The truth about American-made cars

[KrisZ]

Nice article. I used to be the "global this, global that..." kind of guy, but after seeing what is being done at my own work in the name of globalization as well as other industries, it simply disgusts me.
Reading some great posts on BITOG over the years also helped in convincing me about the false premise of globalization.

Now, I'm not all for blindly buying domestic because it's the right thing to do, no, not at all. The product itself always comes first to me. If I like the product and it meets my criteria, then domestic will get my vote, if not I will look for something made else ware that suits my needs.

Product competition is just as important to me as ever, but I no longer buy into the global economy scam and try to buy locally, because that's where the majority of money stays.

 

[Corvette Owner]

Nice post, you did amazing research on this issue.

As a side note, kudos to me, I just bought a 2013 Buick Enclave (the #1 USA made vehicle according to the poster). I bought it because: 1) I had GM "dollars" ($4134) from using their GM Credit Card, 2) They gave $2500 in rebates (including $1,000 for having a foreign car, a welcome back rebate), 3) I like GM cars, 4) I think The Enclave is the best mid-size SUV in the marketplace. I do like my Enclave.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: wirelessF

Why does a car like the Aveo , a total piece of [censored] have a Chevy logo. I park my Silverado next to one of these things and its just gross what cars Chevy have in their lineup.


CAFE CAFE CAFE.

IDK if they make a profit on the aveo/spark; dumping them at cost or below helps them with their "real cars".

Now the thought exercise becomes "if they're going to lose money on a marque, should they lose money overseas?"

Am happy the Spark is at least assembled here.

I read that the Atlanta plant could throw together a 2004 Taurus in 24 man-hours. I assume this does not include sub-assembly time, like putting the engine/transmission together. Still, impressive. If one takes the "$80/hr" loaded pay scale literally for line workers, that's $2000 to put a car together and the rest is parts, raw materials, taxes, insurance, legacy costs (if not included in the hourly pay rate), R&D, tooling, and profit.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: c502cid
You know one thing that is never mentioned is steel. Pretty big content on any car. Is a Camry still American if the steel used to make it comes from Nippon Steel?
Sure, they buy their steel and ship it from Japan instead of locally. Saves money, right????

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Not a single import in our stable, both fleet and personal. I am not totally anti import, but I am totally in favor of supporting my American workers as much as possible.

The quality "gap" ain't what it used to be, the American mfgrs have made huge strides. each year brings better and better cars to the market.
Chrysler builds hemi engines in Mexico.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
So the big 3 look better if you consider factors other than where the vehicle and its parts made when considering "the most american made vehicles"?

If Ford, GM, and Chrysler would simply build in the U.S. the vehicles they sell in the U.S., this entire argument would be moot. Perhaps the new slogan should be "Build American, Buy American". It looks to me like they want to exploit cheap foreign labor then wrap themselves in the flag when they try to sell their imported stuff in competition with actual american made vehicles.



Wasn't the most American car (the car with the most American content) assembled in Canada? (Crown Vic)
Edmunds says it's heen the Camry for years.

 

[buster]

Quote:
The quality "gap" ain't what it used to be,


Agree.

 

[Rolla07]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
I save what the payment would be and buy the car outright. Therefore no Chinese bank. I'm the type who won't buy an import either. I get good service from my domestics but a lot of import owners can't accept that and still think their imports are better. Imports are not better. They just cost more to fix when they break.


They dont break....

Everyone can have their own opinion but I have driven many cars and most people I know drive domestics. Lets just say they have spent 3-4 times the amount maintaining their cars than I have. Including someone who has less mileagethan me. Using recalls to state lack of quality is weak. Over 100k miles and all i have done is change oil. Outside of the bitog community most people i know have done 2-3 repairs by now. Again its an opinion but i think some japanese cars are still superior in quality.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Many GM and Ford parts are made in China,Japan,Pakistan,India,Mexico,and Canada.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Many GM and Ford parts are made in China,Japan,Pakistan,India,Mexico,and Canada.


