Volkswagen brings love of vending machines to car storage
The 2 photos above were taken at Volkswagen's new storage facility in Wolfsburg, Germany. The actual space that the facility occupies is approximately only 20% of a comparable facility with the traditional design that is used primarily in the US. Not only is the German structure less expensive to build, but vehicles are also "retrieved" in less time and without the potential of being damaged by an attendant. Collecting your new car is an event in itself. "In a fully automated procedure, your new car is brought down to you from one of the 20-story Car Towers. Large signboards in the Customer Center show you when your turn has come. Then, you're handed the keys, your picture is taken, the glass doors open and your brand-new car appears. You're all set to go".
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]
