[AndyGF]

Originally Posted by incantana

And so it is interesting that some like to prod at the USA and generally talk down to Americans as if they are less than citizens of other countries. But when you examine the technological advances that have resulted from the stars and stripes, no one should laugh.

Before getting all caught up in rhetoric; you really think "no one should laugh" at you? How about how then about starting with page 1 of this thread?

Lucky for those workers earning a living driving BMW's all day, testing luxury cars for a living isn't a deadly sin, Envy on the other hand...

[///Chase]

deleted.

[clarence]

Originally Posted by bimmerjph

I agree. But in their defense the German factories do look cleaner and more modern... Or at least in the videos they do....
I wish they had more videos about the assembly of the engines. That would be interesting to watch.

Most of the tooling in the Rosslyn plant is either brand new for the F30 or have been installed during the past 2 or 3 yrs, so it's as good as it gets. The difference between this plant and some of the newer German plants is that this plant have some space restraints (look in Google map & u'll understand) whereas the newer plants in Germany/USA/China are all built from ground up on empty land.
There another video abt the Dingolfing plant in Germany & u'll notice the tooling is more or less identical, & that plant makes 5/6/7ers.
The N20 engine is made in Hams Hall, UK & there's another vid abt it's production.

[clarence]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

Idk but the German production line just has a different feel to it, all have gloves,matching uniforms and a body language that says, "excited to be working here building bimmers". The guys in this vid didn't seem that confident or something.

I think for the SA plant workers, if it comes to it, treasure their jobs even more than the Germans. One just has to compare the unemployment rates of both countries.
Notice the "No Vacancies" sign at the plant's entrance, it is a constant reminder that if u fail at ur job, there are hundreds lining up outside to replace u. The filming of the video I think gives them more pressure in this sense.
I've been to plants in Japan, & if u compare German workers with the Japanese, the Germans seems to be on holiday.

[Nang Vann]

Woo hoo, they building my BMW!

[dj john]

Originally Posted by Tsuyoi

I bet if you couldn't see the people's faces in the video and this was relabeled "new production line in Germany" you'd all be going fanboy nuts over how amazing it is.

Seriously, the amount of stereotyping and intolerance in this thread makes me wanna

+1

[nenadbogar]

great videos. thanks for posting!

[rich100]

Originally Posted by AndyGF

I see your profile says; "Drives: Golf GTI". If your GTI is a MK5, there is a good chance it was made in south africa too. Of all the golfs produced at the Uitenhage plant, almost 40% of them were all GTI's.

might have missed that bit too...

I'm afraid i'm not sure about that mate i'd have to check. It's been pretty rock solid though so not too concerned whether it was built in SA or elsewhere.

My original comment about the rust was just meant to be a bit tounge in cheek, no offence intended.

I've previously had E36, 46 and E90 Bmws in the past and I'm considerding switching back into an F30. I have just been a bit concerned with what I have read recently on the forums about the seats.

I'm sure Bmw likely already has a fix in place... hopefuly

[incantana]

heres a video of the f30 assembly that is NOT in SA for comparison:

_

[Imola.ZHP]

Just finally had time to watch the video's. I enjoy video's like this, thanks for sharing...

As for the build quality statements, wearing gloves and matching uniforms doesn't equate to a better built car, thats just ridiculous... I haven't had the pleasure of visiting the US plant yet, but I hope too soon...

Edit, wow, just read some more of this thread, WTF?

Wouldn't you imagine the plants would be designed almost exactly the same? It would make sense to engineer one process and duplicate it rather than build different process's for each plant. The only thing different I see in these video's is the color of the workers skin. If that is a problem for some of you, then I feel bad for you...

[anerbe]

When globalizing production, a company can standardize equipment and facilities world wide and hire the best engineers and launch managers for each site, but the one thing you cannot standardize is the local labor.

Each location has its own type of workforce, where the company has to deal with localized unions, socioeconomic divisions,racial divides, etc.

I'm not saying one location is better to produce than another, as each company strategies how to get the most out of the production location chosen. I just wanted to point out that a car built globally will have differences.

[Falcao]

I find some of the previous posts disturbing. To put this into perspective, I have or had WBS starting number VIN so Motorsport GMBH, Munich and my high revving engine blew so

The point i am trying to make is that to suggest SA plant have more defect per car compared to the ones made in Germany is pure speculation not backed by facts. I want to see some data backing up that statement otherwise it is b###

I don't care if workers at plants have gloves, matching uniform, etc. I care more about build quality and my engine blowing up thank you. I enjoyed both videos of the 2 plants (germany and sa) and i think i see workers at both plants taking joy in building and working at one of the best if not the best car company in the world.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by rich100

During which part of the process do they apply the rust to the seats?

must have missed that bit....

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

I'm not too impressed by this production line, are any 328s still made in Germany??

Idk but the German production line just has a different feel to it, all have gloves,matching uniforms and a body language that says, "excited to be working here building bimmers". The guys in this vid didn't seem that confident or something.

Ab-solutely agree.

[GT1281]

My F30 is a German built car and I have had numerous issues with it. My E90 was SA built and it had one issue in 3 years. Just saying you could have issues wherever it's built.

[roundle]

Where's the dunk tank???

[kmd]

Mine says J. Regensburg it is

[Alpine F31]

Originally Posted by Tsuyoi

I bet if you couldn't see the people's faces in the video and this was relabeled "new production line in Germany" you'd all be going fanboy nuts over how amazing it is.

Seriously, the amount of stereotyping and intolerance in this thread makes me wanna

+1

[M5007]

Who cares where it's made. As long as the quality control process is up to par as its standardized for all factories.

[bmrm396]

pretty sure its been confirmed on this board by a BMW insider (i wont name who), that the SA plant has had far lower levels of imperfections and defects than the Munich plant ... so take that for what its worth

[JonoNZ]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

Being born in SA, I can say that all RHD 3 series have been built in SA for many years. I'd rather my car was assembled in Germany, but at the end of the day it isn't really an issue. Components are the same and good diligent labour in SA.

Merc also have most RHD cars built in SA plant

Not all RHD 3 series cars are made in SA. The UK is supplied from Germany I believe, not to mention all the early F30's in NZ (RHD of course) where Munich builds.

[Goody4]

Or, just check your window sticker, if you have one.

For my 2009 335i, it's in the upper right of the sticker. I've circled it in red.