Re: General Motors Death not likely

Sounds cool, I haven't seen the automated hamburger places yet, but it brings back memories of the Horn and Horn (or Horn and Hardart) Automat in Times Square way back when.

How do they keep the food fresh? Seems to me less popular selections could be sitting for quite a while before purchase.

Can they provide for "having it MY way".... one of the benefits of eating at Burger King versus McD's or "Big Dave's" (Wendy's).

A lot of retail outlets have been installing the self-service checkouts (wal mart, home depot, Giant Food Stores). Good idea as they are always available during retail hours and take only a few seconds to learn. The wal mart system seems to have quite a few serious bugs but at least I don't leave the packages behind as often happens with those idiotic bagging stations.

The use of Robotics was supposed to change the manufacturering process in the auto industry. Was there actual widespread implementation and acceptance of this technology in the Big 3 or was this fought by the unions??

Peter

They are not vending machines. The food is not made that far in advance of being sold. As to automated vehicle assembly plant, you have obviously not been in one of the newer assembly plants, if you believe that. ;)

mike

implementation

I believe the Japanese were of the first to institute significant robotics usage in the manufacture of automobiles. Note the importance of 'significant'. American manufacturers have utilized it, but were a bit slower to integrate to the levels others did.

The British used to, and still do to some degree, crow about their 'hand made' prowess. British cars hit the dumper long ago, and still have not recovered to the level they once were. The British tend to have innovative engineering, but s*it for products.

It is my believe that it is difficult if not impossible to mass produce a modern automobile to the precise standards required to give high quality, quiet rides, good handling, and durability without computer controlled robotic lines, followed by meaningful QC procedures.

Maybe Im wrong, and am sure I will be called to task for it.

I have been driving my son's Peugeot 307 for the past month, and am amazed at the responsiveness, smoothness, and economy of this little car. They have made very significant progress over the past years, and I would still like to know what they are doing differently to get this level of ride comfort.

GM used to be, in my opinion, the unchallenged king of smooth and responsive, quiet rides, of the US producers. Maybe they still are. But they are not the kings of the world apparently. Why not?

There are of course robot in every car factory The Unions can not, could not and should not stand completely in the way The robots can and could ake life easier for everyone There is an obvious tendency for the robots to take over the most repetitive jobs The Unions have in some degree tried to hinder the robots from removing jobs from human robots

Both american managers and unions are to blame for slow acceptance of robots The japanese were much quicker using substantial amount of robots and making life easier for the workers Let the robots make sure everything was done computers do not forget or try to hide mistakes like human may try to do

New techniques have made it easier for anyone to mass produce for a relative low cost pretty much anything You do not need big overheads nor long lines Big is a burden nowadays

GM has too much baggage and too much inertia to fight off the smaller, quicker, and agile rivals Toyota has had over 60 years to improve their techniques and GM is simple doing too little too late