Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make

blackwasp · 28th January 2021, 10:50

When we hear about car companies like Volkswagen, Tesla, General Motors etc. the first thing that comes to our minds are the cars that these companies make. But you might be surprised to know that many of these make non car related products as well. Here is a list of some products that I have come across. BHPians please add to it.

Volkswagen Sausages

- The bestseller product that this German carmaker makes is a sausage. Part number 199 398 500 A, is a closely guarded secret recipe first created in the year 1973. Since then, a select group of employees manufacture it at the Wolfsburg plant. Apart from being served at breakfast and lunch in European company plants, it is also sold to grocery stores under the Volkswagen Originalteil brand. The team makes over 18,000 sausages a day, and since 2010, they have been making a vegetarian option for those who don't prefer to eat meat.

In 2017, Volkswagen made 6.8 million currywursts. They also make a sauce to go with it.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-currywurst01.jpg

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-currywurst02.jpg

Source

Porsche Design's Apha Piano's mPiano

- This sleek looking electric piano consists of individually adjustable actuators underneath each of the 88 keys. They can be adjusted for resistance and pitch via an app over Wi-Fi. With four app profiles, this single piano can be 4 instruments at the same time.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-porschepiano01.png

This is not the first time that Porsche has been involved with pianos. The Bösendorfer Grand features design by FA Porsche and sound by Bösendorfer. It also retails for around US$ 300,000

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-porschepiano02.jpg

BMW Bobsleds

- BMW has been making bobsleds for the USA Olympic team since 2013. They made their debut at the Sochi Winter Olympics and secured 3 medals for the team. The company is now working on an improved version for the 2020 games.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-bmwbobsled01.jpg

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-bmwbobsled02.jpg

Source

Toyota Housing

- This company was established by the Toyota Motor Corporation to make better Japanese homes. In the last 37 years, the company has sold over 1,00,000 steel-frame houses. Recently, they have started operations in Indonesia as well. More details can be seen at their website.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-toyotahouse.jpg

HondaJet

- Honda Aircraft Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company has been operational since 2006. The first offering, the HondaJet is a twin-engine 7 seat business aircraft. The company had been looking at developing aircrafts since the late 1980s and early prototypes were tested from 1990-1996. The first proof-of-concept HondaJet flew in 2003 and commercial deliveries commenced in 2015.

However, Honda is not the first carmaker to make planes. Back in the early 1920s, Ford made an all-metal aircraft based on the Fokker F.VIII. 199 units of the aircraft were made. Read more here.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-hondajet02.jpg

Source

Honda Robotics

- Honda started the development of robots to aid humans back in 1986. Their first robot E0 was capable of walking by putting one leg before the other. In 2002, the ASIMO was born. It is capable of operating in a human living environment and is people-friendly, and realizes natural, smooth walking closer to how people walk. Today, Honda makes walking assisted devices for people with weak leg muscles, body weight supporting systems and a one-wheel mobility device. Apart from these, they also make a survey robot and a robot arm which can be uses in places too dangerous for humans.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-hondarobots.jpg

Source

Peugeot Salt and Pepper mills

- French carmaker Peugeot has been making pepper mills long before they made cars. By 1840s, the Peugeot brothers were making coffee grinders and their first pepper mill hit the market in 1874. It is said that the Peugeot were the first pepper mills in the world, but it's not a claim contested by the company. Their first automobile came about only in 1891 - the type 3.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-peugeotmills.png

Source

General Motors Bat houses / Duck Nesting boxes

- General Motors found that an adhesive - used in the production of the 2015 Corvette - when processed, can serve as a stalactite in artificial bat caves. Artificial stalactites give hibernating bats more surface area from which to hang, thus spreading them out around the cave. This helps in reducing the contraction of white-nose syndrome, a fungus that appears on the bat muzzle and other parts. Over 232 of these have been installed in various places in the USA. Using discarded Chevy Volt battery covers, both the bat houses and the duck boxes have found its way into conservation efforts for endangered species.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-gm01.jpg

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-gm02.jpg

Toyota Sewing machines and Loom

- In October 1945, Toyota Motor Co, established a spinning and weaving department to utilize the plant facilities at the Kariya-minami Plant (it used to make electrical components). President Kiichiro Toyoda said that people will always need clothes and the sewing machines were a peace-time industry. Hence, they bear the T logo. Together with automobiles, the sewing machines were a central part of the business at the time of redevelopment. Even today, you can find the modern versions of the Toyota sewing machines available on sale.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-toyotasewing01.jpg

