Far be it from me to overuse a metaphor, but you know things are bad for the home team when the head cheerleader starts following the other team's plays. Right in the heart of UAW-land, Detroit News' Auto Editor Manny Lopez [reads TTAC] and mulls over the question of what constitutes an "American" car. His answer will probably piss off the Level Field Institute: as long as it's built in America with American parts, it doesn't really matter where the parent company resides. Waxing philosophical, he asks "what's more American: a Dodge Caravan built in Canada with fewer American parts or a Toyota Sienna chock full of Red, White and Blue components and built in Indiana [Ed. By non-union labor]?" Continuing along the same lines, Manny also wants to know if it's "more important to have the dollars flow back to Detroit, Dearborn or Auburn Hills or to employ American workers?" He'd better be careful or the home team fans may demand he turn in his pom-poms.
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
Given how I view the world, I would much rather buy a foreign car made with American parts in a US State than a Big 3 car made in Mexico with foreign parts.
The jobs ratio is just much better that way – more American people are employed, the only real losers are the incompetent fat-cat executives who see the high-level ownership positions go away. If we lose 100 executive positions but gain 1000 line workers, that’s a net gain in my mind. Give me US made any day, overpaid, shortsighted (quarterly results at all costs!) C-level execs can all go screw themselves as far as I’m concerned.
I’m glad to see TTAC focusing in the attitude angle. By that I mean things that we can cheer for. By that I mean articles that can by any stretch justify a picture of cheerleaders, in appropriate attire of course.
As we say here in Silicon Valley: Whoever wows the consumer with insanely great products gets the nod. For the rest is not much hope. It’s not about the color of your flag.
Tricky.
In macroeconomic terms, you want the domestic manufactures healthy as there’s a whole-nation effect if they go insolvent, but you don’t want to be simply lining the pockets of executives, shareholders and bankers (which is where profit goes; R&D is function of cost, not profit).
I’ve been thinking about this in great detail recently, as I’m looking to buy a new car and I live in a community that depends, largely, on the viability of GM Oshawa and it’s satellites. I want to buy local, but nothing made in Oshawa really meets my needs. About the closest is the Cambridge-built Matrix, which doesn’t help my community nearly as much.
I can see three options, and it depends upon your location as to what’s most important:
* Buy used and keep 100% of the dollars local, but send none to workers and manufacturers. If your economy isn’t at all dependent on manufacturing, this works best.
* Buy domestic, which at least helps the overall health of the company. This logic works well in Michigan and Ontario more than elsewhere, as those areas’ health swings directly with the big three.
* Buy locally assembled. Sound logic anywhere, but there’s compromises required.
psarhjinian – here’s another thought for you – save a bunch of $$$ buying in the US and importing back into Canada (even better, buy a Canadian manufactured vehicle – no duties + a bit of support for Canadian manufacturing). This is the key part – don’t “buy-up” because it’s cheaper. Take your savings and spend it in the community on other local products. The only people you are cutting out are local salespeople (ie at the dealership); since you’d consider buying used, this probably isn’t on your radar anyway.
The ever-lasting Domestic vs. Import battle.
As much as I respect my country and the need to keep money flowing, a car is the second-largest purchase I will make (multiple times) throughout my life. Screw getting something that I don’t like/want just because it’s a (re-badged) domestic.
Besides, I’m of the mind that the jobs are more important, especially since the domestics are having serious troubles. Whose to know where these workers will be in 5 years? I can’t imagine Toyota/Honda/Nissan NOT bringing in more work for our country if the demand for more vehicles was there.
As far as I’m concerned the “home team” is the one that builds cars at home.
If it comes down to a choice between the Mexican built Fusion or the American build Accord, I’ll buy American.
Off topic, but I’m curious: has TTAC’s new emphasis on T & A shots increased page views? I may have inadvertently clicked a few extra times.
BuckD
Off topic, but I’m curious: has TTAC’s new emphasis on T & A shots increased page views? I may have inadvertently clicked a few extra times.
Yes. (That’s our story and we’re sticking with it.)
Ofttimes this discussion centers only on the obvious part of economics-redistribution of wealth.
I have learned that most people have little concept that wealth is also created and destroyed-that is, it is not a fixed quantity.
I can’t say I can judge for a given company, I don’t have the skills, but it seems that an indigenous company that is conflagrating wealth, removing it from the system is in the long run harmful to the system.
