Factory "Helpers"

Back in 2001 I ordered a new 2500HD Duramax (first year). On the gmtrucks.com forum there ended up being several workers at the plant that would take a pic of your truck on the assembly line, give you updates, and they were signing the owner's manual as it left the line. Sounds kind of hard to believe but in the 5 months it took to get the truck it was cool to see the updates these guys would post for different people waiting. It was fun to track your truck through the process and I was able to even find out what rail car it got loaded on and track the shipment on BNSF's website.

Two points to all that. One, not sure why some manufacturer hasn't figured out a way for the consumer to do this and actually watch their truck during different stages of the assembly line. I understand they can't/won't show it all but it would be a cool thing for us car/truck nerds. Second, is there anyone on this forum doing these things for the new Tundra or are we stuck with asking our salesman for updates?

TIA

 

First off...welcome to the forums!

Second...Manufacturers don't seem to want to deal directly with consumers any more. They want to leave everything to their (often crappy) dealerships. In the mid aughts, my wife ordered a brand new Pontiac Solstice and her experience was similar to yours. Maybe it was a GM thing? She got weekly photos from the factory showing progress of her car. When the body was put on, interior installed, when it got paint, when it rolled out of the factory, etc. It was quite cool. It's unfortunate that a lot of the personalized experience of buying vehicle has disappeared over the last 10-20 years.

 

Yes... they did this years ago.....Not sure about now. But, I think the Corvette guys can still go and build their engines from scratch at the plant......? I think only with the Z06 models....?

 

That makes sense. I know GM still throws a lot of "perks" at new Corvette owners. I didn't know they had the option of building their engine. That's super cool! Here in NV, they give people who purchase the new generation of Corvette a 2-day course at a local performance driving school. They teach new owners how to properly drive the mid-engine Vette on a legit racetrack. It's pretty cool. I see about 5-10 new Vettes driving into town each morning during my daily commute.

 

They are not doing it now it looks like...maybe start up again soon.
https://www.corvettemuseum.org/visit/delivery-programs/engine-build/

 

Ahhh. I guess I would be sad if I was in the market for a new Vette. I haven't quite reached that age yet. Mwahaha.

 

When my boat was built I got to take a tour of the factory. Actually saw the hull right after it came out of the mold. It was really cool to see all the processes and boats in various stages.
Someone at the factory also sent some pictures as it progressed through each stage.
Heck of alot less volume in the bass boat world than vehicles so an in person tour would be next to impossible, but I don't see why they couldn't set up an automated system to snap some photos as it rolls down the line.

 

I agree the transaction is very sterile almost like I am just buying a loaf of bread instead of a 60K truck. I think to keep the customer engaged in the building process of ones purchase not only makes the customer feel good but to me it shows a sense of pride in what they are selling.

 

That'd be a super cool perk. In the age of social media and when I can watch a webcam stream of grizzly bears, eagle chicks or the west coast of Ireland, I could see a HUGE buzz around watching my truck get built. Heck, I'd take the day off and claim the good spot on the couch, at very least, if not invite friends to join me.

 

That’d be nice to see pictures of your truck going through production.

The closest I’ve experienced is with BMW. When you order a BMW, you can use the BMW app to track your car through all the stages (gathering parts, paint, assembly, etc., all the way to “at the port waiting for carrier”. Then, you call the BMW hotline, and they will tell you which boat you car is assigned to. From there, you can track the boat across the ocean.