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-toyotasewing02.jpg

Source

McLaren in pharmaceutical research and advanced manufacturing

- McLaren improved efficiencies at GlaxoSmithKline's toothpaste manufacturing lines. Thanks to the experience of pit stops, McLaren were able to help reduce the changeover time for different products on the same line from 39 minutes to just 15. Both companies are also working on other collaborations. One of them is incorporating McLaren's sensor and telemetry expertise to monitor recovery in stroke victims and people suffering from severe arthritis.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-mclaren.png

Image Source

Hyundai Trains

- Hyundai Motor Group makes high speed trains as well as metro cars. They also run magnetic levitation trains at Seoul's Incheon International Airport. These trains have no derailing risks due to a structure that cover the track. The trains also feature privacy windows, where in the train automatically fogs up the windows when passing houses that are close to the tracks.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-hyundai-train.jpg

Source

Tesla batteries, solar cells and solar tiles

- Apart from making electric vehicles, Tesla also makes products like Powerwall & Powerpack (battery systems for backup / uninterrupted supply), Megapack batteries (large scale battery deployment), solar panels and solar roof tiles.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-solar1.png

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-solar2.png

Source

Aditya · 28th January 2021, 10:53

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Mr.Boss · 28th January 2021, 10:58

Except for a very few items others are news to me.
I'm eagerly waiting to see the list from TATA, everything from Salt to Steel

saikarthik · 28th January 2021, 11:32

We all know that almost every auto major manufactured either aircraft or some military equipment, Rolls-Royce is still one of the biggest names when it comes to making aircraft engines under Trent nameplate.

They are the prime competitor to GE, Pratt and Whitney in this space.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-330pxtrent_1000_goodwinhall_virginiatech.jpg

Audi makes e-bikes, there are Ferrari segaways.

If we consider co-branded products then we can even quote 115 ft. GTT long super yacht designed by studio F.A.Porshe for Dynamic.
How about a floating 911 boys?

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-superyachtstudiof..porschemobilitydesign131920x1280.png

P.S - I think we are not posting just about merchandise made by some company and branded by auto majors.

Sanidhya mukund · 28th January 2021, 11:38

1. Bugatti W-16 watch:

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-76269973ebce4f0799121ff7d3bd23b9.jpeg

2. Maybach eye-wear and watches:

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-1cb69f25134e420780786bbfd3afa178.jpeg

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-b831d37dbb994c3a86c213a7a1bd9beb.jpeg

3. Mercedes-Benz Bicycles:

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-c8dd58d898894b3da8ce4cabe641432a.jpeg

And of-course, who can forget the CSR masks, sanitizers and ventilators that the car companies made during the peak of the pandemic?

https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/10...rs-coronavirus

Images taken from Google images.

papr23 · 28th January 2021, 11:44

From Twitter-

Me: I would like to buy a piano

Yamaha: Ok

me: I’d also like to buy a motorcycle lol do u know where I can find a good one

Yamaha: You are not gonna believe this

Eshan Joshi · 28th January 2021, 11:46

Here is a Donut Media video on this topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4-YfsD3vbg

pedrolourenco · 28th January 2021, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by saikarthik

Rolls-Royce is still one of the biggest names when it comes to making aircraft engines under Trent nameplate.

They also aquired the Norwegian company Bergen which used to make small marine engines (Mostly used as generators on bigger ships) and Hydraulic Steering Gears. Both now sold under the RR name.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

3. Mercedes-Benz Bicycles:

Mercedes and BMW both sell bikes. However are you sure the pic is of a genuine one? Looks like an Ali Express one.

