Volkswagen brings love of vending machines to car storage
There's something inexplicably fun about getting something out of a vending machine, particularly one with a cool dispensing mechanism. And if you're picking up your new car from Volkswagen's storage facility in Wolfsburg, Germany, "inexplicably fun" just isn't the word. The storage facility, which takes up just 20 percent of the space needed by comparable facilities, holds 20-story towers filled to the brim with new VWs. An automated arm raises up into the heavens of the building, retrieving the new owner's VW and bringing it to him/her in less time, and without the potential damage brought by human error.
[Source: The Cool Hunter via the German Car Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
B 2:30PM (5/19/2006)
Wow...I have always wanted one of those. Full of anything but VW's.
Reply
Uh yeah? 2:51PM (5/19/2006)
Yo B....go away!
Everyone else - any word on whether the TSI is coming to the US anytime this decade?
Also, is the Fox completely dead? I haven't seen one of those in a long time and kinda miss them a bit.
This is a great idea for places like Manhattan, where a new United Grey Fox with a TSI would be much welcome.
Reply
DJ 3:09PM (5/19/2006)
Bill Gates is buying one of these for his house. Plans to put his Porsche 959 and other toys into it.
Reply
TheOne442 3:32PM (5/19/2006)
I wonder if that would work with a Ford Excursion?
Reply
tekdemon 3:35PM (5/19/2006)
Err isn't this really old news, in the sense that other manufacturers in Germany have had this kind of storage for years and years?
I've always dreamed of making a parking garage with this kinda tech for places that need more parking, ever since I heard of this kind of car storage.
Reply
Ian from IT 3:37PM (5/19/2006)
Damn it, The machine ate my money!!!
Now I have to keep kicking and shaking the machine until something drops.
Reply
CJ 3:44PM (5/19/2006)
Didn't smart already do this?
Reply
Dr. Woo 4:05PM (5/19/2006)
CJ,
I'm not sure how long Smart has been doing a similar "car tower" (all pictures I've seen aren't even close to 20 stories, nor are they this massive), but VW opened its Autostadt (and the Car Towers) in 2000.
Reply
Auto usate 5:40PM (5/19/2006)
Smart Towers are automated too? They look like most as small "showcases" towers. Just asking.
Reply
naggs 6:29PM (5/19/2006)
how long does it take to get your car out of this damn thing?
Reply
Howard Kerr 6:53PM (5/19/2006)
Don't the Japanese do something similar, albeit on a smaller scale? I thought even some U.S. parking facilities were starting to use this "stacking mechanism" to maximize car parking lots in cities like New York.
Oh well, old is....
Reply
gbh 8:21PM (5/19/2006)
Yes another exciting edition of Autoblog reporting the past as something newsworthy...
(OK, everybody needs filler pieces.)
These actually make great economic sense beyond the space and materials efficiency.
Too bad it would be such a hard sell anywhere but NY and NorCal. People are so uninformed they don't understand that they're far safer structures than standard reinforced concrete garages.
Reply
Rene Curry 12:20AM (5/20/2006)
This is kool for a parking structure, but not good for a manufacturing facility. Too many finished goods sitting around. Chalk this up there with the glass & wood manufacturing facility for the Phantom.
Reply
20%? No way! 12:41AM (5/20/2006)
20% of space must refer to ground footprint or something.
Because there's no way that that 20 story column of mostly air is even as space/volume efficient as parking the cars head to tail on level ground, let alone 5X as efficient.
As cool as it is, that thing just seems like a huge waste. Of course, after the Dresden plant, I expected about as much from VW.
They do keep making money in a difficult market though. I can't say that I understand how, perhaps it's the profits from the repair services they need (Audi owner here who had to console a VW owner who had his MIL light come on today.)
Reply
Ian 4:32AM (5/20/2006)
This facility has been at Wolfsburg for many years. You can vist and tour the "autostadt," a kind of VW marketing land with pavilions dedicated to each of their makes. You can stay over night at the Ritz Carlton that is on-site before you pick up your car, or you can just visit. They also have a pretty nice car museum. It's about an hour from Berlin on the ICE.
Reply
Mike from Scarborough 7:43AM (5/20/2006)
It's amazing how many VW bashers there are on this site.Considering that Honda and Toyota continualy rip off german cars in their design.What a bunch of morons.........
Reply
Doug 11:54AM (5/20/2006)
These have been common in Japan for a long time. Just doing a quick googling:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/38053/japanese_parking_lot/
Reply
iQuack 2:03PM (5/20/2006)
The difficult part is carrying the quarters you need to buy one.
Reply