VW Puebla Factory Tours?

[murq]

(Is it better to bump an old thread, or post a new one and wait for the 'use the search' replies?)

Anyhoo... I am headed to Puebla and just learned of the factory. Are tours still for insiders only? Are there any places a non-insider can visit (I read something about a gift shop)??

[CBJ]

Truth be told, most of us members on this website are Volkswagen owners or were Volkswagen owners, at one point or another. We are all grouped together as Volkswagen aficionados.

Speak for your self.

Any of us can travel to Mexico and visit the Puebla Volkswagen assembly plant for a long weekend and spend about $500 US dollars roundtrip. Try visiting Wolfsburg Germany for under $2000 US dollars.

c) Bang for the buck, for a Volkswagen aficionado, Puebla Volkswagen assembly plant is a decent weekend designation. At the Puebla plant, over 30 different VW, Audi, Seat, and Skoda models are built and assembled there. Also, 15 different Volkswagen trucks and buses are also built and assembled at the Puebla Volkswagen plant.

I can get to Mexico for $500? Probably not. Besides for some of us Wollfsburg is closer (but not closer then Port Elisabeth).

[VDub2625]

I'm surprised it's closed... theSC BMW plant I went to was available for walk-ins (there were maybe 5-10 people in the museum at any time). Hell I drove around the grounds freely and found some cool ****:

[masa8888]

Going to Puebla next week. I'll have to see if we have time to do the tour.

[puebla]

Going to Puebla next week. I'll have to see if we have time to do the tour.

Enjoy Puebla, go to the downtown zocalo, and check out all the shops, then skip all the tourist traps and head straight to Acatcingo de Hidalgo, its 45 minutes from downtown Puebla, driving towards Orizaba. Great place to chill.


Make sure you go to Tepeaca, at least once, and drink agua miel, drink pulque if you really got the stamina...... eat some good traditional homemade food, and check out a bullfight or two while you are in Puebla.


PM me your email address.

Enjoy.

[Live-Wire]

I can appreciate somebody enjoying what is otherwise a museum/art gallery first than a factory. That would have me in awe, too. But as a MFG engineer and shareholder for some car companies... I would rather the egos stay in the boardrooms rather than the factory, because that is NOT where I want my money invested (i.e. Oak/birch plank flooring, massive waste of space, insane glazing architecture, innane machinery & equipment.)

Pictures of the Dresden facility made it to the management level where I work (Tier 1 OEM supplier)... which is on a 'clean up the plant' kick (not a bad thing obviously!). They are all saying "now this is world class, how come we can't be anywhere close to this".... etc etc etc... That plant is beyond world class - that thing is a crown jewel model of what can be done when money is no object - far from the realities of just in time, lean running, and trying to get more life from your old equipment to save on capital investment.

We're just shaking out heads and sighing... A money making factory will never look like Dresden... especially a money making parts facility. No one in the auto industry is giving Volkswagen any thanks for building that spectacle. It embarrasses any other car or parts plant and gives disillusioned managers with too much time on their hands an unachievable and unrealistic target to shoot for.

[pho]

Going to Puebla next week. I'll have to see if we have time to do the tour.

(Is it better to bump an old thread, or post a new one and wait for the 'use the search' replies?)

Just did the VW factory tour, again.
Crazy to see the latest edition Beetle being manufactured.

No pics allowed though.

[VDub2625]

We're just shaking out heads and sighing... A money making factory will never look like Dresden... especially a money making parts facility. No one in the auto industry is giving Volkswagen any thanks for building that spectacle. It embarrasses any other car or parts plant and gives disillusioned managers with too much time on their hands an unachievable and unrealistic target to shoot for.

Sometimes, you just gotta show off... if that weren't the case, we'd never have the Veyron and the cachet it gave VW as a conglomerate.

[vdubjb]

Been to Puebla twice and never got a factory tour, lol

[leaftye]

Quote, originally posted by drhavoc »

so is the wooden Jig the body is on I wonder how much they pay the cyclists that keep that conveyor running?

