So bright and early this morning I had to head over to Fremont for a plant tour of NUMMI, a GM/Toyota joint venture. They build mostly Corollas and Tacomas, with some Pontiac Vibes thrown in for good measure.
Going to NUMMI was a required field trip for my Systems class, and I was pretty psyched because I had never seen cars made before. The place was huge and impressive. We watched a short film and then got driven around the plant; frankly I wish the tour had been longer. Still, you see most major areas of the plant except for the paint shops (I suppose they're on another floor). The robot welding machines were a standout for me; I'm amazed that robots can do all that detailed work without 'eyes'. But then, I know very little about either welding or robotics, so maybe robot welders are small potatoes to those in the know.
I wish I could have taken some photos but that's strictly forbidden. The plant photos on the website don't do the place justice.
I did find myself wondering as we drove past racks of car and truck doors -- why do we need so many new cars?
