Hi, I just want to know if you are insulting my 'BVD' Safari 25-B? Is it because my Safari is a 25-B model without the "LS, FB, SP, CCD, 75th, LTD, Bill Blass, Cartier, ESP, XR-7, SS, 4X4, Disc Brake, Ha Ha, under $100,000.00, plain jane that we purposely ordered this way because this is exactly what we wanted?
-a/s originally planned to release an eddie bauer model
to follow the popular eddie albert edition,
which replaced the lawrence welk line
made famous on the lawrence of arabia caravan.
-instead they are moving forward with the fruit of the loom edition
which is a consumer friendly interpretation of the special edition bvd model...
focus groups reported that while the bvd models were stylish and cool,
the fruit of the loom models "just fit better" and could be used for longer trips....
not to lose the eddie albert customer base
a more down home,
green acres camper special is in the works for for the 2009...
while cabelas and pro bass shop are competing for the fishermans special edition,
which will be furnished by zebco and feature cabinet hardware
fashioned after the most popular fishing lures of the 20th century
and will also include a worm/live bate cooler in the galley...
cheers
2air'
__________________ all of the true things that i am about to tell you are shameless lies. l.b.johnson
we are here on earth to fart around. don't let anybody tell you any different. k.v.
Last edited by 2airishuman; 12-13-2006 at 02:00 PM.
Just as a note I worked in the RV manufacturing business for several years (SOB's ) and when volumes went up QC was impacted, but not by much.
Barry
So having been in the industry, what is the bonus structure or salary structure like? Reason I ask is there a while back there was a discussion of how bonuses were seen if certain production numbers were met. If this is in fact true, then it would seem to have an opposite reaction in most cases to getting quality off the line if it became a shear numbers type game.
I'd be really interested in hearing your thoughts on how this along with warranty work might impact a production bonus, if such a mythical beast exists.
__________________
Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 1991
I have seen threads regarding how many Airstreams have been produced from the beginning and speculation on how many are still rolling. I have also seen threads that talk about Airstream's corporate strategy. My question is: Does anybody know how many Airstreams are being produced this year (2007 model year) and what are the ratios of models and sizes?
John
Well, the questions were asked some time ago and after reviewing the posts it seems that there was no clear answer for the 2007 model year statistics. I think 2air suggested 2100 total units for 2006? But what about this year, 2007? Since there is no longer MOHO production and the market is growing I would suspect the number is higher.
Also it seems that I have seen an abundant number of new 25FBs at the local rallys. The last one in SoCal (WBCCI) had 5 Safari 25FBs out of 17 Airstreams of which at least 3 were MOHOs, That makes it 5 out of 14 trailers were 25FBs. Is it just a California thing or is this an indication of the production ratio?
According to the people in the know-Current production is 31 trailers per week. 3 Interstate Vans and 3 Base Camps. Production has been reduced recently. Approximatley 2100 trailers were built has last year.
The Safari line makes up largest percentage of sales.
I've long been a Porsche enthusiast. I don't have the specific production numbers in front of me, but Porsche Cars North America releases stats every month. If memory serves, Porsche sells about 25,000 cars annually in North America (and this number excludes the Cayenne SUV which dramatically ramps up sales even further).
By this measure, Airstreams are far more rare than Porsches.
Maybe gmorris at Airstream of Arkansas can give us more details on how many of each model is being made this year. Is it true the factory has slowed down?
John
__________________ Travel is in my blood, adventure is my passport, aluminum is my favorite construction medium, and therefore, an Airstream was my destiny.
I also would love to see some production figures broken down by model, length, etc. I don't understand why Airstream is not more forthcoming with this information as it would only serve to bolster their image with their most loyal fan group, us. We , as a group, are Airstream's best advertisers. They should be more coopwerative with us.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
I also would love to see some production figures broken down by model, length, etc. I don't understand why Airstream is not more forthcoming with this information as it would only serve to bolster their image with their most loyal fan group, us. We , as a group, are Airstream's best advertisers. They should be more coopwerative with us.
