The Perfect Family Vacation: An Auto Assembly Plant Tour

With the kids being out of school and summer officially in gear, why not take a family trip to an auto assembly plant. Several auto assembly plants throughout the Midwest and the South have tours designed  for one to experience how a vehicle is actually assembled.

Along Highway 101 in Spartanburg, South Carolina,  The BMW Performance Center, The BMW Zentrum, as well as, BMW’s Manufacturing Plant, “The Ultimate BMW Experience” extends the ability to offer a  unique opportunity that does not exist anywhere else except in Germany, where the majority of Bimmers are built. In this one location, a visitor can experience the heritage, the performance, and the awe-inspiring engineering that BMW is known for worldwide.

“From extraordinary driving programs to guided tours into previously restricted areas of the plant all planned by a personal concierge, The Ultimate BMW Experience transcends a traditional interaction by engaging visitors and revealing the sheer driving pleasure of a BMW,” said Bobby Hitt, Department Manager, Corporate Affairs at BMW Manufacturing. Initially, the program will be offered for $99 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with limited spaces for a visit to the Zentrum museum, an exclusive guided plant tour followed by a 2-hour driving program.

To find out more information on The BMW Experience or to schedule your own experience, call 1-877-9BMW-EXP (1-877-926-9397) or visit www.bmwusfactory.com.

Mercedes also has brought the German experience to America, with its Alabama-based auto plant tour too.. Like BMW, Mercedes also charges a fee to receive a personal hands-on 1.5 hour tour of their facility. To find out more details about the Mercedes tour or to learn more information, click here.




Unlike the German automakers, Toyota is offering a free tour at its new Visitors Center at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Indiana.The tour which was once available for school kids or special friends of Toyota is now open to the public. Toyota says the move will help the public better understand the company, area commerce and tourism. Officials say it will strengthen the Tri-State’s list of attractions.

The free tours begin in Toyota’s Visitors Center. Through text, photos, artifacts, sound and hands-on activities, the center presents the history of the Princeton-area business community, Toyota’s development as a company and explains the manufacturing process. Visitors can try on the protective gear worn by production employees, and they can see a demonstration of the process through which Toyota makes plastic bumpers and dashboards.

Kia also offered a free tour and a ride-and-drive event during the first two weeks of December at its first American built assembly plant, which is located about 70 miles outside of Atlanta. Kia has plans on resuming the tour in the very near future.

Overall these tour can also serve as a great learning experience for adults and children alike - reinforcing the need to learn science and math along with the latest advancements in technology. If you've never toured an auto plants before, its worth adding this to your vacation schedule. In the near future, we'll let you know how you actually put together a European trip to pick up your vehicle directly from the factory.