Besides what is already mentioned, Hyundai builds ships. They also build the engines under licence from Wartsila NSD and Man B&W.

landcruiser123 · 28th January 2021, 12:08

Unfair to bring in Japanese companies in this thread because many of them are conglomerates (Just like Tata which even sells Tea). They have probably consolidated businesses and use their manufacturing expertise to make every possible machine under the sun.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries in
1. Ship Building:

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-kawasaki_heavy_industries.jpg

2. Industrial Robots:

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-kawasaki_robots.jpg

+Subaru (Fuji Heavy Industries) is heavily involved in aerospace
+Mitsubishi is also involved in ship building and other heavy machinery manufacturing
+Toyota forklifts are a common sight in many warehouses

Images credits: Google image search

ThatRaptorGuy · 28th January 2021, 12:12

Tesla made power banks that cost $45, a fast charger for cell phones you could keep on your desk and was an exact miniature replica of their infamous super chargers that cost around $35. Apart from these tech products, stainless steel water bottle, travel mug and a limited edition (just 200 of them) carbon fiber surf board finished in the same paint used on tesla cars that cost $1500 apiece were sold by the company. Needless to say, all the mentioned products were sold-out within a day of them being put up for sale. Some of the products are now offered on ebay by their owners for almost double the price.

Apart from making trains (as aforementioned), Hyundai is also in the business of container ships, under HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) which recently unveiled the biggest container ship in the world named HMM Algeciras, in South Korea. This ship was manufactured by none other than Hyundai itself, under HHI(Hyundai Heavy Industries) along with SHI (Samsung Heavy Industries) and DSME.

Buick has built the iconic hellcat tank, named Buick M-18 Hellcat. Powered by a 9 cylinder engine, originally designed for aircrafts, it had a top speed of almost 90Kmph. It was fastest on-road armored tank in the American fleet that served in the korean war.

Regards

Sanidhya mukund · 28th January 2021, 12:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Mercedes and BMW both sell bikes. However are you sure the pic is of a genuine one? Looks like an Ali Express one.

Sorry, my bad. This one indeed seems to be a fake one. I didn’t realise, don’t really have a trained eye for bicycles.

Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make-8c34135431fd4518bc279bdc6bf07e38.jpeg

ASP007 · 28th January 2021, 12:30

A very informative thread.

Mitsubishi is a company which has vast foot prints in almost every industry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi

Another one came to my mind is Hyundai. Apart from the motor vehicles, they're famous for their elevators and other quipments.

1.2TSI7DSG · 28th January 2021, 12:32

While to us it might be known, to tell someone who doesn't know Tata, that the JLR parent makes salt has always been a wide eye moment for me.

Mahindra generators is another example at home.

Similarly, Mitsubishi air cons, Hyundai ships, have raised eyebrows by people who don't know the organisations.

Zed · 28th January 2021, 12:38

Porsche Design has a whole slew of lifestyle products. As you might imagine - very stylish, not the most practical, but good value if you can grab these at a discount.

https://www.porsche-design.com/de/de/

Marshall · 28th January 2021, 12:39

Hyundai was into Shipping extensively until the restructuring of the Chaebols. The Shipping Line now is independent and functions outisde the group.
The ship building is still within the Hyundai Group.

