posted 05-24-2006 07:56 AM                  

Americans should buy whatever brand of car they want. But buying from the Big Three is better for the country.
Foreign auto makers have done a great job building cars in the U.S. At first, the “transplants” were little more than screwdriver operations, assembling kits they imported from Japan. But over time, they have added more and more value to what they make in America.

Today, they have styling studios, engineering centers and proving grounds in the U.S. Collectively, they employ tens of thousands of Americans and pay a boatload of taxes. A number of the vehicles they make here now have as much, or more, domestic content than their Big Three counterparts.
Even though the anti-import crowd points to all the profits that foreign auto makers repatriate to their home countries, I just shrug my shoulders.

What’s the profit margin on the cars they make here? Ten percent? That means 90 cents of every dollar they get from cars they make here, stays here. As an American citizen, I’ll take that kind of return every day.

And yet, despite all the benefits foreign auto makers bring to America, they don’t do enough – compared with the Big Three that is. They still import an awful lot of cars, nearly 3 million – the equivalent of importing the entire U.K. market every year.

And for all the value the foreigners have added here, they still don’t do their core engineering in the U.S. They don’t create platforms here. They don’t design the powertrains, drivetrains, chassis or suspensions.
They don’t develop the electronic architectures. They don’t conduct the crash testing. All of this is done in their home countries.

Meanwhile, it’s General Motors, Ford and Chrysler that are doing the most recruiting at American colleges to fill every kind of job imaginable. They’re the ones buying the American-made super computers and hiring the people to program them.

They’re the ones doing the computational fluid dynamics here before they go into their wind tunnels. This is where they do their manufacturing engineering.

These are the companies with the greatest diversity of employees, supporting the greatest number of communities and adding the most value to the American way of life.
Sure, the Big Three are doing some off-shoring; they’re laying off workers; and they’re importing cars. But the size of their contribution to the American economy still dwarfs everything the foreign auto makers are doing.
You may say, “So what? The import brands offer the kinds of cars I want to buy.”

Well, more power to you. Go buy whatever you want. That’s the American way. But if you want to get the best ripple effect for the dollars you’re spending, buy American.

John McElroy is editorial director of Blue Sky Productions and producer of “Autoline Detroit” for WTVS-"

posted 05-24-2006 12:20 PM                  

Oh! And 1 Vespa motor scooter in HS I completely forgot!

posted 05-24-2006 10:07 PM                  

11 MOPARS
4 GM

posted 05-25-2006 06:02 AM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by tangled up in BLUE:
currently have ...

11 MOPARS
4 GM

zero Fords

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posted 05-25-2006 08:33 AM                  

1 FORD

1 Pontiac

1 Bayliner

posted 05-25-2006 09:42 AM                  

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More 'Pumpkin' photos and Mod Stuff . . . . . . . Our other cars and stuff

"I may have to grow older, but I do not have to grow up!"

posted 05-25-2006 10:20 AM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by tangled up in BLUE:
currently have ...

11 MOPARS
4 GM

zero Fords

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we need to work on that

posted 05-25-2006 10:48 AM                  

I have never been a fan of foreign products except for my Goldwing. My dad worked for Chrysler as I did in the 70's now I work at Ford. I see a lot a value I buying American products it is just getting harder to do. Many of the boxes coming into the plant are from Mexico, Germany, Korea, Japan and South America. They keep changing suppliers but I can tell from the shipping point where they come from. I don't think the border towns in Texas are major manufacturing points. They are warehouses that parts are shipped to and then trucked to our plant (I also worked for the Japanese and we built a plant in Mexico and had a warehouse just across the border.

Is it really the big 3 any more? With Chrysler being owned by a German company, Toyota being the #2 carmaker worldwide closing in on GM QUICKLY.

What surprises me is the number of elderly people that are driving foreign cars. 30 years ago very few elderly would even think of driving a foreign car, They were WWII vets or knew them and they would not think of driving something for anyplace but the GOOD OLD USA.

It is such a blur now for someone to go buy a new car. The glass in my Dodge Ram (as well as the whole truck) was made in Mexico and logo says it right on the glass.

The glass in many Camry's is made at Libby Ownes in Shelbyville, IN

Be American Buy American.......... I have a tool box I got in 1976 and put a sticker on it I got at Chrysler when I was working there, They knew then the foreign companies were going to have to be dealt with......they are still saying the same thing, but even they are not doing this. It is all about the dollar.

The transplant companies do not have the overhead the American companies have that have been in business for close to or over 100 years.

If I were still at Chrysler I would have my time in to retire in 3 weeks.

posted 05-25-2006 02:03 PM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by magnummrk:
Love our Honda Accord. Had a "big 3" car for the wife. Never again( for an everyday driver car) Next car for her will be German when the Honda reaches 150,000 miles.

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mercedes is nice.

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More 'Pumpkin' photos and Mod Stuff . . . . . . . Our other cars and stuff

"I may have to grow older, but I do not have to grow up!"

posted 05-25-2006 02:30 PM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by pumpkin:

mercedes is nice.

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I am thinking Audi A6

posted 05-25-2006 02:40 PM                    

There are design studios in California that design cars/trucks. One I know of in particular is the Nissan Titan, which also in built in Tennessee (think that is the right state).

Mercedes, BMW, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Toyota all have huge plants and factories in the USA employing hundreds of thousands of folks from the guy that sweeps the floor to senior executives. I saw an ad the other day where one town is predominantly employed by Toyota and they are adding something like 10,000 MORE jobs there. Meanwhile, the big 3 continue to lay off folks.

Is it more unAmerican to buy from a foreign car company that has plants here or an American company that builds cars overseas to save money?????

They don’t develop the electronic architectures.

I'm pretty sure that there aren't any American electronic companies anymore. Likewise with Tv's and VCR's.

They don’t conduct the crash testing. All of this is done in their home countries.

someone correct me but, I'm pretty sure if you want to import cars here, you have to pass crash tests here and not Korea....

Meanwhile, it’s General Motors, Ford and Chrysler that are doing the most recruiting at American colleges to fill every kind of job imaginable.
http://www.efc.dcccd.edu/ce/press/Funding.html

They’re the ones buying the American-made super computers and hiring the people to program them.

Sorry, wrong again there too.
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=120589&tsource=3

Now since Chrysler was bought by Mercedes, does that make Mopar a German company and hence just another import with factories here????????????