how is foreign better

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: bruno
True but German Unions aren't run by wild eyed radicals .


It would be much easier to be supportive of unions if they didn't seemingly flock towards the left side of the aisle!

When pro-labor is left wing by definition, and right-wing is anti-union by definition, it's kind of unrealistic to expect non-left-wing labor unions.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: bruno
True but German Unions aren't run by wild eyed radicals .


It would be much easier to be supportive of unions if they didn't seemingly flock towards the left side of the aisle!

When pro-labor is left wing by definition, and right-wing is anti-union by definition, it's kind of unrealistic to expect non-left-wing labor unions.


My wife was a member of the union in the public school system here for 16 years. She had 3 friends who, like her, did not like paying dues to a union that they did not agree with. But there was no way to avoid it, the union got the money automatically deducted right out of their pay checks. It should be noted that school employees here have taken pay CUTS, so the union sure ain't doing much.

After she left the school system last year for FAR better pay in the private sector with NO union she was contacted by about a dozen of her friends who worked at the school. They all wanted to know how they could get out from under the union collar as well. Not everyone in the unions supports their radical left wing agenda. Many would rather make voluntary contributions.

I guess that's just too fair, huh?

Note that our new national health care plan is going to force ALL private health care workers to join a union, too!

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: asand1
Detroit union auto workers don't HAVE to build quality. They don't HAVE to be innovative. They also WONT work cheaply. Union teachers are just as bad. Unions had their place in the old days, but now they really a large part of the death of this country.
Most foriegn makers have more pride in chraftsmanship.

German labor unions are MUCH stronger than American ones.


I don't know I'd use that as a case. Few German cars are reliable as they age. Most high mileage VW, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes get real expensive as they age and need lots of repairs.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: Prelude
When you say than the US has fallen behind, keep in mind that in the first place the US just took advantage of other countries troubles in the 20th century. Countries with highly educated people, strong engineering tradition, low corruption rate like some European countries or Japan, cannot stay behind forever.


Not forgetting that the UK finally paid off the US bill for WW2 just prior to the economic downturn I suspect that the investment in the country that has been missing might lead to a resurgence of the engineering expertise of the UK.

Though the damage to the UK might just be permanent.

After looking at how Germany was rebuilt after the war, with a fair amount help from the UK, you have to wonder why the same was not done in the UK.

But I think a lot of people would be surprised at the amount of engineering expertise that still exists in the UK, though it is more biased towards electronics rather than the more obvious things like car production or similar.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: asand1
Detroit union auto workers don't HAVE to build quality. They don't HAVE to be innovative. They also WONT work cheaply. Union teachers are just as bad. Unions had their place in the old days, but now they really a large part of the death of this country.
Most foriegn makers have more pride in chraftsmanship.

German labor unions are MUCH stronger than American ones.


I don't know I'd use that as a case. Few German cars are reliable as they age. Most high mileage VW, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes get real expensive as they age and need lots of repairs.



That is due to them engineering in a finite lifespan.

There is no profit in a car that lasts forever.

The world has rapidly became a throwaway society.

Most of the most long lasting vehicles were designed and built in the nineties.

Think about the 200E (W124) or even the Peugeot 405 from that era, many are still running around today.

Often in various countries in Africa or Albania admittedly.

Sometimes the search for engineering excellence is not compatible with commercial interests.

 

[KitaCam]

To answer the original question...

An interesting survey would be of cars after 100k miles, and 7 years...

the maintenance required...and
the "fit and finish" in terms of how well the structure of the car remained as it was on the showroom floor

and perhaps determine...
Do European cars require more and cost more to maintain as they get past the 100k mark?
Do Japanese cars require less, and cost less to repair?
Do American cars remain as solid as they did when new?

Part of the equation is the cost of parts, and that isn't a function of the age of the car, of course.

Just a thought...

 

[PandaBear]

I don't find them automatically better. I found them tends to spend their money on better plastic and rubber interior, less duct tape and rubber hoses that deteriorate over time, plastic mold and metal cast having nicer finishes, and overall seems to be designed 1/2 to 1 generation newer than their US counterpart.

They however tends to skim on features that are standard on US cars like powered mirror / lock / seats / recline / radio / trunk light / hood light / etc. To me that's no big deal but many would rather have these features than nicer quality interior plastic / rubber.

In 2010+ I'm not sure if there're huge quality differences, but in the 90s these differences are quite big.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
I don't find them automatically better. I found them tends to spend their money on better plastic and rubber interior, less duct tape and rubber hoses that deteriorate over time, plastic mold and metal cast having nicer finishes, and overall seems to be designed 1/2 to 1 generation newer than their US counterpart.

They however tends to skim on features that are standard on US cars like powered mirror / lock / seats / recline / radio / trunk light / hood light / etc. To me that's no big deal but many would rather have these features than nicer quality interior plastic / rubber.

In 2010+ I'm not sure if there're huge quality differences, but in the 90s these differences are quite big.


I agree with pretty much everything. And also the 90's was the height of Japanese car awesomeness. The differences back then were huge.