28th January 2021, 10:50	#1
blackwasp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 2,974 Thanked: 26,323 Times View My Garage	Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make When we hear about car companies like Volkswagen, Tesla, General Motors etc. the first thing that comes to our minds are the cars that these companies make. But you might be surprised to know that many of these make non car related products as well. Here is a list of some products that I have come across. BHPians please add to it. Volkswagen Sausages - The bestseller product that this German carmaker makes is a sausage. Part number 199 398 500 A, is a closely guarded secret recipe first created in the year 1973. Since then, a select group of employees manufacture it at the Wolfsburg plant. Apart from being served at breakfast and lunch in European company plants, it is also sold to grocery stores under the Volkswagen Originalteil brand. The team makes over 18,000 sausages a day, and since 2010, they have been making a vegetarian option for those who don't prefer to eat meat. In 2017, Volkswagen made 6.8 million currywursts. They also make a sauce to go with it. Source Porsche Design's Apha Piano's mPiano - This sleek looking electric piano consists of individually adjustable actuators underneath each of the 88 keys. They can be adjusted for resistance and pitch via an app over Wi-Fi. With four app profiles, this single piano can be 4 instruments at the same time. This is not the first time that Porsche has been involved with pianos. The Bösendorfer Grand features design by FA Porsche and sound by Bösendorfer. It also retails for around US$ 300,000 BMW Bobsleds - BMW has been making bobsleds for the USA Olympic team since 2013. They made their debut at the Sochi Winter Olympics and secured 3 medals for the team. The company is now working on an improved version for the 2020 games. Source Toyota Housing - This company was established by the Toyota Motor Corporation to make better Japanese homes. In the last 37 years, the company has sold over 1,00,000 steel-frame houses. Recently, they have started operations in Indonesia as well. More details can be seen at their website. HondaJet - Honda Aircraft Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company has been operational since 2006. The first offering, the HondaJet is a twin-engine 7 seat business aircraft. The company had been looking at developing aircrafts since the late 1980s and early prototypes were tested from 1990-1996. The first proof-of-concept HondaJet flew in 2003 and commercial deliveries commenced in 2015. However, Honda is not the first carmaker to make planes. Back in the early 1920s, Ford made an all-metal aircraft based on the Fokker F.VIII. 199 units of the aircraft were made. Read more here. Source Honda Robotics - Honda started the development of robots to aid humans back in 1986. Their first robot E0 was capable of walking by putting one leg before the other. In 2002, the ASIMO was born. It is capable of operating in a human living environment and is people-friendly, and realizes natural, smooth walking closer to how people walk. Today, Honda makes walking assisted devices for people with weak leg muscles, body weight supporting systems and a one-wheel mobility device. Apart from these, they also make a survey robot and a robot arm which can be uses in places too dangerous for humans. Source Peugeot Salt and Pepper mills - French carmaker Peugeot has been making pepper mills long before they made cars. By 1840s, the Peugeot brothers were making coffee grinders and their first pepper mill hit the market in 1874. It is said that the Peugeot were the first pepper mills in the world, but it's not a claim contested by the company. Their first automobile came about only in 1891 - the type 3. Source General Motors Bat houses / Duck Nesting boxes - General Motors found that an adhesive - used in the production of the 2015 Corvette - when processed, can serve as a stalactite in artificial bat caves. Artificial stalactites give hibernating bats more surface area from which to hang, thus spreading them out around the cave. This helps in reducing the contraction of white-nose syndrome, a fungus that appears on the bat muzzle and other parts. Over 232 of these have been installed in various places in the USA. Using discarded Chevy Volt battery covers, both the bat houses and the duck boxes have found its way into conservation efforts for endangered species. Toyota Sewing machines and Loom - In October 1945, Toyota Motor Co, established a spinning and weaving department to utilize the plant facilities at the Kariya-minami Plant (it used to make electrical components). President Kiichiro Toyoda said that people will always need clothes and the sewing machines were a peace-time industry. Hence, they bear the T logo. Together with automobiles, the sewing machines were a central part of the business at the time of redevelopment. Even today, you can find the modern versions of the Toyota sewing machines available on sale. Source McLaren in pharmaceutical research and advanced manufacturing - McLaren improved efficiencies at GlaxoSmithKline's toothpaste manufacturing lines. Thanks to the experience of pit stops, McLaren were able to help reduce the changeover time for different products on the same line from 39 minutes to just 15. Both companies are also working on other collaborations. One of them is incorporating McLaren's sensor and telemetry expertise to monitor recovery in stroke victims and people suffering from severe arthritis. Image Source Hyundai Trains - Hyundai Motor Group makes high speed trains as well as metro cars. They also run magnetic levitation trains at Seoul's Incheon International Airport. These trains have no derailing risks due to a structure that cover the track. The trains also feature privacy windows, where in the train automatically fogs up the windows when passing houses that are close to the tracks. Source Tesla batteries, solar cells and solar tiles - Apart from making electric vehicles, Tesla also makes products like Powerwall & Powerpack (battery systems for backup / uninterrupted supply), Megapack batteries (large scale battery deployment), solar panels and solar roof tiles. Source Last edited by vb-saan : 28th January 2021 at 11:26.
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28th January 2021, 10:53	#2
Aditya Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 17,804 Thanked: 76,768 Times View My Garage	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!
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28th January 2021, 10:58	#3
