Day 6 - 05.17.11: Ingolstadt & Munich/Audi
The RSAP group at Audi
This was the day I had been waiting for: AUDI!! I got up at 7:00am to get ready and went down for breakfast, where I had a granny smith apple, bread with Nutella (which is growing on me, I didn’t like it at the beginning of the trip) and water. We then took the train from Munich to Ingolstadt, and then a bus to Audi. I actually got to ride in one of the private compartments in the train. When we got off the bus, Audi was right there, in all its glory! We walked into the main building/showroom, and they had an R8 Spyder (the R8 is my favorite Audi), as well as the other cars like the TT and A7. The group had its picture taken with the R8 as a souvenir.
We began the day at Audi with a factory tour. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, for obvious reasons. First, we saw parts of the car being stamped from the metal cutouts. One machine does all the cutouts for different parts. We saw the side panel of the car stamped out. Then we walked through the assembly line and saw a wide variety of jobs along the way, including spot welding, installing the wires, windows, and dashboard, and installing the engine in the car. A lot of the plant is automated, and people are there only for the maintenance of the robots. After the factory tour, we had lunch in the Audi cafeteria, and then we listened to a presentation about the business side of Audi. After that, I headed over to the museum. There were tons of Lamborghinis and older Audis, and you could see how Audis were improved over the course of 50 years. Before we left Audi, Eric, Michael, Megan and I went back to the show room and asked if we were allowed to sit in the R8. After hesitating, the woman finally agreed to let us. That was the best part of the entire day!
I was very impressed with Audi. The precision of their assembly line is reflected in the quality of their cars. German engineering is known for its quality, just look at Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi. I would love to work for one of the German automobile companies. I wonder how long it would take to learn German!
We began the day at Audi with a factory tour. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, for obvious reasons. First, we saw parts of the car being stamped from the metal cutouts. One machine does all the cutouts for different parts. We saw the side panel of the car stamped out. Then we walked through the assembly line and saw a wide variety of jobs along the way, including spot welding, installing the wires, windows, and dashboard, and installing the engine in the car. A lot of the plant is automated, and people are there only for the maintenance of the robots. After the factory tour, we had lunch in the Audi cafeteria, and then we listened to a presentation about the business side of Audi. After that, I headed over to the museum. There were tons of Lamborghinis and older Audis, and you could see how Audis were improved over the course of 50 years. Before we left Audi, Eric, Michael, Megan and I went back to the show room and asked if we were allowed to sit in the R8. After hesitating, the woman finally agreed to let us. That was the best part of the entire day!
I was very impressed with Audi. The precision of their assembly line is reflected in the quality of their cars. German engineering is known for its quality, just look at Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi. I would love to work for one of the German automobile companies. I wonder how long it would take to learn German!
My favorite Audi - an R8!
Audi at Ingolstadt
2006 Lamborghini Murcielago "VERSACE"
View of Munich from Turmbesuch Church tower
After Audi, we headed back to the Wombat in Munich and explored the town. Today was my day to plan (along with Zach, Katie, and Meghan H.) so we decided to climb the Turmbesuch Church tower and then see the Glockenspiel Clock tower at 5:00pm (the last time it goes off during the day). Afterwards, some of us walked to the Botanical Gardens until our dinner reservation at 6:15pm. Dinner was at the Augustiner brewery. I wasn’t very hungry, so I just had an apple strudel, which tasted wonderful. After dinner, a few of us walked around Munich, then we went back to the hotel, and packed to get ready to leave the next day.
