Bavarian Yeti® Works

Sam Kapasi · 25th February 2008, 15:57

A S H V I N · 25th February 2008, 19:43

oh man. im having shortness of breath and all sorts of mixed feelings. just look at it people. mmmm. wouldn't you want a piece of that(or all of it) under your hood .. oomph! totally!

razor4077 · 26th February 2008, 21:53

Great pics Sam, and terrific narration (as always!).

<sigh> someday......

safari_lover · 27th February 2008, 13:19

Great pics Sam, really enjoying watching them and reading your writeup.

Sam Kapasi · 1st March 2008, 20:12

Please forgive my extended silence. I had lost all my pictures due to a Hard Disk Crash. I have recently recovered this travelogie pictures from my SD card (Using some special software)

This story will resume soon. Rukawat ke liye khed hai.

Akshay1234 · 1st March 2008, 20:15

no prob sam. its great that you got them back.

Sam Kapasi · 3rd March 2008, 19:38

After last nights excitement, I'm not even sure what to do with myself. Like a child at a candy shop I'm not sure what to take pictures of.

Do you want to take a personal guided tour of the BMW factory? Do I? Of course!!

I quickly agree. It's fixed for the 14th, tomorrow. Today will be a busy day full of meetings, presentations and trainings. Yes, I actually do work.

In between all the various meetings I find time to take a few random photos for you guys.

Almost the whole day is over. This evening we are to go to a Brauhaus (Brewery). This one is usually full of famous Football players.

Nitin · 3rd March 2008, 20:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

The 'M' symbol makes my eyes light up! Sheer bliss!

ishotmydog · 3rd March 2008, 20:37

i cant believe you ll be driving a m3 around the same time i ll be giving my physics board exam. life is so unfair

.

the m3 pic is awesome and the car looks incredible. love the white colour.

revvedup · 4th March 2008, 02:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishotmydog

i cant believe you ll be driving a m3 around the same time i ll be giving my physics board exam. life is so unfair

.

the m3 pic is awesome and the car looks incredible. love the white colour.

Thats not an M3 its just the plain BMW 3 series convertible although A BMW is a BMW, its just that the M badge adds a whole lot more to an already excellent driving experience.

Just checked the BMW site they have launched the E90 BMW M3 sedan and the E93 convertible officially along with DCT transmission and according to the site it is actually 0.1 seconds faster than the much powerful M5.

Sam Kapasi · 4th March 2008, 15:52

We get back to the hotel. A quick shower and the shuttle is ready to take us to a very famous Brauhaus.

On the way there I spot a really nice looking Merc.

Soon we're there. On the way to the Brauhaus I am gifted a monopod by a friend. I get really excited and decide to use it right there, as soon as I get off the bus.

The Brauhaus has culture. It feels like time has stopped here.

We have a lot of beer and a great meal.

1100D · 5th March 2008, 00:45

Lovely Engines, not a drop of oil dripped anywhere. What a lovely dimple, on the 190D bumper.

iraghava · 5th March 2008, 01:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Sam - Didn't he come for the Autocar Performance Show in November?

Sam Kapasi · 5th March 2008, 01:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by iraghava

Sam - Didn't he come for the Autocar Performance Show in November?

Yes he did. Good spot.

Sam Kapasi · 6th March 2008, 13:08

It's Valentine's day! And I am super excited, but all for the wrong reasons.

Today is my guided tour into the belly of BMW.

I get dressed in a hurry and get to BMW Welt. TheOne® is at the counter. There will be about 7 of us in this tour. All JBL/Harman guests.

I'm carrying my camera of course. I charged the battery and everything. This is going to be the photoblog of the decade.

The One® guides us into the belly. She hands us over to this girl. Wow, this brunette is super pretty. She's wearing a blue BMW long overcoat. Like a Doctor's jacket. "Hallo" says she and then realises that nobody in the group speaks German. A few quick words with TheOne® and she smiles and turns to us.

"Welcome. You may not take any pictures at any point of our tour. What you are about to see is confidential and you are simply not permitted to use cameras and camera phones"
My face falls and I quickly hand over all my paraphernalia and walk in. The door closes with a thud.

A few minutes later we are in an auditorium where we are explained some details about the company. We are about to enter the facility where the 3 and 5 series are made in 2 variants each. We will have full access but we cannot cross any yellow lines.

This factory is special. It is not at one level but across 5 floors. Lines not only move left to right, but also up and down.
I have been to auto factory facilities before. Honda at Noida and Toyota at Bangalore.

Soon Melanie hands out little recievers and earphones that look like bluetooth handsets. She is wearing a headset like Janet Jackson and all 7 of us (all guys) are looking at her. I can see that everyone finds her terribly attractive.
But Melanie starts speaking (her english is surprisingly good) and soon everyone realises that she is both friendly and quite knowledgeable. It's time to begin the tour.

We walk first into the stamping area. I have to suck in my breath quickly and steady myself when I realise that we're on a bridge and looking over the stamps. It is the biggest machinery area I have ever seen. 10 stamp presses are stamping away.

A roll of Arcelor-Mittal is being fed into the beast.

