True. But, I have always thought Studebakers were really cool. I appreciate the different and weird.
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Off-topic stuff…
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From all of us at Scout Motors, welcome to the Scout Community! We created this community to provide Scout vehicle owners, enthusiasts, and curiosity seekers with a place to engage in discussion, suggestions, stories, and connections. Supportive communities are sometimes hard to find, but we're determined to turn this into one.
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Why GM is building the Bolt EV in batches of 30
(from Automotive News)Key Takeaways
- Fairfax Assembly in Kansas is the first GM plant in North America to use batch build manufacturing.
- By making 30 identical Chevy Bolts in a row, GM can give suppliers a more definitive schedule to ensure parts arrive on time.
- The factory keeps "clones" of each configuration on hand that can be swapped in to keep the line moving if one vehicle in a batch has a quality problem.
- Using the same paint color for 30 consecutive vehicles means less time spent cleaning and changing out equipment in the paint shop.
The automaker is building its newly revived electric crossover in batches of 30 matching copies to boost quality and reduce complexity on the factory floor.
“It was an idea that we had to look across the enterprise, not just in the plant but to suppliers, to say, ‘How do we make sure we can be as efficient as possible as we launch the Bolt?’ ” said Michael Youngs, director of the plant in Kansas City, Kan. ”And the concept of batch was born.”
Fairfax Assembly is the first GM factory in North America to use the strategy. The concept helped allow for a faster relaunch of the Bolt, which began a limited-run return to the lineup in November as Chevy works to keep previous buyers in the fold and draw new customers with a sub-$30,000 option.
airfax is scheduled to build the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Equinox starting next year, and it will add a next-generation Buick compact crossover in 2028. The small window for second-generation Bolt production meant GM had to figure out how to quickly ramp up production while ensuring high quality from the start, Youngs said.
“It was addressing a problem,” he said. “How do we relaunch the Bolt and quickly flip the plant to go build it and do it in a way that helps our operators to make sure they’re building it at rate, at quality and with the best possible efficiency?”
By building the same vehicle type 30 times in a row, GM can more easily give its suppliers a fixed seven-day schedule showing what it’s building and when, so the right parts arrive on time, Youngs said.
“It’s made it easier for us and our suppliers,” he said.
The plant also keeps “clones” of each Bolt configuration on hand if quality issues arise for any of the 30 vehicles in production, Youngs said. If a vehicle needs to be pulled from the batch because of a quality issue, another one can take its place on the line so production can continue. The Bolt comes in two trims and seven exterior colors.
Equipment in the paint shop needs to be cleaned and changed less frequently because 30 Bolts are painted the same color in a row, helping to save time. And floor operators spend less time moving between different batches of parts for different vehicles, Youngs said.
“It reduces inefficiency and allows our operators to truly do more value-added work,” he said.
Batch build manufacturing works better for vehicles with relatively low levels of production, such as the Bolt, than for high-volume models such as a Silverado, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. Fairfax builds 2,000 to 3,000 Bolts a month.
“This kind of assembly only works on low volumes,” Fiorani said. “GM might be able to learn some things in the process and scale some things up to mass production, but production of this style is more akin to kit production, where they get batches of parts from another plant, which are reassembled at the end point.”
Still, GM plans to utilize batch production after Bolt production ends, Youngs said, including when the Equinox and Buick crossover ramp up at Fairfax. But what exactly the process will look like and how it differs from Bolt production remains to be seen, he said.
“We have everything set up for it,” he said. “It’s the foundation that we built, and now we’re going to do what we do, which is continuously improve and make it even better the next time.”
The smooth launch of batch building and the high quality of production at Fairfax has caught the attention of leaders at GM, Youngs said.
“While in my head I knew that there would have to be some quality impact because you’re doing things on a repetitive basis, what I didn’t realize at the time was that it was going to be that big of an impact,” Youngs said. “It truly was significant on our first-time quality.”
Everyone be safe in this crazy weather and heat. I flew home today and getting to Dallas was fine. Getting into Bloomington was another story. We had to divert to St Louis and I have never been in a plane that had to abort so many landings and cire so much. We finally landed and had to sit on a hot plane to get refueled and wait for the weather to clear.
Now we are under a tornado watch.
Everyone be safe!
Now we are under a tornado watch.
Everyone be safe!
Watching the Weather Channel last night, I saw the storms in your end of the world and was wondering if you were home yet or still on vacation. Stay safe!
I know it's getting hot outside when I want to turn on my ventilated seats. I usually drive with the windows down, so that's the first step. If I actually turn the AC on, turn the seat on and close the windows, you know the end of days are nigh.
In the basement with the dogs. At least part of it is finished so we have a couch and a bathroom down here.
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