[red tail]

surely you are not inferring that we buy made in america and be damned if its not a good quality or value. people dont fly airlines because of the airplane being made in america. they want good fares.....period!

[BobKat1]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

Interesting graphic from the April issue of Car and Driver:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...merica-feature

Bill

This summarizes things very well. I'm glad that C&D ran the article,

They should rerun it every year or two.

[Loveithere]

Originally Posted by red tail

now i understand. toyota is nr 1 with 6.7 million recalled vehicles. or do i understand?

Figures have a way of being very deceiving. Some good manufacturers will recall after only minimum complaints and some will drag their feet after many complaints. Personally, recalling means a concern to have things safe for the consumer.

Toyota has always had a reputation of fixing engineering problems as they occur. American auto's have had a reputation of waiting years to re-engineer a problem.

[jebartle]

Originally Posted by BobKat1

Good topic. The majority of Hyundai's are now built in the U.S.

Went to several intenet sites and all of them said that Hyundai's are MOSTLY built in Korea....Hmmm!

[mrfixit]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

Interesting graphic from the April issue of Car and Driver:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...merica-feature

Bill

...Thank You "BRILLO" for the link........NOW dang it BILL ...you gotta STOP taking credit for all the Superb things that Brillo posts for us..........

[mrfixit]

Originally Posted by SALYBOW

We have purchased Honda for eons. They use less gas, need less reapairs, and last longer. You can argue that if you like but I know I can count on it to start everytime. Since I work call this is p-aramount. That being said, the Honda Accords which I purchased were manufactured up the road from me in Marysville, Ohio. Honda locating there saved that town.

.....could that kind of HONDA quality be a part of the reason that....EVERY MOTOR running in the INDY 500..Has been HONDA...

[BobKat1]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Went to several intenet sites and all of them said that Hyundai's are MOSTLY built in Korea....Hmmm!

In the link from Car and Driver provided by Bill n Brillo some information is under the Lincoln, Alabama heading. About 355,000 cars came out of the facilities last year. Another 210,000 from West Point, GA. Kia (a good % owned by Hyundai) is also producing more vehicles in the U.S.

The whole automotive maufacturing picture is murky these days.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by billethkid

OK for the sake of argument let's assume all the components to build a car in the USA are not made in the USA.

So we are now talking about assembly plants only.....which used to be done 100% here in the USA (with over 90% of the components and parts also made in the USA).

So as more foreign companies build their cars here the US car assembly plant jobs eliminated are offset by the foreign assembly plants new jobs.

The cars that are bought here in the USA and not built in ANY plants here in the USA have eliminated assembly plant jobs that have not been offset by these companies having assembly plants here.

Soooooo, if all the cars that are not built in assembly plants here in the USA were no longer purchased, the consumer would in turn buy a car assembled in America only. There would be a SIGNIFICANT increase in the need for assembly plants to make the cars that are currently made OUTSIDE the USA.

Now while you are trying to figure out what all the above means....also think about all the material used in our clothes, all the sneakers, all the electronics once upon a time were all made here. As those products and materials are made outside the USA all the jobs that used to be here to do all that stuff are gone.

In closing I will give one more example. Many, MANY years ago I used to work for GE in Appliance PArk Louisville, KY. When I first started there employment was around 10,000 (1965)....in the mid 70's employment was over 20,000....and we used to take pride in bragging that "...at least all the major appliances were still made in the USA...". Fast forward to 2010....employment in Appliance Park Louisville, KY is less the 6,000.......and almost none of GE's major appliances are made in the USA.
All manufacturing jobs lost.

No longer MADE IN AMERICA and all the associated jobs for all the products and services that used to be provided....are gone.

Yes we are a global society. Yes globalization is a way of life.....to a point.

But PLEASE do not state of infer that not buying MADE IN AMERICA is not the issue. Why do you think emerging countries like China have improving economies? Because just like the USA was in a manufacturing upswing from the 1900's to the 1950's providing growth of the middle class. China has been in the growing manufacturing mode accommodating all the products and jobs that since the 1950's.....THAT USED TO BE DONE HERE IN THE USA.

Not buying American in the numbers we have during the past 20 years has greased the skid we are currently in. And it won't change much until such time as NEW manufacturing starts here in the USA....like pursuing products made here in the USA that replace energy produced by foreign oil.....this initiative alone would provide countless new manufacturing jobs. Why this is not being pursued is something to be discussed...AGAIN AND AGAIN... in the political forum.

I do my damndest each and every day to buy MADE IN AMERICA as much as practically possible....when ever possible.

There now I feel better....again.

btk

btk: Your history regarding GE may explain why GE appliance are so inferior today.

At the center of this debate is that economic term "competitive advantage".

American Unions destroyed that aspect by demanding higher wage and benefits while ignoring the quality/productivity side of this equation. An assembly job, etc is worth only so much. It is an economic reality, unless of course you belong to a union and the union bosses begi to tell you your entitled to m ore profitsa from a comapny just because. In that same vein I believe that many seniuor executive are well over paid but contin ue to get a bonus etc just because. So the obvuious result is that American buyers shop where they believe they can buy quality mand a more reasonable price.

