Country of Origin... Does it matter ???

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I have Sumitomo HTR 4s on the Cobalt that are made in China. I've already had them for a few years, and they seem to be holding up well. So at the moment I'd agree with QC of each company.

That being said, I'll be looking for a usa made tire for the cav, with choices from either Cooper Tire or Uniroyal. If that does not work, then maybe back to some Sumis...
 
Originally Posted By: kemo
Originally Posted By: R2d2
Originally Posted By: sciphi
It does, from the trade standpoint. I'd like my dollars to stay in North America, and provide jobs for Americans and Canadians. After that, I'd like to provide jobs for European countries. China comes last on the list.

Sadly, finding American-made is really hard with some things.


Exactly.


Says the guy with 3 imports... 4 if you count the fact that the Escape is based on the GF platform by Mazda.


Exactly, my Accord is made in the US from 90% domestic part (thankfully not by the UAW). The Infiniti in Japan. NOTHING from China IF I can help it.
 
Originally Posted By: R2d2
Exactly, my Accord is made in the US from 90% domestic part (thankfully not by the UAW). The Infiniti in Japan. NOTHING from China IF I can help it.


Here's an interesting question: Is a product made in the US by a company based in Japan a Japanese product or a US product? Does the fact that the profits go overseas matter?

Taking it down a level: Is the fact that the parts are made in the US - but maybe made by companies based in Japan - matter?
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: R2d2
Exactly, my Accord is made in the US from 90% domestic part (thankfully not by the UAW). The Infiniti in Japan. NOTHING from China IF I can help it.


Here's an interesting question: Is a product made in the US by a company based in Japan a Japanese product or a US product? Does the fact that the profits go overseas matter?

Taking it down a level: Is the fact that the parts are made in the US - but maybe made by companies based in Japan - matter?


Capri Racer,

Are you only on your first cup of coffee this morning?

I would think that you as "Our Industry Insider" may have been able to better reply to this thread with some quality insight as to the tires made offshore. I hope you still will.

In answer to your questions...
It does matter where things come from. What matters even more to me is the fact that our technology has been given away, and our Country/People are hurt by it. There is not one thing made, That we cannot make better, Right Here. In The United States of America.

Jim

PS No offense meant.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: R2d2
Exactly, my Accord is made in the US from 90% domestic part (thankfully not by the UAW). The Infiniti in Japan. NOTHING from China IF I can help it.


Here's an interesting question: Is a product made in the US by a company based in Japan a Japanese product or a US product? Does the fact that the profits go overseas matter?

Taking it down a level: Is the fact that the parts are made in the US - but maybe made by companies based in Japan - matter?


Interesting retort, but no. China is our chief economic rival, by devaluing there currency and flooding our markets with cheap/inferior items and at the same time restricting US exports. I will never by a tire made in China, even if that means I have to pay 5 times as much for US/Canadian/European made one.
 
Originally Posted By: R2d2


Interesting retort, but no. China is our chief economic rival, by devaluing there currency and flooding our markets with cheap/inferior items and at the same time restricting US exports. I will never by a tire made in China, even if that means I have to pay 5 times as much for US/Canadian/European made one.


It is interesting that the most devalued currency in last 2 year is US dollar, with blatant ignorant to EU protest. Just imagine how US economy will survive if China never buy the US bonds, but hey each coin has 2 sides.
 
My Uniroyal Tiger Paws state "Made in Indonesia."

Kinda surprised me, as I don't think I've seen anything made from Indonesia before.
confused.gif
 
I try to buy as much as I can from the USA. It is where I live and pay taxes.

Plus, any product where an equivalent item can be had for very similar prices in US versus third-world form, I just dont see the value... You know that they are paying wage slaves even worse in the third world than here... yet the costs for the end product are similar to the US made item??!? Then why would I NOT buy the US made item? Pass the extreme labor discount along or Ill boycott. And I do.
 
