If you want to see the future of car manufacturing, check out this video form the Detroit News about Ford's most advanced assembly plant in rural Brazil. The plant reminds me of the Ford Rouge plant of the early 20th Century -- where raw materials come in one end and cars were spit out the other. In the case of the Brazilian plant, suppliers have co-located their assemply lines in the same plant. A very interested example of collaboration. And a possible view of what the future holds for auto making in the US.
UPDATE:
A recent FT article on the auto industry (Detroit spinners?) describes a similar set up in the US:
The plant that assembles Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler near Toledo, Ohio sprawls across four buildings, but Chrysler occupies only one of them. The others house three of the troubled carmaker’s suppliers. South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis builds the Wrangler’s chassis, while Kuka, a German maker of robots and welding machines, puts together the body. The facility’s paint shop is operated by Magna International of Canada, with Chrysler responsible only for the vehicle’s final assembly.
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