Mexico and Canada are the two big ones for Ford. I've never purchased parts from the Ford dealer that have come from any of the others listed.

The Chinese Getrag tranny in the 5.0L is another story altogether

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
I save what the payment would be and buy the car outright. Therefore no Chinese bank. I'm the type who won't buy an import either. I get good service from my domestics but a lot of import owners can't accept that and still think their imports are better. Imports are not better. They just cost more to fix when they break.


They dont break....

Everyone can have their own opinion but I have driven many cars and most people I know drive domestics. Lets just say they have spent 3-4 times the amount maintaining their cars than I have. Including someone who has less mileagethan me. Using recalls to state lack of quality is weak. Over 100k miles and all i have done is change oil. Outside of the bitog community most people i know have done 2-3 repairs by now. Again its an opinion but i think some japanese cars are still superior in quality.


Oh come on, we can all cherry pick personal examples. We've owned two Town Cars that easily match the reliability of your Toyota.

And they certainly can, and do break. There are numerous examples out there. What about the guys with the Tacoma and Tundra trucks who had their frames rot in half? The Tundra trucks with the snapping camshafts? The engines that sludged themselves to death that Toyota denied was an issue until a massive class-action lawsuit was levied against them?

As much as the Japanese marques had some true gems during the 90's, the proponents of those brands also like to ignore any faults or issues that might work to tarnish their "spotless" reputation. Honda's glass transmissions anyone?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Many GM and Ford parts are made in China,Japan,Pakistan,India,Mexico,and Canada.


Mexico and Canada are the two big ones for Ford. I've never purchased parts from the Ford dealer that have come from any of the others listed.

The Chinese Getrag tranny in the 5.0L is another story altogether

Yeah that bugs me bad!!!!!! I`d considered buying a Boss 302 for my gf,but I can`t deal with the 1st to 2nd gear grind :^(

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
We've owned two Town Cars


^^One of the finest cars ever made. On my fave car list :^)

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
This whole argument is stupid


+1

Imports like Honda and Toyota are the reason domestic car makers had to step up their game and actually produce quality cars. Remember the "fantastic" domestic cars of the 70's and 80's?

Foreign competition put a hurt on the domestics at that time and higher quality cars in general are the result.

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
Nice post, you did amazing research on this issue.

As a side note, kudos to me, I just bought a 2013 Buick Enclave (the #1 USA made vehicle according to the poster). I bought it because: 1) I had GM "dollars" ($4134) from using their GM Credit Card, 2) They gave $2500 in rebates (including $1,000 for having a foreign car, a welcome back rebate), 3) I like GM cars, 4) I think The Enclave is the best mid-size SUV in the marketplace. I do like my Enclave.


How did you get around the $1500 redemption cap GM card puts on that vehicle?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Tempest
Quote:
This whole argument is stupid


+1

Imports like Honda and Toyota are the reason domestic car makers had to step up their game and actually produce quality cars. Remember the "fantastic" domestic cars of the 70's and 80's?

Foreign competition put a hurt on the domestics at that time and higher quality cars in general are the result.


We had some great 80's Ford vehicles. My '89 Town Car, '88 F-250, '87 Mustang GT....etc. Yes, there were some not so great ones made during that time too I am aware. But one can't broad-brush an entire era and call everything produced by the domestics during that period junk. That was most certainly not the case.

 

[surfstar]

I buy used, private-party. Which country and jobs am I supporting?

No car payments or CC debt - about as un-American as it gets, I guess.

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: surfstar
I buy used, private-party. Which country and jobs am I supporting?

No car payments or CC debt - about as un-American as it gets, I guess.

Wise man.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: Mykl

Wise man.

thank you - there are a few of us around here that believe in true 'economy' cars!

 

[KitaCam]

Myk/Surf: ....and I recently bought an older used car that is no longer made because it's so unpopular...a Japanese-made Camry stick imported for the US market (the Japanese market is primarily AT driven, even moreso than here)...what/who does that support?
(bring back the stick!)