Video of the Chicago Assembly Plant pre 2019 and Lincoln in 1928

[Texas Marauder]

First 6 1/2 minutes shows the assembly line where all Taurus, Explorer, Police Interceptor Sedan, Police Interceptor Utility and Lincoln MKS were built. All intermixed at the same time. 6 1/2 to about 9 minutes shows the police vehicles being outfitted and tested. Last half of the video is about something else.

This is the plant we toured when the SHO convention was in Chicago in 2015.

There is at least one scene, a few seconds, which was not filmed in the Chicago plant.

Here is a neat video of the Lincoln factory in 1928. It's long but, worth it, IMHO. Making engines, transmissions, wheels, steering gear, bodies, seats and more. No robots, only skilled workers.

 

[bpd1151]

Brings back memories for sure.

Remember that those robotic welders can take themselves offline in order to automatically purge the old, worn down tip, then re-install a new one, only to bring themselves back online?

Kind of made me think about Skynet in the Terminator movies.

I recall from my own personal tour outside of the convention that we were not allowed to film inside the facility where FMC was performing the Police upgrades.

That facility was about 2 blocks East of the plant and was called the 'TDM Upfitting Facility'.

From my own recollection, they had four (4) individual assembly/upfitting lines, where agencies could order an array of post assembly options. Line 1 was like a basic lighting package, and other "basics". Line 2 would build off of Line 1, and so forth. Line 4 was like the cat's meow so to speak of every possible option an agency could order.

I also recall seeing crates upon crates of the ballistic door panels. I recall that the employee providing my tour said that most agencies weren't ordering the ballistic panels. Stunned, I asked why not? The answer I was given was that each panel, for each door, added another 60lbs. of weight. If an agency ordered all 4 doors to have the ballistic panels, that was another 240lbs. of weight.

I guess some agencies had bean counters that crunched the numbers on fuel usage, coupled with the added weight, and just simply chose to go without them entirely. FMC at that time crunched numbers of their own, based on this lack of sales alone, and realized of the agencies ordering ballistic panels, those would only order for the front 2 doors, and never the rear doors. Eventually they stopped offering the rear door ballistic panels from what I understand.

Neat video. Thanks for posting and thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I have no idea what that utility/industrial type vehicle they were constructing towards the end. Military usage i'm guessing??

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