On a personl level, I was willing to forego that Acura and was going to buy a Cadillac to prove I'm a good american until I read that the unions wanted back the benefits they agreed to forego during the bailout and owing to the big bonuses GM senior executive where awarded themselves. I called the salesman and told him why. He was of course speechless. By the way in my research found the Acura was heads above its competitors.

One final thought do you see any of the American Auto Mfgs attempting to build brand loyalty the way foreign compeitors do? I don't.

[mrfixit]

Originally Posted by BobKat1

In the link from Car and Driver provided by Bill n Brillo some information is under the Lincoln, Alabama heading. About 355,000 cars came out of the facilities last year. Another 210,000 from West Point, GA. Kia (a good % owned by Hyundai) is also producing more vehicles in the U.S.

The whole automotive maufacturing picture is murky these days.

......murky it is.....The KIA SORENTO made in West Point Georgia USA----all come with tires labeled with the "KUMHO' brand. Those TIRES are made in MACON Georgia USA...and 2500 HAPPY AMERICANS are producing and trucking and installing the KUMHO tires.... right here IN the USA ..Just down the road from the additional thousands of HAPPY AMERICANS that are working IN and around the KIA PLANT.

[Hancle704]

Question might be asked, should you buy a American car that is built outside the USA or a foreign car built in the USA by American workers.

My feeling is I'd rather buy a reasonably priced, quality built car that will give me reliabilty and good mileage, from a company that also has good dealer service.

[jblum315]

You ask "Why do you buy foreign cars?"
Every single one of the U.S. made cars that I owned between 1958 and 1989 was defective, performed poorly from the get go, and caused me nothing but trouble. In 1989 I bought a Volkswagen Passat and finally understood what a difference fine engineering makes. I owned that car for 11 years, traded it for a new one that I kept for 10 years and traded that one last year just because I wanted a new car. Not one of the VWs was defective in any way.
Why would I ever take a gamble on American cars again?

[mgjim]

I owned a '63 Chevy before I was drafted and I loved that car. I was a Chevy guy through and through and didn't think I'd ever drive anything else although I did get my hands on a '67 Mustang for a while that I really liked. Unfortunately, my experience with American brands after that wasn't very good. After a series of unsatisfactory Fords and Chevys, I drove a couple of Fiats (don't ask) in Europe and finally bought a brand new Plymouth in the late 80's. I had nothing but trouble with that vehicle along with a really bad Ford and another bad Plymouth. My wife really wanted a Buick so we tried the brand in the late 90's. Again, lots of maintenance problems and we finally decided to try a foreign brand. She wanted a Toyota, I talked her into a Honda Accord. Our second car had to be a pickup and I stuck with American...A Chevy S-10 and later a Chevy Colorado. The pickups took up most of our maintenance dollars and the Honda just seemed to get better and better with every mile we drove. After my wife passed away, I had to decide which vehicle to keep so I finally decided to keep the Chevy and sell the Honda. Got $2500 over blue book and I wonder if I made the right decision. I miss the Honda but will drive my Chevy until I don't need a pickup anymore. Then I'll probably buy a Honda again. Reliable, minimal maintenance, and they keep their value. Nothing could be better than that. BTW - the Honda was built in Marysville, OH.

[mrfixit]

......A long-long time ago, we would buy one new GM product each year, and keep a total of 4 units in our driveway. The three+ year old would be replaced.
..........after 30 some years of "tolerating" poor build quality and self destructing motors..........a neighbor dropped off his wifes "foreign" car for us to drive....(Our GM product was once again in-the-shop for repairs ...and ...his wife was away for a while). She returned 3 weeks later.....and...the next day we were at the "foreign" car dealer picking out our NEW car. That was 1995. Have enjoyed the new found reliability and superior handling.... along with the comfortable high end looking (compared to GM) interiors ever since. Did stumble a couple of times and put a GM in the mix. In 2004 got a Chevy Equinox with the self-destructing (at 42,000 miles) engine. And again 3 years ago when an old neighbor offered ANY NEW GM product at a price that could not be ignored.
... Fool me once...shame on you......Fool me twice shame on me.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by mrfixit

...Thank You "BRILLO" for the link........NOW dang it BILL ...you gotta STOP taking credit for all the Superb things that Brillo posts for us..........

Sssshhhhh - please don't tell her I'm doing that!!

Bill

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by mrfixit

......A long-long time ago, we would buy one new GM product each year, and keep a total of 4 units in our driveway. The three+ year old would be replaced.
..........after 30 some years of "tolerating" poor build quality and self destructing motors..........a neighbor dropped off his wifes "foreign" car for us to drive....(Our GM product was once again in-the-shop for repairs ...and ...his wife was away for a while). She returned 3 weeks later.....and...the next day we were at the "foreign" car dealer picking out our NEW car. That was 1995. Have enjoyed the new found reliability and superior handling.... along with the comfortable high end looking (compared to GM) interiors ever since. Did stumble a couple of times and put a GM in the mix. In 2004 got a Chevy Equinox with the self-destructing (at 42,000 miles) engine. And again 3 years ago when an old neighbor offered ANY NEW GM product at a price that could not be ignored.
... Fool me once...shame on you......Fool me twice shame on me.

This is a very common story.

People who refuse to even try a foreign car are like the stuck-in-their-ways people who refuse to come and visit The Villages....when they finally see it and the light comes on, they ask "Why didn't we do this 10 years ago??"