USAToday article about buying American

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One guy was shocked to learn that the Buick Century he was driving was made in Canada.....

LOL! I swear, some people need to get out of their caves and see the global economy out there.
 
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Because they tend to hang onto their cars for years, people in the Midwest have long memories.

You can't hang on to a car much longer after it starts to rust away. In 1988, my parents commented when we moved here from Illinois that there were many older cars on the road here...and they weren't rusted out.

My mom had to junk her first car due to rust. It ran fine..it just rusted completely out, thanks to Chicago, IL winter salt.
 
They didn't mention in the article where the profits go. Fact is that the average Toyota sold in the US has a 40% US/Canadian parts content and the average GM has an 80%+ domestic parts content. It's not all about where the final assembly is. GM alone employs over twice as many Americans as all the import transplants combined.
 
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Originally posted by cousincletus:
They didn't mention in the article where the profits go. Fact is that the average Toyota sold in the US has a 40% US/Canadian parts content and the average GM has an 80%+ domestic parts content. It's not all about where the final assembly is. GM alone employs over twice as many Americans as all the import transplants combined.

Pardon my French, but screw the corporations! Does it really matter where the net profits go? What is really important are the jobs that these automotive factories here in the US are creating. Be it GM, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Nissan, whoever, these are American workers that are making and supplying parts for and building the vehicles that we drive. Would you rather have people buying and driving vehicles made by companies that provided no jobs for Americans and kept and spent all of their profits where they were based? Think about it.
 
Wow I didn't even realize this kind of midwest mentality is still around. Of the 20 or so cars on my block only 4 are "American" if you only look at brand. We own 2 of them. Not by choice mind you. They just refuse to die.
 
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Originally posted by cousincletus:
They didn't mention in the article where the profits go. Fact is that the average Toyota sold in the US has a 40% US/Canadian parts content......

However you are forgetting about the high domestic parts content in Honda's built here. Nearly equal or exceeds domestics. And Honda's are a high volume seller in the US.

Also from the Man on Top of almighty GM,

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First, we are re-energizing our global sourcing efforts. While we've had an effective approach in purchasing for a number of years, our move to a global product development system, accompanied by the emergence of excellent supply capability in lower cost markets, provide us with some real cost savings opportunities. Bo Andersson and his purchasing team, working closely with Engineering, are restructuring their purchasing model to take full advantage of this.

Translated, we at GM are going to start buying more imported parts from our friends in GM Asia, ie third world cheap labor......

Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050607/detu014.html?.v=12

I am not putting GM down, they just have to adapt to new market conditions appropriatey. However the arguement about profits is losing validity in the global marketplace.

[ August 10, 2005, 08:27 AM: Message edited by: rjundi ]
 
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Originally posted by jtantare:
Wow I didn't even realize this kind of midwest mentality is still around. Of the 20 or so cars on my block only 4 are "American" if you only look at brand. We own 2 of them. Not by choice mind you. They just refuse to die.

How many shops near you don't work on domestic vehicles? I was doing a google search for something and ran across a webpage for a shop in Berkeley, California that says they don't work on domestic vehicles.

I'd never heard of that, but it might be fairly common out there.
 
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Originally posted by rjundi:
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I am not putting GM down, they just have to adapt to new market conditions appropriatey. However the arguement about profits is losing validity in the global marketplace.


Why not? I will do it for you then. I was watching AutoLine Detroit on Speed channel a couple weeks ago and one of them said that GM basically order their suppliers to source $1.5 billion in product from China as a cost saving measure. And they wonder why they keep churning out CRAP.
WORSE...everyone that buys GM is helping to send OVER 1.5 BILLION dollars to China!!! How's that for American for you. Makes me sick. Makes me want to trade in our Grand Prix, I don't even want to look at the thing.
If you buy GM nowadays you are a fool. You are being suckered.
 
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Originally posted by brianl703:
How many shops near you don't work on domestic vehicles? I was doing a google search for something and ran across a webpage for a shop in Berkeley, California that says they don't work on domestic vehicles.

I'd never heard of that, but it might be fairly common out there.


Most shops in this area specialize in one type of vehicle or another. In Berkeley there are at least 3 Volvo only shops, 2 VW only just to name a few.A couple of blocks from my house there is a place that specializes in Mercedes diesels. They run their own junk yard full of old benz oil burners. Unfortunately I rarely see domestic cars (not SUVs) around here that are more than 5 years old. If you see a Focus, a Malibu or Stratus, 90% of the time you know its a rental car. This morning there was a first gen Taurus on the freeway. I hadn't seen one in months. I maintain one in the family to I tend to notice these things.

I would love to see more American brand cars around here but they have poor quality stima attached to them. They also tend to depreciate much faster. It really doesn't help matters when the local dealer is advertising 2004 Taurus for $9000
 
Compare that to Fredericksburg, VA where I was driving through my friend's neighborhood and noticed that almost every single driveway had a domestic vehicle in it, and about half of them were definitely 90s models. (This is an upscale neighborhood, too).

At my mechanic's shop I'd say it runs about 50/50 domestic/foreign with most of them having over 80K miles on them, and a not insignificant number of the domestics being 8 years or older.
 
Major appliances, plumbing parts, electrical parts, stuff you use to build a house which is likely to be your biggest investment is all made in China too.
 
Not mine, it was built 40yrs ago
wink.gif


At least you have a choice in carmakers. But you also could specify appliances to some home builders. Wouldn't wood and drywall and insulation be more signicant portion of cost anyway? Those are still made in USA....for now...
 
