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Buy American....

Whatever happened to just buying a good quality product at a reasonable price regardless of where it is made?

Do you really think that if the same product were made in the U.S., it can be made with the same quality and price as from other countries?

Ultimately, people speak with their wallets/purses. If it means that much to Americans to buy American, companies who manufacture products in other countries and then ship them to the U.S. would have gone out of business by now because no Americans would be buying those products. Last time I checked, there are many businesses who manufacture items from outside the U.S. and ship them to the U.S. and those businesses appear to be doing rather well.
 
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Really? Are you serious?

I think he is.

Please remember, he is in the UK. Ford has an impeccable reputation for quality and reliability "across the pond".

Any self-respecting fan of Top Gear (the real Top Gear, not the History Channel twaddle they're trying to shove down our throats in the US now) can tell you that Jeremy Clarkson nearly stains his pants every time a new Ford Focus is tossed at them for testing.

Which makes it all the more amazing that Ford took so long to pull its North American head out of its ass. Unlike GM, who did everything in their power to destroy the Opel name in the European Market, Ford has performed admirably well "over there".

And remember...Volkswagen is the undisputed king of the hill in the EU, whereas in the US market they're seen as an expensive to maintain and poorly built car. So what happens in NA is not necessarily what is happening in the EU.
 
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In case you are serious, I'll give you a great example of HOW Ford got into trouble.
Sorry, Fords budsiness model is very different here ;)

All of the Big 3 US automakers had several problems.

The average MPG of a vehicle sold had to be below a certain MPG that the government set. That means for every so many trucks that they sold, they had to sell so many small cars.
Not make the trucks AND cars more efficient?
To sell that many cars, the sale price had to be below a certain point.
US consumers like big cars (during the boom the "SUV" thing came here, ugh)
This made cars unprofitable, and they couldn't renegotiate their labor costs. Those kept going higher, even though the vehicles themselves were unprofitable.
As labor prices kept climbing, the light vehicles became more and more unprofitable.
The typical wage rise w/out productivity thing :mad:
All of the profit for the big 3 US automakers was coming from truck sales.

During the fuel crisis (granted a small crisis) after Katrina, Truck sales plummeted. Leaving the only vehicles ford was selling regularly being the light cars (which as you will recall were extremely unprofitable).

The more each of the Big 3 sold, the further in the red they went.
Ouch :/
Truck sales still haven't recovered.
You mean SUVs?
The financial crisis, AND GM and Chrysler going into bankruptcy allowed each automaker to renegotiate their labor terms with the Unions.

This (among other things) allowed the manufacturers to start earning a profit on light cars.
Stupid unions, dont understand basic economics (same here, it drives me mad )
Basically, they put ALL of their eggs in one basket, and eventually that basket burst.
Trucks you mean?

Disclaimer: There are other things that played a part, but this is a big one.
NP, makes plenty of sense
 
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And now Chevy will try to force down the collective throats of the US Car Market a $41,000 Volt which costs them $40,000 to build, and isn't really any more environmentally friendly than a (cheaper to purchase) gas powered car. That's a sustainable model. Oh yeah, they have taxpayer money to keep them afloat, so they'll keep selling it as long as the Government makes them.

Edited for content. :D
 
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I actually have to really agree with the car issue..

I hate arguing with people over cars..

I know so many people who absolutely refuse to buy toyota or nissan.. or any other of a number of great cars.

Why? they are "Foreign" they don't care that the cars aren't actually made in America :/

The logic they use to justify it is astounding.. I didn't even really try to keep up with it because, the more questions I asked the less sense it made x.x

Not trying to start a "domestic vs import" war here.. but, I do think that you should be open minded when buying any particular product.

I think one should purchase the best quality product he or she can afford and if that means buying foreign made products, so be it. I hate to see America falter because I know just how great we can be and if we want to, we can not only build widgets better, we can do it cheaper.

Palm Pilots were mostly made in Salt Lake City, Utah. We had some models, for a short period of time, made in at least two foreign countries. They were more costly and the quality sucked. We were better, faster, and we produced a higher quality product. We can do it if we want to.

That said, I once worked for a photographic dealer (established in 1890) and I did not buy American cameras. I loved Hasselblad (Sweden) and Leica Cameras (Germany). No better cameras in the world.

That said, I also used View Cameras with Eastman Kodak Lenses and they were some of the best and most amazing optics ever made, and they were manufactured by EKC in Rochester, New Youk.

I still prefer Harley Davidson Motorcycles to Japanese bikes.

Bob Maxey
 
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And now Chevy will be selling the $41,000 Volt which costs them $40,000 to built. That's a sustainable model. Oh yeah, they have taxpayer money to keep them afloat.

And now Chevy will try to force down the collective throats of the US Car Market a $41,000 Volt which costs them $40,000 to build, and isn't really any more environmentally friendly than a (cheaper to purchase) gas powered car. That's a sustainable model. Oh yeah, they have taxpayer money to keep them afloat, so they'll keep selling it as long as the Government makes them.


