Video: Ford Assembly Plant

The first thing you notice is how distant the ceilings seem. The sheer volume of steel framework above you kind of obscures any perception of a roof at least anywhere nearby. On the ground level, the whine of power tools mixes with the sound of wheels falling and the popping and hissing and welding robots. Whatever happens, the assembly line must keep moving. In some areas it's quite warm. And when we were there, it was 30 degrees outside. You probably wouldn't want to be here on a 90 degree summer day. The plant employs more than 2100 people and assembles close to a thousand cars a day. That means a car leaves the assembly line every 58 seconds. Most components come preassembled, leaving it up to workers and robots to put it all together. And jobs run the gamut between snapping fenders to installing entire engines. Whatever the task is, a line worker gets well under a minute to finish it before the car goes to its next station. What happens if someone runs into a hitch? Well, there's a hanging rope beside each station, which the worker can tug to stop the assembly line. It only stops the line in that one area so the guys mounting the wheels don't have to pause because someone across the factory floor installed a radio upside down. I didn't ask what happens if a worker stops the assembly line too many times during a shift, but I'd have to assume you wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Even the robots can detect errors and report them to the end of the line. We didn't get up close to them. Their arms were throwing more sparks than a Michael Bay movie and we were kept to a color-coded area, some 20 or 30 yards away But it all goes to show just how seamless a factory must be. I mean you've got forklifts and workers crossing paths with large hunks of moving metal and the coordination has to be a lot like that of a really well signaled city block. This particular factory opened in 1924 and its resume includes cars like the Model T and the Fairlane 500. It's easy to see how far things have come since then. If you get a chance, seeing how cars are built here or at any other factory is a great way to find your inner gear head. For additional information on this car or any other go to cars.com and our blog Kicking Tires.