Car Manufacturer Conservatives Can Support? [Vanity]

Vanity | November 1, 2011 | Me

[WPaCon]

Hi, everybody. Right now, I am beginning to consider buying a new car. As with all purchases, I try to support only companies that conservatives can support in good conscience. I've been doing some research lately, but not all information is easy to come by concerning car manufacturers. Since buying a car is a major purchasing decision that requires giving a large amount of money to a company, I've decided to also consult the experts: freepers. So what car companies should a conservative have the least trouble supporting based on things such as employing union labor, corporate donations, locations of production facilities, corporate pandering to the homosexual lobby, accepting government bailouts, etc.?

[WorkingClassFilth]

Never seen that. Been driving them for decades. Oh, had a rusted out gas tank twice and a starter.

[WPaCon]

Yes I have, but it wasn’t made lately.

I’m concerned about their past support for the gay agenda, though. I’m doing more research on it, but it appears that they only dropped their support for economic reasons and plan on supporting the gay agenda again.

When I first started thinking about a new car, I thought I would eliminate foreign cars. Then I crossed off bailed out companies. Finally, Ford was eliminated for their support of the homosexual agenda. Since that left me with zero major car companies, it was back to square one again.

Now I’m looking for companies with the least reasons not to buy.

[Rudder]

I merely stated that Honda builds cars in the USA, and illustrated my point with specific processes that are done here.

I don't give a flying crap about the Japanese viewpoint.

[Ron C.]

Take a look at the Ford Flex - goes for about 29K for new ones, but there are a few out there that are a year old or less that I would recommend. They have one of the highest user/purchaser ratings - people that have them like them.

A conservative friend of mine owns a Ford dealership, and I've bought five crown vics from him... most trouble free autos I've owned. I used to say that FORD stood for 'Fix Or Repair Daily' - he proved that moniker belonged to all the faulty chevy's that I owned.

[truthguy]

Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, I can see this is gonna require therapy.

Sorry I don’t like GM, they should gone through a normal bankruptcy like Ford did and come out leaner and meaner.

Sorry but Ford didn't go through a normal bankruptcy. It didn't go bankrupt at all. The reason for this is that they were sitting on a big pile of cash from their recent sale of Mazda. They had a bigger cushion than GM, who had just made huge investments in new technology. So kudos to Ford for being lucky. But Ford lost huge amounts of money in the same time that GM did, it's just that they had more proportionally in the bank. And Ford certainly didn't have any better product. Their sales went down just as much as GM on a percentage basis. In fact all the auto manufacturers lost money and big money in this time period. If the meltdown of 2007-9 had happened 10 years earlier, it would have been Ford going to the government for help and GM not doing so. It was a matter of timing and luck. For the detail analysis of this I suggest you read Bob Lutz's Book, "Car Guys vs Bean Counters, the battle for the Soul of American Business". He gives a detail account of what occurred in the turbulent time.

GM would much have preferred a standard Chapter 11 but with the Obama administration in power it was not to be. The deal cut by the Obama people was to save the UAW and they didn't care how bad they stiffed the bond holders. It was Obama's people and not the GM people who were calling the shots. You see GM was right in the middle of a major restructuring program that would have rid themselves of Hummer, Pontaic, and Saab and would have streamlined the company when the vicious recession hit. If they could have started a little earlier, they could have made it without government assistance. Rick Waggoner, the CEO that the Obama people forced out was making all the right decisions about turning the company around but they just didn't have the timing required. It was a perfect storm that stuck GM and one in which hit Chrysler just as hard but their story is a little more complicated.

[Tupelo]

El wrongo!
Hondas built in Marysville, Ohio have a higher percentage American sourced parts than Ford. Same for Toyota. Something like 83% for Toyota and 87% for Honda. This was reported on Free Republic just a couple of months ago. Neither are just assembled here both are manufactured here including the engines. Look it up.

[Azzurri]

FORD. Buy from an American company. Sure, Toyota and Honda have non-union assemblers in the USA...but their factory workers in Japan belong to a union much like the UAW. Ford also has excellent cars right now, much improved in the last 5 years or so.

[dennisw]

Lot of posters here are living in the clouds. An advanced country that does not manufacture in vital sectors such as automobiles and steel is dead or dying. You just can’t have foreigners making these things for you if you want to have a first class economy and first class standard of living

Lot of Freepers knows as much about manufacturing as Obama and his Marxist buddies

[zkbeta51]

The BMW X3/X5/X6 are all built in Greer, SC. During the factory tour the tour guide said a lot of the parts were manufactured in the area too.

