Buy American

self | 7/28/2003 | Martin O'Reilly

[Murtyo]

How many Freepers are riding around in foreign build cars or truck? I often see bumper stickers saying "Proud to be American" tagged to Kias and Toyotas. Isn't it time for patriots to drive American made vechicles?

[Cyber Liberty]

I have a standing agreement with American manufacturers: Make a decent product at a decent cost, and I'll even pay some extra for your stuff.

Make crap, try and gouge me, and to heck with you, there's a nice Korean outfit that makes the widget I was looking for.

[ConservativeDude]

Isn't it time for patriots to drive American made vechicles?

Maybe. Depends if that vehicle fits the needs best of that consumer at that particular time. Of course the same could be said about Japanese or otherwise made vehicles.

[Consort]

Isn't it time for patriots to drive American made vechicles?

Why only patriots?

[.38sw]

I don't know about Kias, but aren't a lot of Toyotas actually manufactured in the US? When I bought my Chrysler Sebring, I thought I was buying an American-made car (this was before Mercedes bought the company). Wrong. My car was assembled in Mexico. Parts are manufactured all over the world, and shipped to the factories where the car is assembled. I understand your point, but it's pretty hard to buy anything that is built in the USA, assembled with parts manufactured in the US.

[Squawk 8888]

It's quite possible that they are driving American-made vehicles. Honda, Toyota and Nissan all have plants in North America.

[Drango]

Isn't it time for patriots to drive American made vechicles?

Why? If I want to support an underworked, overpaid union thug, I'll send a donation to the UAW. Tell then I'll make my purchasing decisions based upon value.

[dawn53]

I tend to agree with Cyber Liberty.

We like Toyotas. Why, because at 150,000 miles they're still running strong, with very little maintenance.

We've owned cars from American companies and they're awful.
So we'll stick with what's worked for us.

Since Toyota has a couple parts plants in the US, I guess, I'm not completely abandoning my country by buying their product, LOL.

[TheCause]

Heck, my Honda Accord has more american parts in it than my Chevy Beretta! Plus buying the Honda, made in Ohio, I did not in anyway contribute to the United Auto Workers Political Action Fund. 'Nuff said.

[babaloo999]

Yes, I thought I was "buying American" when I bought a Ford Ranger some years back.
What was I thinking? To buy a Ranger is bad enough, eh?
I'm sure parts of it were assembled in the US, though.
My current F-150 is allegedly 'Markun', it was assembled at the KC plant.
Lots of Canadian and Mexican parts, or so I've heard.

[drjimmy]

I could have bought one of them furrin' Toy-yodas, but instead I got myself a real 'murican car, a Chevy.



What? That Chevy was made in Canada, while the Toyota was made in Alabama? Oh well.

[RonF]

I own 3 cars:

1) A 1988 Toyota Corolla that I bought used for $450 for my son to drive back and forth to school, athletic practices, etc. It has about 130,000 miles on it, but it starts every day (not insignificant here in Chicago). I've put about $500 into it since I got it for brakes, struts, etc., all stuff that you would expect to have to replace periodically.

2) A 1995 Ford Taurus that we got from my father-in-law's estate. It has about 120,000 miles on it now. It needs new springs in the rear (they're both broken) and I've replaced the transmission once. I've also replaced both rear calipers on it because they seized.

3) A 1994 Plymouth Voyager with about 188,000 miles on it. I've put 2 transmissions into this thing, the air conditioner compressor froze up about 3 years ago (and would cost $1500 to fix), and the engine needs to be replaced (an honest mechanic told me, "Sure, I can fix the valves, but then the compression would go up and you'd need a ring job and then God knows what else once I open up the engine. Just keep putting oil in.") because it smokes like crazy and burns oil.

I've owned 4 foreign cars. The Mazda failed at about 160,000 miles due to my negligence. The first Toyota was still moving when I sold it at 160,000 miles. The second is sitting in my driveway, the engine having finally given out after 240,000 miles, and I can probably be blamed for that, too. The third is the one my son is driving. Of course, I bought manual transmissions in all of them, but I've never had to replace springs or seized calipers, and the air conditioners worked for a lot longer than on my Voyager. Plus all the other crappy little stuff that seems to last on the Toyotas but broke on my domestic cars.

I want to buy domestic cars. The last one I bought new (the Voyager) is domestic. So how come I find that the foreign ones are better quality and more reliable?

[Roughneck]

Although I agree under-worked, over-paid union workers should not get my business and that Japanese cars are a good value, I also believe in supporting my own country to the best of my ability.

JEEP 80% USA, has many styles and types suitable for all tastes. My house? one grand cherokee for carting stuff around, one jeep wrangler x pac for good milage and all-around fun.

I highly recommend the AMERICAN JEEP!

[The Brush]

The money from an American made car goes to the unions that give it to politicans that don't support America.
I've got a Korean SUV with a better warranty than the America companies are offering.

[Alberta's Child]

So how come I find that the foreign ones are better quality and more reliable?

Because they're built here in the U.S.

The domestic ones are built in Canada and Mexico.

Go figure.

[You Dirty Rats]

I own two Toyota Camrys, both built about 100 miles south of me in Georgetown, Kentucky.

All of the auto plants owned in this country in part or in total by US manufacturers are UAW plants. Those that are 100% Japanese are not UAW plants, because the Japanese management is better at labor relations and running auto plants in this country than the US Manufacturers.

If I were to buy, say, a Chevy Lumina, not only would I be buying an absolute piece of garbage, but I would be buying a car made in Canada. Why would I want to do that?

[stboz]

There's another thread running about Chinese garlic imports. My employer sells ag chemicals and fertilizer to American growers. Chinese garlic will deprive us of customers.

What do we retrain to be when tech jobs and ag jobs go to India and China? Pimps? Prostitutes? Child laborers? What?

Dems, Pubbies, please tell me.

[You Dirty Rats]

I hate to have to tell you this, but if the Voyager was a standard wheelbase, it was made in Canada.

[Richard Kimball]

VW Diesel. 49 miles to the gallon means less money to the Saudis.

[RaceBannon]

My sister works for American Honda in Connecticut.

She told me something that floored me 10 years ago.

Only Honda and Suburu are made exclusively in the US.

All other brands of cars, like Chevy, Ford, plymouth, are made here and overseas