Hi, I would be curious too, but do you think that Airstream feels it would somehow effect your buying decission, similar the east coast telling the west coast how voteing is going before you went to vote? Maybe they would say we made 500 25' front bedrooms and only 7 34'ers this year. Would that make some people want the 25' front bedrooms because they are more popular? Or would that make more people want a 34'er because they are more rare? Maybe this account would make too many customers change their mind, screwing up Airstream's production process. Just a few thoughts, I have no idea why! Maybe your special, one of one hundred, was really one of one hundred and fifty?
On a tangential note, I pried some interesting tidbits of knowledge out of the line supervisor when we toured the factory in the summer of '05.
I asked him about the impact of the CCDs on production. He said that he never thought they'd sell at all, but by that point, they were accounting for about 60% of total production. Perhaps somewhat to the displeasure of the old hands. The whole CCD phenomena surprised the heck out of a lot of people.
I also asked about the impact of the increased production on quality control. He didn't think it necessarily caused any QC problems. Yes, they'd had problems hiring, training, and retaining more people, but they never cut back on the number of QC checks made, or the time alloted to make them.
I got the feeling that the QC issues they were seeing came simply because of a lot of design changes were happening throughout the product line, all at once. Prior to '02, the trailers had been pretty stable designs for some time. But after the big ramp up, suddenly they were churning out all sorts of new configurations and new materials that took a while to nail down. At least that was the impression I got from him, or maybe my fuzzy memory of my impression.
I asked what his single biggest problem was, and he didn't even hesitate for a second before answering: Getting a consistent supply of quality wood and wood products. There was some obvious exasperation every time he thought about that. There was some particular irritant there that he didn't elaborate on, but I suspect it was the stuff they were using in the flooors.
And though everyone was looking forward to the new building where the new motor home would be built, they all seemed a little concerned as well. I guess with good reason, in retrospect.
O
I got the feeling that the QC issues they were seeing came simply because of a lot of design changes were happening throughout the product line, all at once. Prior to '02, the trailers had been pretty stable designs for some time. But after the big ramp up, suddenly they were churning out all sorts of new configurations and new materials that took a while to nail down. At least that was the impression I got from him, or maybe my fuzzy memory .
I think this plays a big role. Going back to 2001 you really didn't have a lot of flavors now its a real hodge podge all of which makes quality control much more of a nightmare. Keep in mind the exposed surfaces new materials leave a lot of room for error. My Classic has probably the best internal finish of any Airstream built. The big key is a lot of fabrics, wall coverings etc the traditional "heavy" wood.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
Keep in mind the exposed surfaces new materials leave a lot of room for error. My Classic has probably the best internal finish of any Airstream built. The big key is a lot of fabrics, wall coverings etc the traditional "heavy" wood.
Jack,
That was something he mentioned specifically. He said it took a while to get the workers out of the mindset of treating the interior aluminum the way contractors treat drywall. They were spending a lot of time repairing dents and scratches in the interiors of the CCDs because people kept forgetting they would always remain exposed. Probably not a problem by now.
Personally, we love the exposed aluminum. Very easy to keep clean and new looking, and obviously lighter than putting anything else over them. Amazingly, our trailer had no scratches or dents in the interior aluminum at all. It still doesn't, even after a year of full timing and some pretty extensive interior reworking.
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Hi, I just want to know if you are insulting my 'BVD' Safari 25-B? Is it because my Safari is a 25-B model without the "LS, FB, SP, CCD, 75th, LTD, Bill Blass, Cartier, ESP, XR-7, SS, 4X4, Disc Brake, Ha Ha, under $100,000.00, plain jane that we purposely ordered this way because this is exactly what we wanted?
Please "Splain Lucy"
) and when volumes went up QC was impacted, but not by much. 
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