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| Peugeot
207 - part 3 |
Broadcast
date : 25th June 2006 |
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After the tranquility of the L Advneutre, Peugeot and its
rural setting in Sochaux, it was back to the outskirts of
Paris and the hard-edged manufacturing plant at Poissy to
witness 207 production in earnest.
The 207 has quite a reputation to live up to, as the 206 was
highly rated as a small hatch with lots of style and youth
appeal. The new profile is interesting with its prominent
tail-light bulge.
A visit to a state-of-the-art factory like Poissy is a
fascinating experience, not least because of the high degree
of automation involved in such a complex process as motorcar
manufacturing.
It boggles the mind that a roll of steel, somewhat like a
giant cotton reel, can meta-morph into a motorcar at the other
end of the factory, seemingly with little human intervention.
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The biggest investment in the production of any new range of
mass-produced cars lies in the re-tooling of the factory,
particularly in the creation of new metal presses and dies to
stamp out the body and chassis panels.
Obviously countless man-hours are spent in the design,
installation and fine-tuning of the assembly-line machinery,
before the green light is given to start production.
Nowadays, with computer-aided design, production lead-times
for big manufacturers can be under two years, but the
change-over from one model to another is still a major
exercise in logistics and time management.
The Poissy plant covers 200 hectares and employs 7000 people.
Daily production of 207’s is currently at 1000 cars per day,
with some 200 206’s still produced at the plant as a cheaper
alternative to the new 207.
Apparently the transition from full-stream 206 to 207
production went extremely well, because the 207 was designed
for much easier production than its predecessor.
Peugeot management says that the new 207 reached the required
quality levels in a very short time. Before full-scale
production of a new model begins, the cars are produced on a
pilot assembly line in batches of fifty units.
This pilot line must be capable of producing fifty cars per
shift and these cars much reach a quality level with no
defects. Until this volume and quality level is reached, the
Poissy management will not give the green light for a complete
switch-over to new-model production.
The new car is produced in three eight-hour shifts, so the
factory never, ever sleeps, as the saying goes. But the effort
is well worth it.
The human emphasis on modern factory lines has switched from
heavy fabrication, which is now largely done by robots, to
checking processes.
With modern cars becoming more and more complex in terms of
auxiliary luxury and safety equipment, electronic checking
takes on an increasingly important role, as hundreds of
systems need to be analysed.
Perceived quality is also a major concern in this
image-conscious age, and bodywork is painstakingly checked
under special lighting conditions for paint and assembly
defects.
It’s still gratifying to know that from a mechanical
perspective, the cars are each checked on a rolling-road
dynamometer before they leave the factory gates, so major
components like engines, gearboxes, wheels and brakes are in
full working order.
The South African 207’s launched this coming week will be
aimed at the lower end of the small hatch market, and will be
equipped with 1,4 litre engines in both petrol and
diesel variants.
But it will be the new styling that grabs everyone’s
attention.
Fans of the highly-rated 206 GTi will be happy when
performance versions of the 207 become available.
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This 207 concept racer, called the R-Cup caused a stir at the
Geneva Motor Show a few months back.
It has a two-litre
four-cylinder engine producing a stunning208 kilowatts.
That’s
the equivalent of 140 kilowatts per litre. From a
naturally-aspirated engine, this is exceptional.
A six-speed sequential gearbox, 18-inch alloy wheels and some
racy bodywork add-ons are part of the package.
Peugeot fans are holding their breath for this one, not only
as a rally or racecar, but as production car for the road.
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Peugeot
207 - part 1
Peugeot
207 - part 2
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