Great editorials on "buying American"

He is totally backwards about his theory. I believe that if it is built in America it is American. The G8 is going to be foreign, the Fusion is already foreign. The past “American” auto makers GM, Ford, Chrysler are more foreign than Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes Benz. The Camry, Tacoma, Tundra, Corolla, Altima, and the Benz Suv are all made in America. I am sure there are more foreign brand companies that are made in the USA. GM, Ford, Chrysler have all backstabbed the blue collar worker for a greater upper management profit. They aren’t smart enough to realize that true Americans are buying more Toyota’s, etc. due to the fact that they are made here and not in Australia, Mexico, or Canada.

It is next to imposible to really tell if a car is really made in America or anywhere else. Most cars sold in the US are assembled here but most of the parts made somewhere else. For instance (hypothetical), a Toyota Tundra is designed by Japanese and American Engineers, the motor is mostly made in Japan, the tires are most likely from Brasilian rubber, the seats and many of the plastic components are made in an American factory in an abandoned underground mine factory in St. Louis, MO, the shocks are Korean, the drive train is made in Mexico, and many of the body panels are made in Korea. So what do you call this car? It is simply called Japanese because the Toyota brand is Japanese. Otherwise, I’d really say that it is a Japanese collaboration with the best of the rest of the world market to produce the best cars at the best price/performance ratio.

Gemphoto says it all assembled not made in America, go to a toyota plant and unload the crates coming in from japan and then assemble the car. No true pension, half ass insurance, Workers without a real say in their own destiny. Made in foreign country and assembled in America that is how it is.

Well…
just get an economist and bring in the notion of value added.
If 50.1% of it or more is created in the US is American, otherwise it may be one third american, one fourth, two fifths, but as long as they are assembled in the USA they are more American than 100% imports and that counts for something.

The test to me is the answer to this question in nearly all cases:

“where do the profits go?”. Sure, jobs for American assembled Hondas, Toyotas or Nissans are here, but the money for share holders and business development go to Japan through their American subsidiaries. Which is more American, profits, or jobs? I leave the answer to your own analysis and opinion.

In response to Peter, I would say that Toyota is a publicly traded company that has shareholders all over the worls.
Certainly (probably) most of them are in Japan, but they may very well be all over the world and many owned by Americans.
Your test may no be definitive in many cases…

According to a recent Ward’s report, these are the top %’s of each manufacturer’s cars built in the U.S.:

Ford – 93%
General Motors – 79%
Daimler-Chrysler – 77%
Nissan – 76
Honda – 57%
Toyota – 56%

So, JB, your statement is not true at all:
“GM, Ford, Chrysler are more foreign than Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes Benz”

I guess I like to over simplfy…I like to follow the money trail to see which country it leads to. “Made in America” means nothing anymore (global economy). It’s which country ends up with the profits that benefits the most.

Does it really matter? Shouldn’t one buy the best product? My wife worked for Honda and was treated much better than many people that work for “American” companies. Her benefits where great and her pay was good.
That being said I would love to see people get over the myth that Japanese cars are better made than US cars. Ford’s Fusion beat the Toyota Camry in reliability. Ford’s Freestyle and Five Hundred /Taurus, Taurus-X have also gotten very good marks in safety and quality. I haven’t seen a GM that I really like except the Corvette in a long time.
It pains me since I have been a Chevy fan for most of my life but I think Ford is has some of the best cars on the market. My new car? It is a Mazda3. If Ford had offered the new Focus here I would have bought it. My next car is probably going to be a Freestyle.

Some basics of corporate finance…

Be careful when you throw the term “profits” around. I’m sure what most of you mean is “revenue”. Profit (”net income”) is the difference between all the revenue and expenses during a given period. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are earning no “profits” at all right now. And even if they were, profits do NOT automatically end up in the hands of owners, stockholders, employees, etc. Most profits usually remain in the company’s assets in one form or another. Transfers to owners and stockholders in the form of dividends or equity are a rare occurrence, typically annually or quarterly. A lot of modern companies don’t pay any dividends at all, and the profits are automatically re-invested back into the company.

But there are a lot (read: tens of millions) of people receiving some type of benefit from all the REVENUE generated, such as suppliers, partners, employees, owners/stockholders, bondholders, etc. These individuals are likely ALL OVER THE WORLD.

As Manolo stated, the actual benefits generated by these companies can be pinpointed in analyzed “value added” throughout the entire supply chain. Value can be added from the start (purchase of raw materials) all the way to the end (dealer sales and service). Everyone in the entire supply chain benefits, including suppliers, owners/stockholders, executives, employees, directors, bondholders and other liability holders, tax collectors, direct customers (dealers and distributors), partners, end customers, and even complementary businesses such as aftermarket tire manufacturers, parts suppliers, mechanics, gas stations, parts stores, tire stores, and even towing services.

If you’re trying to pigeonhole all of these entities that benefit from each car companies to a particular country, continent, or region, don’t bother. You’re wasting your time. The vast majority of entities related to the automotive industry benefit from ALL manufacturers, everywhere. To say that Americans benefit more from the sales of Fords and Pontiacs versus Nissans and BMW’s is absurd. The global economy is too connected to trace the benefits from a single economic entity to a single source. It’s just not that simple anymore.

In other words, there’s no such thing as “Buying American”. To even entertain the idea is futile and displays economic ignorance.