Mr.Boss Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: GPS signal lost Posts: 2,811 Thanked: 7,462 Times View My Garage	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make Except for a very few items others are news to me. I'm eagerly waiting to see the list from TATA, everything from Salt to Steel
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28th January 2021, 11:32	#4
saikarthik BHPian Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Bangalore Posts: 535 Thanked: 3,832 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make We all know that almost every auto major manufactured either aircraft or some military equipment, Rolls-Royce is still one of the biggest names when it comes to making aircraft engines under Trent nameplate. They are the prime competitor to GE, Pratt and Whitney in this space. Audi makes e-bikes, there are Ferrari segaways. If we consider co-branded products then we can even quote 115 ft. GTT long super yacht designed by studio F.A.Porshe for Dynamic. How about a floating 911 boys? P.S - I think we are not posting just about merchandise made by some company and branded by auto majors. Last edited by saikarthik : 28th January 2021 at 11:47.
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28th January 2021, 11:38	#5
Sanidhya mukund BHPian Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: New Delhi Posts: 626 Thanked: 5,852 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make 1. Bugatti W-16 watch: 2. Maybach eye-wear and watches: 3. Mercedes-Benz Bicycles: And of-course, who can forget the CSR masks, sanitizers and ventilators that the car companies made during the peak of the pandemic? https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/10...rs-coronavirus Images taken from Google images.
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28th January 2021, 11:44	#6
papr23 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 173 Thanked: 1,389 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make From Twitter- Me: I would like to buy a piano Yamaha: Ok me: I’d also like to buy a motorcycle lol do u know where I can find a good one Yamaha: You are not gonna believe this
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28th January 2021, 12:08	#9
landcruiser123 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,985 Thanked: 6,857 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make Unfair to bring in Japanese companies in this thread because many of them are conglomerates (Just like Tata which even sells Tea). They have probably consolidated businesses and use their manufacturing expertise to make every possible machine under the sun. Kawasaki Heavy Industries in 1. Ship Building: 2. Industrial Robots: +Subaru (Fuji Heavy Industries) is heavily involved in aerospace +Mitsubishi is also involved in ship building and other heavy machinery manufacturing +Toyota forklifts are a common sight in many warehouses Images credits: Google image search Last edited by landcruiser123 : 28th January 2021 at 12:10.
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28th January 2021, 12:12	#10
ThatRaptorGuy Newbie Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3 Thanked: 31 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make Tesla made power banks that cost $45, a fast charger for cell phones you could keep on your desk and was an exact miniature replica of their infamous super chargers that cost around $35. Apart from these tech products, stainless steel water bottle, travel mug and a limited edition (just 200 of them) carbon fiber surf board finished in the same paint used on tesla cars that cost $1500 apiece were sold by the company. Needless to say, all the mentioned products were sold-out within a day of them being put up for sale. Some of the products are now offered on ebay by their owners for almost double the price. Apart from making trains (as aforementioned), Hyundai is also in the business of container ships, under HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) which recently unveiled the biggest container ship in the world named HMM Algeciras, in South Korea. This ship was manufactured by none other than Hyundai itself, under HHI(Hyundai Heavy Industries) along with SHI (Samsung Heavy Industries) and DSME. Buick has built the iconic hellcat tank, named Buick M-18 Hellcat. Powered by a 9 cylinder engine, originally designed for aircrafts, it had a top speed of almost 90Kmph. It was fastest on-road armored tank in the American fleet that served in the korean war. Regards
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28th January 2021, 12:30	#12
ASP007 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: 🚙 Posts: 106 Thanked: 313 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make A very informative thread. Mitsubishi is a company which has vast foot prints in almost every industry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi Another one came to my mind is Hyundai. Apart from the motor vehicles, they're famous for their elevators and other quipments.
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28th January 2021, 12:32	#13
1.2TSI7DSG BHPian Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: MH01/TS09 Posts: 695 Thanked: 1,759 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make While to us it might be known, to tell someone who doesn't know Tata, that the JLR parent makes salt has always been a wide eye moment for me. Mahindra generators is another example at home. Similarly, Mitsubishi air cons, Hyundai ships, have raised eyebrows by people who don't know the organisations. Last edited by 1.2TSI7DSG : 28th January 2021 at 12:44.
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28th January 2021, 12:38	#14
Zed BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Germany Posts: 516 Thanked: 487 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make Porsche Design has a whole slew of lifestyle products. As you might imagine - very stylish, not the most practical, but good value if you can grab these at a discount. https://www.porsche-design.com/de/de/
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28th January 2021, 12:39	#15
Marshall BHPian Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Chennai Posts: 41 Thanked: 143 Times	Re: Surprising non-car stuff that auto brands make Hyundai was into Shipping extensively until the restructuring of the Chaebols. The Shipping Line now is independent and functions outisde the group. The ship building is still within the Hyundai Group.
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