[truthguy]

Lot of posters here are living in the clouds. An advanced country that does not manufacture in vital sectors such as automobiles and steel is dead or dying. You just can’t have foreigners making these things for you if you want to have a first class economy and first class standard of living

Yes, I could not have said it better myself. 100% agreement, but I'm amazed at how this truth seems to evade so many. The guy who is determined to not buy American baffles me. He's so stupid, it's surreal. Can't he see the damage he's going? I guess in his case, he cannot. If foreign manufacturers really were making better cars (and for a while they were), then I could see his thinking. But that's no longer the case and hasn't been for well over 10 years. It's like I said earlier, some would cut off their nose to spite their face (face-spelled correctly this time).

[cayuga]

But for the greater good, we need to put up with them, at least for the time being.

Is that concept Socialist/Fascist/Communist/Progressive...or what? I can't keep up with all of it.

[beancounter13]

I had the privilege of touring the Tundra Plant in San Antonio a couple of years back. What a ride!

Not only is the steel stamped there, even the suppliers are located on site —saves shipping costs. The entire thing is set up as a zero-waste facility.

When my Silverado HD finally gets retired, I will be buying a Tundra.

[beancounter13]

And the profits go to Japan.

Here's a tip: the profits go to the shareholders. Want some? Then buy the stock --it's offered on the NYSE....

[truthguy]

When my Silverado HD finally gets retired, I will be buying a Tundra.

You are the type Bob Lutz warned about in his great book, "Car Guys vs Bean Counters, the battle for the soul of American Business".

The Bean Counters were instrumental in helping to nearly destroy the American Car Companies. And then they run off and buy Japanese. And BTW, the F-150 and Silverado (and Dodge RAM as well) are all superior to the Tundra. Just thought you would like to know. Lutz covers it in his book. Congratulations on doing your part to destroy the American Economy. There's a saying that what goes around, comes around. Here's hoping something comes around on you.

[dennisw]

The shareholders are Japanese so the profits go to Japan. Get back to me on that if you can present solid info to the contrary.

HQ is in Tokyo dude. Use your head. That’s where the profits go

[beancounter13]

The Bean Counters were instrumental in helping to nearly destroy the American Car Companies. And then they run off and buy Japanese.

Not true. I was a staunch defender of GM for years. Even bought my Buick before Buick became 'cool'. Everyone thought they were for old men to drive.

I became a Toyota fan when I toured the Tundra plant and realized that so-called 'American' cars are made by blue-state lefties while so-called 'Foreign' cars are made by red-state righties.

It sort of made me realize that I need to support those people who actually think like me and vote like me.

As for the 'manufacturing knowledge': Do you really believe we are not smart enough to reverse-engineer a Tundra if we ever had to? If the USSR and China can to that to our products, we can certainly do it to others.

[dennisw]

Not only is the steel stamped there, even the suppliers are located on site —saves shipping costs. The entire thing is set up as a zero-waste facility.

Did you catch the names of the suppliers? How many are Japanese who set up shop there? How many are American owned?

[beancounter13]

Toyota Motor Corp: NYSE: TM

Market Cap: $116.92B

If you can afford it, you can buy the whole company and relocate it to your lovely neighborhood!

It’s what happens all the time. How else was Fiat allowed to buy Chrysler?

[Gator113]

I would have enjoyed such a tour !

This is my second new Tundra. I bought a 2007 and while we loved it, I wanted even more room in the backseat and the 2010 had far more whistles and bells.

I tow a heavy all wood interior Airstream, a 28’ boat and occasionally, I load my tractor onto a trailer and take it out to my sons place. My Tundra doesn’t even know when it’s towing... I love it, love it, love it.

You end up with a truck, it feels like a luxury car inside and it handles like a sports car. Mine has almost 400hp and it screams. LOL

You will love it....

[Lazlo in PA]

I make people driving E’s park across the street when they visit. I don’t want the neighbors to think I am hanging with a low brow sort of crowd. LOL.

BTW, I would drive that E 4 Matic because it is a wagon with the big engine. Someone defiantly had trouble putting that one in the garage without using the fenders as guides.