And in case you’re wondering, I’m 12 credits from finishing my MBA and should have it by the fall. Yes, I DO know what I’m talking about.

maitreg…I’m completely on board with what your saying except the very last part…my case is, I WAS NOT wondering, and I hope you don’t get hurt “by the fall” and please do go ahead and get over your bad self…

Help me out here, people.
If the G8 is built by Holden in Australia and then sent to the U.S., how can it be profitable for G.M. unless the Australian workers are paid peanuts for their jobs.
As far as I’m concerned, if the car is built/assembled in the U.S. with pay going to Americans workers, it’s an American automobile.
A car that is built in Australia and then shipped over the Pacific Ocean to the U.S. is NOT an American car.

The ratios of built in USA or overseas changes model to model. Folks just need to buy what they are comfortable with. Products that are being built in this country are as good as any of the overeseas built vehicles. Wages are the deciding factor and wages are lower out of this county. Be glad if you don’t have to make a living producing automobiles in the US. But your jobs is next. It will happen.

A). Buy the car you like.
B). If you buy from a dealer in the USA, you’re buying “American”.
C). Price, value, reliability, retained asset level, dealer integrity – these are the factors that go toward model selection – Oh yeah, and fun to drive!

The Toyota Tundra is built in America – that includes the engine, transmission and the vehicle itself. It is the only full-sized truck that can claim that. Are you saying an F-150 assembled in Mexico sends 100% of the profits to the US? I don’t think so.
Those who say, “Buy American or Don’t Buy At All!” should look around and wake up. Is there a single TV, DVD player or other electronic device made in the US anymore?
It’s a global economy and “foreign” manufacturers are making more and more cars in the US which is making more an more jobs. Any way you look at it, that can’t be a bad thing.
If “the big three” don’t like it, they should take a few notes from Honda and Toyota. Make every vehicle to last, period. Continuous improvement, not cutting corners and pensions for your CEO’s.
Don’t say the employees are mistreated or maligned in any way. They are an integral part of the process and LOVE their jobs. They aren’t union, but they don’t mind. Toyota and Honda take extraordinarily good car of their workers. Don’t assume that just because they are not union they are miserable. Notice which company is in better financial shape, GM, Ford or Toyota? Which one is non-union….

to say the word, “buy american “, would mean to go back to the stone ages. we don;t manufacture anything of usefulness here anymore. computers, tv’s, sterio’s, radois, cameras, cell phone, appliances. even most of our food. if it weren’t for the foreign businesses here in this country we would be put back into the 19th century again. europe and asia float all our debts, without that, we could not charge anything, or get a mortgage, or susidize our vacations and health care.or even get a home eqity loan. it is a global economy, get used to it. it’s one thing to beat our chests, and moan about how well we are doing, but look around you, next time you go shopping. what do you see, a lot of old people working, not for fun, but because they have to. while our large corporations haul in the profits , to give to our ceo’s. look at walmart, they fly the flag in their parking lots, but 98 % of their goods are from third world countries. and pay their workers low wages with no benefits.

My ‘96 Toyota Tacoma 4×4, I purchased new, and now with 295,000 miles, was built in Fremont, CA. So is my 2007 Corolla. I was skeptical about American built Japanese cars because of my past experience with American cars (not reliable compared to Toyota). But what I found out was that it doesn’t matter where the Toyota is built. What matters is who designed it and who manages the production plants. In this case, Toyota designs them, and they manage the American assembly plants. Good enough for me. It’s going to be a very long time before I listen to any more American coporate baloney about how well built their vehicles are. Compared to Toyota, they’re a far cry from being competitive in reliability or resale. As American car companies are laying off tens of thousands of people, Toyota is building more plants, employing more Americans, and is about to overtake GM as the #1 car maker in the world. The best deserve it. The worst deserve what they get too.

For me, if it’s american ingenuity, american know-how, then it should be considered a car made in America.
It’s a shame to see to american designs being build overseas or elsewhere, but this is the price we pay for runaway costs to U.S. Corporations, and to the american employees who have to pay more for their kids education then they do for a home. it’s a shame that the taxes on their homes are more than the cost of most homes overseas. It is a shame that health insurance for a family of four is more than the rent in luxury apartment building. It’s all coming apart at the seams.

I have a 1981 Toyota Celica with 250,000 miles on it and a 1993 Buick Regal with 206,000 on it. Both cars are reliable, have not had any major mechanical problems, and are still running really well. To me any new car isn’t worth buying if you aren’t going to keep it a long time. Depreciation is one of the biggest costs of owning a relatively new car. When I do replace these vehicles, I would be inclined to buy a vehicle that has minimimal parts made in China. Of all the things I’ve bought over the last 5 years, I’ve found that if it is made in China it either doesn’t work as it is supposed to or it doesn’t last very long. It seems that many things are made in China but few of them are made to work. It is a variation of the old Subaru ad “inexpensive and built to stay that way” – things made in China are made cheap and work that way (i.e., not very well or very long).

Why do we gnash our teeth over this issue over and over…all these companies are multi-national corporations…they don’t give a lick about where their cars are built only the cost vs. quality of product…if they can get it built better and cheaper in madagascar, then they’ll do it…stop wrapping yourselves in the flag…do what the car companies do…get the best product for the best price PERIOD!

There was a study that was released.

Basically you need to buy 4 Foreign Cars built in the USA to give back what one American car built in Mexico.

The real issues come from high paying engineering jobs and technical jobs.

Basically when buying American you support American in more ways that you think.

These adverts from Toyota that say they create American jobs are false because the higher paying engineering and design jobs are lost to foreign workers and designers.

Basically turning the USA into China or Mexico and making our workers low skilled.

Car makers and big industry are not the only ones in need of your hard earned dollars. With imports taking more and more shelf space in even local gift shops and galleries, it’s been a tough few years for American artisans. Keeping money flowing through the American economy begins with supporting small businesses and buying items from American artisans are a great way support American and the arts!