Posted on 12/14/2007 9:53:02 AM PST by Incorrigible
 Honda may be a Japanese brand, but it makes cars in Ohio, where it employs more than 15,000 workers, including Lori Dennis. She believes her job in Marysville is as American as those who work for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. (Photo by Thomas Ondrey) |
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Buy American doesn't mean what it once did. Not in the auto industry.
Honda's best sellers come from plants in Ohio while Ford imports cars from Mexico. Toyota opened a plant in Texas this year while Chrysler brought in cars from Europe.
And vehicles assembled in the United States are made with a growing number of foreign parts.
"Ten years ago, it was a much more regional business," said Dave Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.
Parts suppliers once clustered around U.S. plants making General Motors, Ford and Chrysler vehicles. Now, Detroit's Big Three comb the globe for high-quality parts at the cheapest price.
For buyers, these changes have blurred the emotional, decades-old conflict between domestic and foreign cars.
Which is which these days? How can a Honda made in America, by Americans, be foreign? How can a Chevrolet with a large share of foreign parts be American? The questions will only grow more difficult as automakers grow more global. And as more young people, lacking the us-versus-them allegiance, become car buyers.
The trend seems unlikely to retreat.
The Big Three still have more domestic content — defined as made in the United States or Canada — on average than their foreign-owned competitors. But the gap has closed considerably since Honda quietly opened the first Japanese vehicle plant in the United States in Marysville, Ohio, some 25 years ago.
Honda and Toyota still get a substantial volume of components from Japan, although those numbers are shrinking. Meanwhile, imports from Mexico, largely to the Big Three, are rising.
Chinese imports also are increasing, but those generally go to parts stores and repair shops. That's starting to change as General Motors and others use those parts in new cars and trucks.
Two-thirds of the value of a car lay in parts produced by independent suppliers, said Jim Rubenstein, a Miami University professor who has co-authored a soon-to-be-released book called "Who Really Made Your Car?"
"In other words, there really isn't that much Toyota or that much Ford in your car," he said.
That percentage has increased over the years as producers have looked to outsource as much production as possible to lower costs.
The trend has both helped and hurt domestic auto production.
Visteon, Ford's former parts division, and Delphi, GM's former parts division, have both found new work making parts for Honda, Toyota and Nissan plants in the United States. But much of the work those companies used to do for Ford and GM has gone overseas.
For all of the Asian-Pacific countries combined, imports of auto parts to the United States totaled $16.1 billion in the first half of 2007, up 4.2 percent over the same period last year. Mexico's jumped 6.4 percent to $14.4 billion.
Still, groups such as the United Auto Workers would like to see Americans avoid cars from those companies. It releases a list each year of vehicles it recommends from union-staffed plants in Canada and Mexico. That list includes two Toyotas built at a GM/Toyota joint venture in California and eliminates imported Ford, GM and Chrysler vehicles.
Toyota countered in 2005 and last year with a series of commercials that advertised its investments in U.S. plants, research centers and sales offices.
For all but the staunchest of "Buy American" advocates, the level of foreign-made parts in a vehicle is largely unimportant. Most Americans don't care about domestic content or whether a car was assembled at a union plant or a nonunion plant, said Rubenstein, the Miami University professor.
They are partial to certain brands, however. The most loyal American buyers drive Ford and Chevrolet pickups, Rubenstein said, but when it comes to cars, the Japanese brands have the edge.
That said, the buying habits of American consumers do transcend their own personal enjoyment.
While the Japanese do more than just make cars in the United States, evidenced by the 1,000 engineers working for Honda of America near Marysville, a purchase from one of the Big Three means that all the profits go to an American company. It also lends support to a greater number of U.S. workers producing parts.
The Level Field Institute, an organization formed by former UAW members, publishes reports on employment levels by foreign-owned automakers. The institute encourages buyers to consider the domestic content even when deciding between a Honda and a Volkswagen.
Honda makes cars in Ohio and Alabama out of parts produced in this country. VW imports all of its cars.