Their use of wood in the flooring and related supports goes back to the highly advanced Dresden Phaeton plant built in '02. That cars' success aside, the company learned a lot from that build process.

The materials are better for the environment, as well as being more comfortable and "friendlier" to the employees.

I know this because when I was a on an extensive personalized tour, I saw the same flooring in sections of the Wolfsburg plant and I asked our guide (a factory worker who worked his way to the "front office") why these materials were chosen.

Is part of that friendliness making the facility quieter?

[pho]

I can get to Mexico for $500? Probably not. Besides for some of us Wollfsburg is closer (but not closer then Port Elisabeth).

Check: www.kayak.com, and www.volaris.com

That's an interesting statement, I can fly from any US city, to Mexico City, for under $500, anytime of the year, except holidays. So with a $500 budget I had a whole lots of fun.

I just flew on 01/15/12 from LAX to Mex City, for $220US, 8 week reservation (tax included).
That left me with $280US to blow in only four days. omg.
Believe you me, it was a tedious task to spend those $280US.

Here are the reasons why:
#1) Only buy items not found in the Continental USA, and, for a decent price.
#2) Small enough to fit in my luggage. Gotta fly back, ya know.
#3) Really good bang for the buck. Or, dirt cheap.
#4) Repeat #1, and add: cannot be found at any USA Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes or Walmart.
#5) Possibly a future investment opportunity??? Maybe bring to US, and sell for profits, eh?
#6) Nothing illegal, pirated CDs, movies, etc. No more pirated stuffs.
#7) No children, animals, or kidnap victims used in the manufacture of said products. Absolutely.

I traveled:

Day 1: $313 ($33 over budget)
LAX > MEX > PUEBLA > VERACRUZ.
Flight: $220 (Volaris.com)(kayak.com)
Food : $8 (Street vendors)
Bus1 : $12 (Estrella Roja)
Taxi1: $3 (Misc taxi)
Food: $9 (Street tacos + 2 beers)
Bus2 : $21 (Estrella Roja)
Hotel: $15 (La Sirena/Malecon)
Gifts: $25

Day 2: $50 ($10 under budget)
VERACRUZ ALL DAY.
Food: $8 (Eggs benedict/Tacos + beer/wine)
Hotel: $15 (La Sirena/Malecon)
Beer: $7 (splurged)
Gifts: $20

Day 3: $67 ($13 under budget)
VERACRUZ > PUEBLA
Bus3: $21 (Estrella Roja)
Taxi2: $4 (Misc taxi)
Food: $11 (Tacos + Beer)
Hotel: $22 (splurged)
Beer: $4 (6 pack)
Gifts: $15

Day 4: $48 ($10 under budget)
Taxi3: $4 (Misc taxi)
Food: $6 (Torta + Beer)
Bus4: $12 (Estrella Roja)
Beer: $7 (6 pack)
Taxi4: $4 (Misc taxi)
Gifts: $15


$313 + $50 + $67 + $48 = $478 TOTAL.

4 days, LAX > MEX CITY > PUEBLA > VERACRUZ > PUEBLA > MEX CITY: lots and lots of HARD liquor, beer, some great Cuban cigars, some jet lag, and I only spent >$500US. I used Interstate bus service the whole the whole time I was in Mexico. No rentals. 4 taxi rides, @ $3 a pop. Did not get robbed, raped, assaulted, kidnapped, harressed, etc.

[pho]

(Is it better to bump an old thread, or post a new one and wait for the 'use the search' replies?)

Anyhoo... I am headed to Puebla and just learned of the factory. Are tours still for insiders only? Are there any places a non-insider can visit (I read something about a gift shop)??

Cant find any info on this. Anyone know if they offer tours? Gonna be down there in a few weeks.

Resurrecting this thread for a fellow TCL member that is driving to Puebla, this week. Good luck.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...a-TN-Puebla-MX