It's not always that simple:

My Champion Power Equipment generator is a US owned company, but it was made in China. I would have bought a US made generator but a similar model was nearly 3X more expensive. I needed a generator to save the contents of my upright freezer. The CPE got the job. That was 2006. I have put hundreds of flawless hours on that thing.

My Mazda is a Japanese company, but it was made in a UAW factory in Michigan.

My Chrysler is an American(/German at the time)company, but it was made in Mexico.

Sometimes that which is American isn't and that which isn't American is.
 
Originally Posted By: AstroTurf
Capri Racer,

Are you only on your first cup of coffee this morning?

I would think that you as "Our Industry Insider" may have been able to better reply to this thread with some quality insight as to the tires made offshore. I hope you still will.

In answer to your questions...
It does matter where things come from. What matters even more to me is the fact that our technology has been given away, and our Country/People are hurt by it. There is not one thing made, That we cannot make better, Right Here. In The United States of America.

Jim

PS No offense meant.


None taken

The reason I haven't commented is that I want to hear what others have to say on the subject - hence my question. I'm just stirring the pot.

But I wanted to follow that question up with another series of questions:

If a US company manufactures somewhere else and imports into the US, is that better than a foreign company producing and selling in the US?

PS: I'll comment on quality next Sunday after I get a bunch of responses. I am really curious about how folks feel about this issue.
 
Fair Enough...

In answer to your questions, I will say that...

By Americans, For Americans, In America.

Foreign or Not, The more that is done here on our Turf, the stronger we all are.

I will also say that I feel when they go Off Shore, They are no longer Americans, Nor should they receive the American Benefits.

Still on my First Cup o Coffee, Jim
 
Originally Posted By: AstroTurf
Fair Enough.......Still on my First Cup o Coffee, Jim


But you didn't answer my question. You answered the question "What is the best situation", not "Which of the 2 options I presented is better". I still want to know the answer to that one - and I would like to hear from others.
 
Well Alrighty Then...

In answer to Capri Racer's question.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
If a US company manufactures somewhere else and imports into the US, is that better than a foreign company producing and selling in the US?


I want the situation that best benefits the People of the United States of America.
I would chose the Foreign Company producing here, It holds the best benefit for the US.

Note: It has to be a good product, Because Junk is Junk, no matter where it is produced.

Jim
 
+1, junk is junk, but in tires, for example, there can be very few dollars delta between us and offshore tires.

For example, I'm looking at 195/70r-14. The pirelli p4 is priced nearly the same as the Michelin harmony and Hydroedge. The pirelli is made in Korea/china, the michelin in the USA. The Cooper cs4 and Yokohama avid are both made in the US. They are priced within a few dollars of the Kumho tires made in china.

I find it a stretch if anyone is going to claim that the Kumho or the pirelli bring much more value to the table for the dollar than the domestic manufactured tire. If so, where? Sometimes the claim is made that to make x widget with the same quality here, it would cost much more money. I just don't see it in this case. Offshorinf is a pure profit play, and I'd rather give my money to buy products that employ people here. They pay taxes and consume here. Even better if the company pays taxes here.

If there was some great value proposition, then I might consider it, but I've not seen it yet...
 
Originally Posted By: AstroTurf
An interesting article about Chinese made tires...

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jul2007/db20070711_487422.htm

Enjoy, Jim


Yeowch! I bet that guy has an ulcer or five over that.

The Chinese can make a fine product, when their feet are held to the fire on quality. When it isn't, like that importer found out, bad things happen. They don't value a life like we do.

Finding a North American-made tire was one of the reasons I picked Michelin over Pirelli this time around for tires. The HydroEdges I ordered are made in Canada, while the P4's I was also considering (My Buick currently has Brazilian-made P4's) were made in China. I'd rather not have my life riding on tires made in China, all else being equal. I also noticed the HydroEdges are now ranked higher in TireRack's customer surveys than the P4's. It used to be the other way around. Draw your own conclusions.
 
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