THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Chrysler is showing off its brand-new Michigan paint shop with a little help from Google, giving anyone with Internet access an up-close look at its shiny new facility and fancy robots.
Using Google Maps Street View technology, the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant is on display via a 360-degree virtual tour.
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Photos: www.chrysler200factory.com |
Chrysler and Google teamed up to launch a 360-degree virtual tour of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. Four videos are dedicated to the new paint shop. The first step, shown here, includes washing the car until every spec of dirt is removed before electrocoating it. |
"I personally wish everyone could visit the plant to walk through and experience the fascinating process live," said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer, Chrysler Group LLC.
"But since we can't bring people to the plant, we've worked with Google to openly bring the plant to people."
Explore Every Inch
The interactive online tour, www.chrysler200factory.com, is narrated by Shawn Jeffers, Senior Manager, Center Manager Assembly Operations at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.
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"Like a barbeque chicken on a rotisserie," the car is rotated completely upside down to fill its crevices with sealant. |
The guided tour has 12 unique videos dedicated to individual areas of the assembly plant. Users can also use the navigation tool to "explore every inch of the 5 million square feet on their own."
Chrysler and Google photographers teamed up to capture the auto-manufacturing process through a variety of films and photography.
Paint Shop Breakdown
The paint shop tour consists of four videos:
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According to Chrysler, 97 percent of the powder coating makes it on to the car; the remaining 3 percent is collected and reused. |
Brink of Bankruptcy
In July 2013, Chrysler announced plans to invest $850 million into the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant—a facility on Chrysler's chopping block during the company's government-backed bankruptcy in 2009.
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Ostrich feathers are used to dust the car before it receives its final coats of paint. |
Built in 1953, the plant was originally used as a jet engine plant and was operated by the U.S. Army as the Michigan Ordinance Missile Plant, with Chrysler serving as contractor to build missiles.
It was converted to an automobile plant in 1980 by Volkswagen and purchased by Chrysler Corporation in 1983.
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