WHAM!
Out comes a door.

I look at the other animal. It is slicing through stainless steel like butter. That roll looks like toilet paper in the machine's hands. Roll roll roll whush whush SLICE!

WHAM! WHAM! WHUMP!!
Out comes a fender.

I can count only 4 people in the stamping area. They look like fleas. I can see one forklift and even that looks tiny.
& the machines are running by themselves.

WHAM! WHAM!! WHAM!!!

Melanie is talking quietly and respectfully into her headset. We can all hear her on our radios. She is telling is how much steel is consumed here every day. I am too overwhelmed by what I am seeing.

WHAM!! WHUMP!!

We walk further and further. I am not a technical person and cannot remember each process that she is describing. Almost everything is supremely automated. We see a lot of things that I try to grasp and remember to tell you, but now it does not come to me.

"Crackle crackle - Welding and assembling area." says Melanie. "650 Kuka robots."

650 Robots!!

We are given safety glasses.
Then we walk onto the bridge and I stare in shock. This can't be right.

It's as quiet as a funeral. There is not much light. There are these massive ugly robots with odds and ends sticking out of them. They don't even look humanoid, like we imagine them to be. They look like machines from.... from The Matrix.
A cross between the squid looking robot that flies behind the ships and those massive harvesters that roam the killing fields.

What's strikes me is the eerie silence. Nothing is going on. The machines are crouched and silent. but the air is thick with an event just about to occur.

What is also eerie is the proximity of the robots to each other. Too close for comfort I would say. Robots don't need comfort.

The line from the stamp arrives here I guess. Where are the humans?

Suddenly I am jolted out of my reverie. All robots wake up together. It is the most terrifying sight I have seen.

SCREE, WHOOO, BAM, SCREE and they are all flying at manic speeds at each other. Lifting pieces of car and flinging them at each other. I can see from the welding spark light. It's the fastest evil dance I have seen in my life. It's manic. The robots are aiming tons of shapely steel within millimetres of each other. Nothing brushes, nothing touches.

One holds down the screaming piece of metal, the other injects it quickly with little bolts of lightning hot flame till the piece gives up and dies. Soon that dead piece of steel will be amalgamated into a part of a machine. I can see the machines grinning at each other and bowing to each other after they have finished their chore in 1/100th of the time I would have taken.

We are frozen to the spot. I look at Melanie's face for a second and even she seems hypnotised by the evil dance. I can even see her smile slightly by the dramatic light of the welding sparks.

The manic dance takes a few seconds and all machines suddenly go back to silence and peace. Like it never happened.

Like somebody pressed the stop button on life's DVD player. The light is dim again because there are no flying sparks.
There is an eerie and deathly silence that is ringing in my ears.

The Australian guy speaks first. "This ain't right, mate."

To be continued...

25th February 2008, 15:57	#136
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	Formula One anyone?
	() Thanks

25th February 2008, 19:43	#137
A S H V I N BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cochin Posts: 257 Thanked: Once View My Garage	oh man. im having shortness of breath and all sorts of mixed feelings. just look at it people. mmmm. wouldn't you want a piece of that(or all of it) under your hood .. oomph! totally!
	() Thanks

26th February 2008, 21:53	#138
razor4077 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,882 Thanked: 298 Times View My Garage	Great pics Sam, and terrific narration (as always!). <sigh> someday......
	() Thanks

27th February 2008, 13:19	#139
safari_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bengaluru / Bagdal Posts: 1,135 Thanked: 685 Times	Great pics Sam, really enjoying watching them and reading your writeup.
	() Thanks

1st March 2008, 20:12	#140
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	Please forgive my extended silence. I had lost all my pictures due to a Hard Disk Crash. I have recently recovered this travelogie pictures from my SD card (Using some special software) This story will resume soon. Rukawat ke liye khed hai.
	() Thanks

1st March 2008, 20:15	#141
Akshay1234 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 10,265 Thanked: 12,317 Times	no prob sam. its great that you got them back.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2008, 19:38	#142
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	YetiBlog® 13th February 2008 After last nights excitement, I'm not even sure what to do with myself. Like a child at a candy shop I'm not sure what to take pictures of. Do you want to take a personal guided tour of the BMW factory? Do I? Of course!! I quickly agree. It's fixed for the 14th, tomorrow. Today will be a busy day full of meetings, presentations and trainings. Yes, I actually do work. In between all the various meetings I find time to take a few random photos for you guys. Almost the whole day is over. This evening we are to go to a Brauhaus (Brewery). This one is usually full of famous Football players. Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 3rd March 2008 at 19:40.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2008, 20:37	#144
ishotmydog BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 593 Thanked: 18 Times	i cant believe you ll be driving a m3 around the same time i ll be giving my physics board exam. life is so unfair . the m3 pic is awesome and the car looks incredible. love the white colour.
	() Thanks

