  Dream at night girl!  As time wore on I just was not feeling the excitement necessary to feel good about plunking down a large chunk of money. 
 
Almost as idle "Bar Talk" we began talking about the European Delivery Program for Americans purchasing new European cars and a great idea was launched.  Before we knew it we had ordered a Mercedes E350 Coupe with tan leather seats the color of a basket ball, in a pearly white color called Diamond White Metallic with loads of extremely cool options, including a sunroof.  I usually keep a car for a very long time so I don't want my new car to be out of date on the day I pick it up.  Our delivery date was early September but we got an email in mid Summer advising us that our car was built on July 22 and ready for pick up, but not to worry, they would keep it safe and dry until we were ready to pick it up.
 
My First Train Ride on My First Trip to Europe
We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany on September 3, 2012.  It takes a very long time to get to Germany from Hawaii.  We took a train  from Frankfurt to Stuttgart where we stayed in an amazing hotel courtesy of Mercedes Benz.  I have always said that it is better to travel at any level than to not travel and I pride myself on not being a "princess," so I have stayed in my share of less than five star accommodations over the years, but just the same, I loved this hotel.  And I really loved the breakfast buffet.  In fact when people ask me what the best thing on was trip was, German breakfast buffets come to mind as one of the top five best things. 



In the spirit of changing car brands with gusto and earnestness, we began our first day in Germany with a visit to the Stuttgart Mercedes Museum.  The exterior sight of the museum itself was worth the train ride.



 At the museum we learned that Henry Ford did not invent the first automobile. In 1885 Gottlieb Daimlier powered a wood spoked 2 wheeler with a 4 cycle internal combustion engine which was less than one horsepower.  In 1844 Carl Benz was granted a patent on a 3 wheel motor car with a 3/4 horsepower engine fueled by benzene.  Daimlier is not credited with inventing the first horseless carriage, but he is credited with inventing the internal combustion engine.  By contract, Ford Motor Company was incorporated on June 16, 1903.


We also learned about  Austrian businessman and avid car racer Emil Jellinek.  In 1898 he raced at Nice Race week under the pseudonym Mercedes, which was the name of his ten year old daughter.  At this time in history race names referred to the team and the driver, not the car.  In 1900 Jellinek made an agreement with Daimlier concerning the sale of cars and engines.  As part of the agreement it was decided that a new engine with the name Daimlier-Mercedes would be developed.
 
The big lesson at the museum is that  Mercedes has built a heck of a lot of very beautiful cars in its history.

After our enlightenment, we headed off on a tour of a Mercedes factory that manufactures diesel engines.   

The majority of the production is done by robots.  Their movements were a sight of beautiful robotic choreography to the extent that I kept expecting Swan Lake to begin melodizing in the background.  Many parts of the production are done in sealed enclosures to keep contamination out of sealed parts.  While the robots are waltzing, humans do important tasks like deliver fasteners. 
 
The Beautiful Mercedes Lobby
Day two was the day we had been dreaming about for months, the day we were to pick up our new "baby." The pickup center at the Mercedes factory in Singlefegen is a blend of modern high tech sleekness and zen beauty. 
 
The First of Many Photos of the Car
After completing a remarkably small amount of paperwork we were directed to a waiting area that overlooked a large indoor area where new cars were parked while they waited for their owners.  We clustered around a railing with the other new owners waiting for the roll top door to open and our new cars to roll out. 
 
My Car Has Arrived
Soon an adorable white E350 coupe with her lights on rolled out the doors.  A few minutes later a technician escorted us to our new car.  In short it was everything we had expected and more.  Every single feature we had requested was indeed installed on the car and everything was just like in the picture.
 
Me and the Technician
The last time I bought a car the salesman said, I am not actually too familiar with these, but I can show you how the remote key works.  This time it was a little different. The technician  demonstrated all the features of the car and let us play with everything so that we knew that we knew how they worked. 

After our briefing we joined the rest of the new owners on a tour of a C Class Sedan factory.  We were not allowed to take pictures, but we were given safety goggles.
 
Once again, those beautiful robots were at work.  Modern production genius created beautiful cars with precise robotic arms.  After each step the robots performed a quality control check and re-calibrated their function; and our love for our new car grew.

The entire dashboard is pre-assembled, a robotic arm carefully threads it through an open window and plugs it in, two more arms appear on either side and install the four screws that hold the dashboard in place.

The Factory served a very nice lunch with a beautiful desert

Mercedes does not build cars, they build specific cars.  When the production of a car begins a bar code sticker is placed on the chassis so that the robots know which specific car is being built.  The bar code is scanned at each step of the process so that every part, piece, option and color is correct.  When my car was built, the computers already knew from the very first piece that they were building my car and that it was going to live in Hawaii.
 
 
Soon we were off to the unknown in our new car tooling down a beautiful German road as motoring tourists.  Our first stop was Freudenstadt on the edge of the Black forest.

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