Because Mercedes certainly builds theirs that way.

With customization and personalized experiences becoming increasingly significant to the modern car shopper Mercedes is turning back to flesh and blood on their assembly lines. The company’s array of robots simply can’t keep up with the ever proliferating choice of options MB offers on the S-Class.

“Robots can’t deal with the degree of individualization and the many variants that we have today,” Markus Schaefer, the German automaker’s head of production, said at its factory in Sindelfingen, the anchor of the Daimler AG unit’s global manufacturing network. “We’re saving money and safeguarding our future by employing more people.”

There isn’t a doubt that robots outstrip humans in terms of reliability and repetition of narrowly defined tasks- but they’re not terribly good at adapting.

“The variety is too much to take on for the machines,” said Schaefer, who’s pushing to reduce the hours needed to produce a car to 30 from 61 in 2005. “They can’t work with all the different options and keep pace with changes.”

Could GM, specifically Cadillac benefit from at least studying Mercedes new method?

Why not, if Mercedes is truly lowering not just the cost of production but the time it takes to produce the S-Class- could it help Cadillac get the perpetually delayed and often shelved low volume, niche products that help define a brand to market?

If Cadillac truly wants to compete at the top of the food chain isn’t it about time they start looking at actually interrupting business as usual; time to explore not just the products that make their rivals successful, but more so the processes used to create those products?