One more Spartanburg experience

ncx · #1 06-13-2005, 09:32 AM

Just a follow up to the discussion the other day about going to the BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg. On Friday I took my first trip to the factory. Wow that was fascinating. It is a must-do for any X5 enthusiast. You love your car now, wait until you watch how they are built. You get to see the car in every stage of assembly and you can get within 5 feet of cars in production.

I talked with a guy who installs the wiring harnesses and got to see a spotless engine and trans assembly being mated up to a freshly painted black 4.8is body. Even got to see initial startup on a 3.0 and watched as it went through all its initial tuning and diagnostics. I have never in my life seen so many X5's, it was unreal. The drive home was just as good as the drive to the plant since I had all of that knowledge in my head about how each sub assembly was put together. The Z4 assembly was just as fascinating but the tour heavily favored the X5 side of the plant.

The employees were so nice, the plant was clean as a whistle, and the museum was great too. The only downside is that you can't take pictures inside the plant. A great overall experience.

I'll be going back for the driving course this fall on the other side of the property, and will probably take the tour again and see the US-bound X5 diesel in production. You will have a real sense of pride about your X5 once you have been to the motherland. If you haven't gone already, make some plans to get there.

Sponsored Links

Juanted · #2 06-13-2005, 10:48 AM

I live only 1.5 hours from there. I MUST take that tour. I'll probably do it when we buy our next X5!

Glad you enjoyed the tour. Thanks for sharing.

Juan

motordavid · #3 06-13-2005, 02:22 PM

Kevin, Nice write up...sounds Excellent. Like Juan, I'm an hour and a qtr from BMWNA Mutha, and have been "by it" a doz times.

I gotta get there. Hey, when is that "fall performance tour" you are doing at the Joint?
BR, David

Curious Joel · #4 06-13-2005, 02:57 PM

I thought the tour was great, too. The factory was so impressive. THe thing that I was most impressed with, though, was how well they treat their workers.. It's a far cry from what factory workers lives were like 50 years ago.

Kewl X5 · #5 06-13-2005, 03:09 PM

It was 1 year ago today that I picked up the M3 at Spartanburg and did the performance driving school and museum and factory tour.

Glad you got to enjoy it....

Juan, just make a day trip out it with your wife. You don't need to pick up a BMW to do the factory tour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncx

Just a follow up to the discussion the other day about going to the BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg. On Friday I took my first trip to the factory. Wow that was fascinating. It is a must-do for any X5 enthusiast. You love your car now, wait until you watch how they are built. You get to see the car in every stage of assembly and you can get within 5 feet of cars in production.

I talked with a guy who installs the wiring harnesses and got to see a spotless engine and trans assembly being mated up to a freshly painted black 4.8is body. Even got to see initial startup on a 3.0 and watched as it went through all its initial tuning and diagnostics. I have never in my life seen so many X5's, it was unreal. The drive home was just as good as the drive to the plant since I had all of that knowledge in my head about how each sub assembly was put together. The Z4 assembly was just as fascinating but the tour heavily favored the X5 side of the plant.

The employees were so nice, the plant was clean as a whistle, and the museum was great too. The only downside is that you can't take pictures inside the plant. A great overall experience.

I'll be going back for the driving course this fall on the other side of the property, and will probably take the tour again and see the US-bound X5 diesel in production. You will have a real sense of pride about your X5 once you have been to the motherland. If you haven't gone already, make some plans to get there.

ncx · #6 06-13-2005, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaefer

I live only 1.5 hours from there. I MUST take that tour. I'll probably do it when we buy our next X5!

Juan

Yes definitely go. Its a quick trip for you and there are some restaurants, bars, and of course the outlet stores in Gaffney will make the misses happy

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD

Hey, when is that "fall performance tour" you are doing at the Joint?

Good question. I was thinking September or October. You thinking about going? Can we race!?!?!? Ha! I wish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJ

The thing that I was most impressed with, though, was how well they treat their workers.. It's a far cry from what factory workers lives were like 50 years ago.

No kidding! It was impressive. I would love to tour a GM, Ford, or Chrysler plant just to compare the environment and worker attitudes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KewlX5

It was 1 year ago today that I picked up the M3 at Spartanburg and did the performance driving school and museum and factory tour.

Man I saw an '05 red M3 out in front of the Zen. Must have had 30 coats of Zaino or something. I can only imagine taking one home from there after abusing one on the track. Lucky you!

Thanks for the replies.
-Kevin

Curious Joel · #7 06-13-2005, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncx

No kidding! It was impressive. I would love to tour a GM, Ford, or Chrysler plant just to compare the environment and worker attitudes.

I toured the Volvo factory in Gothenburg, Sweden... The factory is just as clean, etc. They didn't say anything about the way they treat the workers, but I assume they treat them well. It seems that since the automobile is so important in Europe, they do a better job in all aspects of the industry, from build quality to worker treatment. Over here the car is just a way to get from point A to point B, for many people, so we don't build them as well.. it's more of a passion over there. The Volvo factory was enormous though... It was a mile long. When building it they had to take into account the curvature of the earth. The tour was on a tram, so you could just sit there, and it was fun.

Kewl X5 · #8 06-13-2005, 03:35 PM

Yes....and also if you didn't know, I had to break it in by driving it up the Northeast and then heading out west back to Cali!

It was the best motorhead vacation that one could have!

However, within 20 minutes of driving it out....I had to drive it in the rain!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncx

Yes definitely go. Its a quick trip for you and there are some restaurants, bars, and of course the outlet stores in Gaffney will make the misses happy

Good question. I was thinking September or October. You thinking about going? Can we race!?!?!? Ha! I wish.

No kidding! It was impressive. I would love to tour a GM, Ford, or Chrysler plant just to compare the environment and worker attitudes.

Man I saw an '05 red M3 out in front of the Zen. Must have had 30 coats of Zaino or something. I can only imagine taking one home from there after abusing one on the track. Lucky you!

Thanks for the replies.
-Kevin

Sponsored Links