That's no different then the light bulb change over we were forced to do. The new ones are 4-5 times more expensive, last no longer then the old, take longer to get bright and need a hazmat crew to clean up in case they break because of the mercury content.

Environmentalism is just a way to redistribute wealth.
 
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I read this awhile back. It makes one think...

'.....and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA),

and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in AMERICA.

As I type this comment on my American brand, made in China, Apple Macbook Pro. The story of Joe Smith is just like my own situation, I could not find a good paying job in the UK. But I found good employment in China straight away.... hence... 'An Englishman in the People's Republic'.

China-budget.gif


130px-Walmartchinaflag.png
 
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A very interesting thread for me.

First of all, to the individual saying Ford doesn't make F-150's in the states anymore and imports them all.... I live just a couple of miles up the road from the Ford Claycomo plant in the Kansas City area which is one of the places previously mentioned that F-150's are made. Trust me, they are making them and by the acre!

Now, with that out of the way, we also have a GM plant just across the river in Kansas. Never once while owning my current Honda nor my past Nissan has anyone said anything in this area to me about owning an import. Not once. Oddly, the only time anyone's said anything was at a filling station north of Ouray, CO where they don't seem to make cars at all.

Best part yet? I drive a Honda Element. They're made (or were now) in Ohio. Even the ones being sold in JAPAN! were made right here in the states in Ohio. :p

An even better story though concerns a guy that came into an outdoor shop in Kansas City I used to work in. He was an autoworker from the GM plant I just mentioned. The very first thing that came out of his mouth when he walked in was that he "Wanted a sleeping bag. One made in America, not that cheap Chinese stuff."

Ok, if you know anything about the outdoor industry, you know most outdoor companies selling in the US manufacturer in one of three plants in... you guessed it, China. Quality control at these plants is VERY good. But he just didn't want to hear any of it. Not to worry though, I had him covered!

So, I show him our fine American made sleeping bags. Made by a company called Western Mountaineering, they're one of the finest sleeping bag manufacturers out there right now. Now I was talking his language! "How much?"

I showed him the price range. Hmmm, guess what? He was shocked and horrified. How could a sleeping bag cost so much?!? I pointed outside to his Jeep and said, "Because you're paying for American labor who wants to live by the same standards you do with the same goods you buy. They want a car, a home, a tv and who knows what else."

So, do you think he bought the sleeping bag? Nope, he stomped out saying this was outrageous. He was off to Wal-Mart! Um, yeah, good luck with that one buddy.

The double standard is amazing really. Automotive, they want you to buy American. Anything else, they seem to shirk away from.
 
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I've actually worked in Automotive manufacturing (as an IT Tech). I've got to say this... nothing sold in the US is made in America.

We are really discussing Assembled in America. Even those assembled in the US have parts from all over the world. The frame and Engine are likely made near the plant, and possibly the seats, but beyond that most everything is made outside the US and shipped to the plant for installation into the vehicle.

So, talking about vehicles made in the US is utterly ridiculous.
 
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Whatever happened to just buying a good quality product at a reasonable price regardless of where it is made?

Do you really think that if the same product were made in the U.S., it can be made with the same quality and price as from other countries?

Ultimately, people speak with their wallets/purses. If it means that much to Americans to buy American, companies who manufacture products in other countries and then ship them to the U.S. would have gone out of business by now because no Americans would be buying those products. Last time I checked, there are many businesses who manufacture items from outside the U.S. and ship them to the U.S. and those businesses appear to be doing rather well.

I think you are missing the point of this thread (or maybe I am). The bottom line, I think, is not quality issues, but rather that our money and our jobs are leaving the country. This happens more and more with each passing year, which is no good. Sure, people think with their wallets, but don;t realize that the pennies they save may be putting themselves, their friends, and their family out of jobs.
 
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That's no different then the light bulb change over we were forced to do. The new ones are 4-5 times more expensive, last no longer then the old, take longer to get bright and need a hazmat crew to clean up in case they break because of the mercury content.

Environmentalism is just a way to redistribute wealth.

What kinds of bulbs are you speaking of? If it is the ones I think, ours use 1/10 the power, burn just as bright instantly, and last about five times as long as a regular bulb. They are quite a bit more expensive (dollars for a single bulb versus cents). I am referring, of course, to the flurescent bulbs. To be quite honest I have been very happy with them. It is true that the mercury isn't the best though, however they don't break nearly as easily as a standard light bulb.
 
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That's no different then the light bulb change over we were forced to do. The new ones are 4-5 times more expensive, last no longer then the old, take longer to get bright and need a hazmat crew to clean up in case they break because of the mercury content.

Environmentalism is just a way to redistribute wealth.
I dont know what bulbs you are using. I put one in my porch light. The think lasted like 3 to 4 years and left on all day and night. The old style bulb I was lucky for it to last 3 months tops. Maybe get your fact straight and not just lash out in hate because the gov forced you to switch your bulb. When will you post the gov violated your right to choose the bulb you want?:rolleyes:

one thing you got right is the clean up. everything else about the new bulb far surpasses the old type bulb.
 
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