That's true, but gas/plumbing/electrical parts can cause serious property damage or injury or even death if they fail. As one example, think about a circuit breaker and what might happen if it fails to trip during an overload.
 
The jobs argument is always interesting to me. Would you rather keep the engineering/design jobs in USA or the Manufacturing jobs? I know I will anger a lot of people with this comment, but I would rather keep the higher paid engineering/design jobs in the US and let some cheap labor in China assemble the stereo. I see no problem in haveing the time consuming detail assembly work done in China and the more complicated assembly work done in USA. However, more important than anything I hate to see the engineering jobs go to Japan.

I often hear people complain "we don't build anything in the US anymore!" My response is so what, at least we design most of it here.
 
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Originally posted by Jason Troxell:

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Originally posted by rjundi:
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I am not putting GM down, they just have to adapt to new market conditions appropriatey. However the arguement about profits is losing validity in the global marketplace.


Why not? I will do it for you then. I was watching AutoLine Detroit on Speed channel a couple weeks ago and one of them said that GM basically order their suppliers to source $1.5 billion in product from China as a cost saving measure. And they wonder why they keep churning out CRAP.
WORSE...everyone that buys GM is helping to send OVER 1.5 BILLION dollars to China!!! How's that for American for you. Makes me sick. Makes me want to trade in our Grand Prix, I don't even want to look at the thing.
If you buy GM nowadays you are a fool. You are being suckered.


Still the bottom line is that the average GM vehicle has an 80% domestic parts content. I don't like dealing w/China either, so I don't shop at Wally World and I look at the label before I buy something.
 
This is an unfortunately-common and terribly short-sighted response. What in the world prevents the design/engineering from moving overseas? It's almost impossible to tariff designs. That is precisely what has been happening in the electronics/computer idustry (and others) for some time now. We still chomp at the bit at most every college campus in the country to have as many people as possible from other countries on campus. They don't go through school and go back to farming with water buffalo when they're done, and a very great many don't stay here, either. They take their knowledge and potential to get high-paying jobs with them.

In addition, not everyone can have a high-paying design/engineering job unless one proposes to "expatriate" 4 of every 5 people from the USA. A functional society requires a wide variety of jobs be done. Not necessarily a wide pay spread, but a wide job array.

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The jobs argument is always interesting to me. Would you rather keep the engineering/design jobs in USA or the Manufacturing jobs? I know I will anger a lot of people with this comment, but I would rather keep the higher paid engineering/design jobs in the US and let some cheap labor in China assemble the stereo. I see no problem in haveing the time consuming detail assembly work done in China and the more complicated assembly work done in USA. However, more important than anything I hate to see the engineering jobs go to Japan.

I often hear people complain "we don't build anything in the US anymore!" My response is so what, at least we design most of it here.


 
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Originally posted by brianl703:
Is that really an "either/or" question? Is there some reason, which is not obvious to me, why we can't have both?

I don't think there is, and I think there are very, very compelling reasons why we want and need to have both.
 
"I often hear people complain "we don't build anything in the US anymore!" My response is so what, at least we design most of it here. "

think again.

I watched the manufacturing of computers go overseas, followed by the design, then even the servicing. And the domestic companies were only too happy to send the job to them, engineering isn't a profit center, it's pure overhead.

For most PCs, the only "domestic" job is the one that does the accounting. Think Dell or HP designs computers (consumer)? Nope. Designed, manufactured, warranted and serviced by the Taiwanese (or increasingly mainland Chinese).

When our IT guys here need a service part, they log on and order it. But the only thing HP about it is the logo on the web page. The order goes straight to the OEM in Taiwan (or a warehouse they set up in California). HP never sees it except as a line item on a OEM performance chart that some lowly Program Mgr (ex-engineer likely) gives a 5 minute powerpoint show every quarter.

GM is already building engines in China......
 
Nothing electronic on a GM is vechile is USA sourced. As a matter of fact it was a GM Study that signalied the shift from domestic semi-conductors to Asian semiconductors. Their was a study performed by GM that included durability,price and failures per 100, 1000, 1,000,000 and it planely stated that domestic semi-conductor and other such electronic componts did not represent a good value for them. This is why you crack open a GM ECM/PCM or other part and you see nothing but Hitachi,Mitsubishi etc..... MOst of the power trains are either partialy or totaly made outside of the USA. Same applies for stampings and assembly. All the small pieces are assembled in Mexico,Canada,Brasil etc

How about a Chineese engine,Japanese transmission, and a Canadian final assembly? That is the eqinox. How about the Denso Heater Core in the newer Cadilacs? What about the 100% Korean made Celebrity? How about all those Adam Opel made in Germany parts for the Kateria. What about all of the Holden of Austriala parts on the GTO? WHat about the Geo Metro,Prism,Storm,Tracker,Aveo,Daewoo's? Then you have the Cadilac Alante that had an Italian designed and built body and interior. Then it was flown back to the USA on a wide body to have the engine and transmission installed. Most of the other parts on it were European designed and sourced as well.

If anyone thinks GM or FOrd give a rat's butt about America and their employee's think again!! They are after the $$$$$ just like all the rest!

Their are many many Toyota's that are Domestic and any thing GM or Ford makes. Most of the models made in the USA are 70% domestic content or greater. You can look at the big white content sticker that is on them when they leave the factory! When was the last time GM or Ford put a large white sticker on their vechiles telling you what their domestic content was!!
 
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