"Buying a Honda supports nearly 2.4 more U.S. jobs per car than a VW," the institute says on its Web site.
Rubenstein would take the argument further.
"Buying a car made by Ford, GM or Chrysler, on balance, is putting more money into the American economy than buying a Toyota or Honda," Rubenstein said.
(Peter Krouse and Robert Schoenberger are reporters for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. They can be contacted at pkrouse(at)plaind.com and rschoenb(at)plaind.com.)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
And don't forget about making reliable cars that people want to buy!
That's why I look for the Union label - if it has it I know it cost too much and will probably not be reliable. Kinda like public education!
When did we annex Canada? Did I miss the victory parade as we hauled the captured Candian army through the streets of Washington? Will VC day be a new federal holiday?
bttt
American Cars are much better than you might WANT to believe.
They all look the same.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I don't buy things to provide jobs for others.
I buy things because I need them.
If those things turn out to be bad investments; I dump them and become wary of those brands for future purchases.
After 38 cars in 35 years, I will never buy another Ford, Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler, GM, Subaru or Toyota product.
The profits sail across the seas to Japan and Korea.
It may be much more black and white than the article suggests.
This has been happening for quite a while. I had a 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that was built in Normal, IL, side-by-side with “American” Eagle Talons and Plymouth Lasers, as a joint venture between Mitsubishi and Chrysler (Diamond-Star Motors). But I couldn’t have parked that car in an “American car only” parking lot at a union hall, even though it was 99% identical to a “domestic” Eagle Talon TSi AWD.
My current vehicle’s a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup, as “American” as you can get...assembled in Mexico City from 77% “domestic” parts. It’s really not cut and dried anymore.
}:-)4
And the corporate profits go where? I agree with post 5.
exactly!
I was irritated to see a “Made In China” sticker on the key fob remote for my 08 GMC Acadia. The domestic content is high compared to others, though. Built in Lansing, Delta Township. Brand new plant.
As much as I slam free trade...some of the stuff in here was inaccurate
Buying from Big Three US automakers doesnt make much difference if they are making the cars in other countries...than a Japanese automaker making cars here.
Actually, the Japanes automakers are hiring more Americans than the US automakers.
Investment in America, when foregin companies hire Americans, is always a good idea...better than US companies refusing to hire Americans and ship jobs overseas
Also telling is how poorly managed US automakers are....they still cant make money even after dumping Americans for foreigners...while the Japanese are hiring Americans and beating out the US automakers.
The biggest problem w US automakers is poor management. Not labor, not unions, not anything....its poor management.
How can an automaker lose money with all the NAFTA, WTO, MFN w Commie China, etc
I’m totally in agreement except for the Toyota. Worst experience has been Ford. Really left me with the tin foil after-market scam theory.
That leaves Nissan, Honda, the Korean makes (several owned by companies on your "never buy" list) and the European makes (again, several owned by companies on your "never buy" list).
So, what will you buy?
I would LIKE to buy American, but I can’t afford to.
For a while I bought VW, because it was cheap, reliable transportation. One of my best cars was a diesel Rabbit, and a VW bus for the whole family.
Then VW went sour, and I started buying Toyota and more recently, Subaru, because I need 4-wheel drive. And we currently have a Honda.
Many Japanese cars give as much employment these days as Detroit cars, and I don’t see why I should be supporting the UAW, which would merely take my money to stuff their own pockets and put another clinton in the White House.
Also, I’d just as soon give my money to Japan as Mexico.
It’s too bad, because I believe it’s important to keep manufacturing in this country for many reasons, including national defense. But you can’t do it through big unions. They kill whatever they touch.
Think about that for a minute. Why shouldn't American auto makers move all their plants to China? All the profits would come back here, right?
Buying American means purchasing a ‘69 GTO and installing a blower on it.
Oops. shouldn't have said that. Shhhhh.
And for that matter - not to hijack this thread or anything - but when did Mexico annex the US?
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