4th March 2008, 15:52	#146
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	YetiBlog® 13th February 2008 - evening We get back to the hotel. A quick shower and the shuttle is ready to take us to a very famous Brauhaus. On the way there I spot a really nice looking Merc. Soon we're there. On the way to the Brauhaus I am gifted a monopod by a friend. I get really excited and decide to use it right there, as soon as I get off the bus. The Brauhaus has culture. It feels like time has stopped here. We have a lot of beer and a great meal.
	() Thanks

5th March 2008, 00:45	#147
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,096 Times View My Garage	Lovely Engines, not a drop of oil dripped anywhere. What a lovely dimple, on the 190D bumper.
	() Thanks

6th March 2008, 13:08	#150
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	YetiBlog® - 14th February 2008 - Inside BMW Werk It's Valentine's day! And I am super excited, but all for the wrong reasons. Today is my guided tour into the belly of BMW. I get dressed in a hurry and get to BMW Welt. TheOne® is at the counter. There will be about 7 of us in this tour. All JBL/Harman guests. I'm carrying my camera of course. I charged the battery and everything. This is going to be the photoblog of the decade. The One® guides us into the belly. She hands us over to this girl. Wow, this brunette is super pretty. She's wearing a blue BMW long overcoat. Like a Doctor's jacket. "Hallo" says she and then realises that nobody in the group speaks German. A few quick words with TheOne® and she smiles and turns to us. "Welcome. You may not take any pictures at any point of our tour. What you are about to see is confidential and you are simply not permitted to use cameras and camera phones" My face falls and I quickly hand over all my paraphernalia and walk in. The door closes with a thud. A few minutes later we are in an auditorium where we are explained some details about the company. We are about to enter the facility where the 3 and 5 series are made in 2 variants each. We will have full access but we cannot cross any yellow lines. This factory is special. It is not at one level but across 5 floors. Lines not only move left to right, but also up and down. I have been to auto factory facilities before. Honda at Noida and Toyota at Bangalore. Soon Melanie hands out little recievers and earphones that look like bluetooth handsets. She is wearing a headset like Janet Jackson and all 7 of us (all guys) are looking at her. I can see that everyone finds her terribly attractive. But Melanie starts speaking (her english is surprisingly good) and soon everyone realises that she is both friendly and quite knowledgeable. It's time to begin the tour. We walk first into the stamping area. I have to suck in my breath quickly and steady myself when I realise that we're on a bridge and looking over the stamps. It is the biggest machinery area I have ever seen. 10 stamp presses are stamping away. A roll of Arcelor-Mittal is being fed into the beast. WHAM! Out comes a door. I look at the other animal. It is slicing through stainless steel like butter. That roll looks like toilet paper in the machine's hands. Roll roll roll whush whush SLICE! WHAM! WHAM! WHUMP!! Out comes a fender. I can count only 4 people in the stamping area. They look like fleas. I can see one forklift and even that looks tiny. & the machines are running by themselves. WHAM! WHAM!! WHAM!!! Melanie is talking quietly and respectfully into her headset. We can all hear her on our radios. She is telling is how much steel is consumed here every day. I am too overwhelmed by what I am seeing. WHAM!! WHUMP!! We walk further and further. I am not a technical person and cannot remember each process that she is describing. Almost everything is supremely automated. We see a lot of things that I try to grasp and remember to tell you, but now it does not come to me. "Crackle crackle - Welding and assembling area." says Melanie. "650 Kuka robots." 650 Robots!! We are given safety glasses. Then we walk onto the bridge and I stare in shock. This can't be right. It's as quiet as a funeral. There is not much light. There are these massive ugly robots with odds and ends sticking out of them. They don't even look humanoid, like we imagine them to be. They look like machines from.... from The Matrix. A cross between the squid looking robot that flies behind the ships and those massive harvesters that roam the killing fields. What's strikes me is the eerie silence. Nothing is going on. The machines are crouched and silent. but the air is thick with an event just about to occur. What is also eerie is the proximity of the robots to each other. Too close for comfort I would say. Robots don't need comfort. The line from the stamp arrives here I guess. Where are the humans? Suddenly I am jolted out of my reverie. All robots wake up together. It is the most terrifying sight I have seen. SCREE, WHOOO, BAM, SCREE and they are all flying at manic speeds at each other. Lifting pieces of car and flinging them at each other. I can see from the welding spark light. It's the fastest evil dance I have seen in my life. It's manic. The robots are aiming tons of shapely steel within millimetres of each other. Nothing brushes, nothing touches. One holds down the screaming piece of metal, the other injects it quickly with little bolts of lightning hot flame till the piece gives up and dies. Soon that dead piece of steel will be amalgamated into a part of a machine. I can see the machines grinning at each other and bowing to each other after they have finished their chore in 1/100th of the time I would have taken. We are frozen to the spot. I look at Melanie's face for a second and even she seems hypnotised by the evil dance. I can even see her smile slightly by the dramatic light of the welding sparks. The manic dance takes a few seconds and all machines suddenly go back to silence and peace. Like it never happened. Like somebody pressed the stop button on life's DVD player. The light is dim again because there are no flying sparks. There is an eerie and deathly silence that is ringing in my ears. The Australian guy speaks first. "This ain't right, mate." *To be continued...* Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 6th March 2008 at 13:19.
	() Thanks