Conversely, a healthy company that is generating new wealth within a system, regardless of where it is based, is helping.
Ergo, a dying company and it’s employees are, to a degree, wards of the productive members of society. (I’m not saying that many in the company aren’t trying to be productive, just that the net result of all company efforts, including the spending of employee wages in the economy, could be a negative for the country. Not slamming individual effort here.)
It maybe necessary to allow the destruction of the company to free up the potentially productive workers to positions that will actually be beneficail to all (including themselves).
I’ve been through this process and know it hurts but I suspect the end result is better than life-support.
This is not meant to get in anyones face, BTW.
Just my honest thoughts.
Sincerely,
Bunter
I agree with Bunter1 completely.
Using resources to pile up products we don’t need or want is NOT good for our country.
The sooner we get rid of GM the quicker our overall economy will recover from this wealth hole.
Here’s the dilemma – what kind of patriot are you?
Are you a GM buyer whose cars may not be built in America by American workers. Any profit that is made on that car (as if!) goes back to RenCen and is paid to Rick and his gang of mobsters making >$10M a year and to overpaid factory workers who on top of it the last bastion of the mob runs the unions – the leftovers go out as dividends to shareholders to keep them happy – and GM begs the gov’t for money to do R&D. GM will build SUVs an cram them down customer’s throats just to keep the factory running. The entire management at GM is basically a bunch of accountants (a customer’s safety is just a statistic to them) and used car salesmen.
Or would you by a Honda or Toyota – companies run by engineers that build cars that are reliable and consistent. Many of these cars are actually made in the US with parts from US suppliers – they can easily change over lines to (and these two companies have helped rebuild many suppliers and tooling companies to make a profit in a global economy) build cars that are in actual demand and not artificial. The profit they make goes back to Japan but is heavily reinvested into the company further pushing the constant development and refinement of their products.
America gives me a choice – I don’t buy into the America manufacturer of Ladas where I have to buy from them regardless b/c I’m told to. I’ll buy the best car for my money and enjoy it. I’ll send my hard earn wealth to a company that will use it wisely and make better profits for the long run.
Buy Honda or Toyota or even Nissan and rest assured the profits go to Japan. And also, the domestics lose that potential profit. So you are effectively strengthening the foreign companies while weakening our domestic US companies. Period.
…and don’t give that asian superiority crap. IF there is any, it is not even measurable. It all boils down to the “me too” syndrome. It is now in vogue to bash ANTHING American- our corporations, Prwesident, etc etc. Truly a pathetic and sad state of affairs. It is sick out there and getting sicker. Happy 4th of July fellow AMERICANS.
Skooter– You want to blame AMERICANS because they choose what THEY consider value over what YOU think they should buy? Profits going to Japan? GREAT!They deserve to make a buck on their products if they sell them to willing buyers. Then again…. The transplant dealerships here..do THEY make a profit? YES! The parts suppliers, transport companies, salesmen, technicians, dealership personel-do THEY make money with the sales of Japanese-branded nameplates? Of course they do. Do cities and other government entities get tax money from the operations of these transplant dealerships? YES. Face it–WE DIDNT WANT THE DOMESTIC CARS–to which the factories said–”BFD–We make $$ with out trucks and SUVs anyway.” And now that we dont want their trucks and SUVs..they are LEFT OUT IN THE COLD VIA their OWN bad management and planning. Right now–as we speak…the transplants are now the domestic car industry.
“and don’t give that asian superiority crap.”
Where exactly is the 2.8’s response to the Prius, the Versa, the Fit and the Yaris? Oh, right, they were too busy making big bucks on trucks to bother building world class fuel efficient cars.
Dynamic88- just get the Malibu
John Horner- to be fair they are awful nice trucks.
Jaje that is the very argument I have been running through my mind as well. I tend to fall in with buying the car that keeps the maximum number of American workers getting a paycheck.
Your argument for transplants makes good sense over a Mexican Ford or a Canadian Chrysler.
I guess Detroit will have to fail COMPLETELY for them to change their way – by they I mean the unions and the top level folks making millions.
If that isn’t enough, the import guys more often build what I want to buy.
Skooter – consistently the Toyotas and Hondas around us have lasted MUCH longer than their domestic cousins big and small. YMMV but mine hasn’t.