Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

7263 messages, Last post on May 27, 2009 at 4:31 AM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Car Buying

With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?

Outline

Messages Page 649 of 727: 1; ...; 646; 647; 648; 649; 650; 651; 652; ...; 727; Prev; Next; Last

#6479 of 7263 Re: You're gonna lose your 401k and tax-deferred contribution for CHANGE, hehe. [imidazol97] by fintail Oct 28, 2008 (10:05 am)
Replying to: imidazol97 (Oct 28, 2008 9:52 am) rushlimbaugh.com The politics thread is that way ---->
#6480 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [cooterbfd] by captain2 Oct 28, 2008 (10:12 am)
Replying to: cooterbfd (Oct 27, 2008 1:57 pm) 2010 Lacrosse will be built HERE, as will any Lucerne replacement I am sure that's the plan with GM and Chrysler teetering on the edge - apparently now trying to get in line for some of that 'freebie' government money http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27399190 that both you and I have contributed over the years - it is difficult for GM to make any claims about anything, including one that would even allow for Buick to continue to exist (in this country) - the subject of this post. Indeed if our erstwhile governemnt is going to push several $billion GMs way, it may be the government that effectively decides whether Buick is worth keeping. The std Lacrosse in China is supplied with a 4 banger - something hard to comprehend (0-60 in 12-15 seconds?) so, of course, the Lacrosse doesn't make it over here - in that form. The question really is - how long do you suppose it will be before even GM realizes that IF it wants to continue losing money selling Buicks that it just might lose less importing them from China - the plants etc. are already in place, and the unlimited cheap labor pool over there won't have UAW affliations. Would also guess that ROC is very protectivewhen somebody like GM wants to come in there and start building cars - by limiting the amount of money that GM is allowed to take out of the country by those monies invested. It may be later than your 2010 date, but my guess is we've seen the last of Buick and possibly even Pontiac, GM will eventually become Chevy only and even that with a much smaller line than they have now, mostly concentrated in trucks and SUVs. Replies to this message: cooterbfd (Oct 28, 2008 1:42 pm) captain2 (Oct 29, 2008 11:27 am) cooterbfd (Oct 29, 2008 4:10 pm) and 2 more...
#6481 of 7263 Re: grbeck [motorcity6] by nvbanker Oct 28, 2008 (10:20 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Oct 28, 2008 9:36 am) My experience has been that if you buy Domestic cars new or fairly new, and drive them for less than 60,000 miles before trading them off, you will most likely be very happy with them, and have no complaints. In fact, you may prefer the size and features of a Domestic car over an Asian or other foreign car. Personally, I do. However, if you want to keep a car until it has a couple hundred thousand miles on it, you will prefer an Asian car for sure. The statistics bear this out, resale bears this out, and any honest driver with experience of both will back it up. If you want to drive a car with 175,000 on the clock, your odds will be much better with a Honda than a Dodge.
#6482 of 7263 Re: grbeck [motorcity6] by lemko Oct 28, 2008 (11:36 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Oct 28, 2008 9:36 am) I love my GM cars and I love my country! I want to see both GM and the U.S. prosper. What's good for GM is good for the United States. What's bad for GM is also bad for the United States. I immensely enjoy my new Cadillac DTS Performance! Looking forward to another Cadillac in the future...if there is one (Cadillac and/or a future).
#6483 of 7263 Re: grbeck [motorcity6] by grbeck Oct 28, 2008 (11:38 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Oct 28, 2008 9:36 am) motorcity6: Be an American, buy the Detroit Iron and put Americans back to work.. Funny, but the last time I checked, a fair percentage of Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans and Hyundais are being built in places like Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Are not the employees of those plants Americans? Or did those states secede from the union while I wasn't looking? motorcity6: Your UAW pals will make obscene paychecks again and the country will heal... So, buy a Chevy, and all will be well. I'm surprised that neither Obama nor McCain came up with that slogan. motorcity6: You can argue about who makes the greatest car later, one should worry about saving the country first.. Given the sales figures, trends in market share, and rankings of various models in publications as disparate as Car & Driver and Consumer Reports, I don't think we need to argue that one...it has been pretty well decided. The market has spoken. motorcity6: Under the current conditions I would feel guilty about wheeling around in a foreign car of Asian origin.. Under current conditions, I would be embarrassed to be a GM executive or UAW official. But then, after posting on this and other auto-related sites over the past eight years, if there is one thing I've learned, it's this: Nothing is ever Detroit's fault. Blame can be laid squarely at the feet of (take your pick): Consumer Reports, people who buy Toyotas and Hondas, the Bush Administration, environmentalists, commie-pinkos who read The New York Times, free trade....have I missed any? Replies to this message: lemko (Oct 28, 2008 11:52 am) tlong (Oct 28, 2008 7:21 pm)
#6484 of 7263 Re: grbeck [grbeck] by lemko Oct 28, 2008 (11:52 am)
Replying to: grbeck (Oct 28, 2008 11:38 am) I'd probably be happier if those Hondas, Nissans, Hyundais, and Toyotas were built in places like North Philly, Camden, Trenton, and Allentown - places that were devasted by deindustrialization and the outsourcing of jobs to Asia. I'd also be happier if they unionized their workforces. I hear that things really aren't all that working for Toyota. Newer workers are treated as temps almost forever and older workers are pretty much treated as disposable commodities. In lieu of that, they should at least build all the vehicles they sell in the U.S in the U.S. This goes for the domestics as well. I'm as likely to buy a Mexican-manufactured Fusion as I am a Japanese-manufactured Toyota.
#6485 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [captain2] by cooterbfd Oct 28, 2008 (1:42 pm)
Replying to: captain2 (Oct 28, 2008 10:12 am) If I'm reading into 62 vette's post on GM news correctly, the Park Ave you pointed out is actually a relative to the Pontiac G8, which is produced in Austrailia now, and is slated to be produced here at some time. It can be had w/ GM's 2.0 turbo DI engine which puts out 276 hp in the Solstice GXP and Cobalt SS, both of which are SOLD HERE, so it would actually be CHEAPER to produce HERE, as it would then be shared with the G8 and Impala replacement, if they get a go ahead to build them as RWD. If they sell over 100,000 combined, they MUST be built here as per UAW contract rules, I believe. Also, China requires that any company selling cars there partner oup w/ a LOCAL auto mfr. In this case, GM is partnered up w/ SAIC out of Shanghai. SO any money GM makes there, SAIC benefits just as well. Replies to this message: captain2 (Oct 29, 2008 11:27 am) cooterbfd (Oct 29, 2008 4:10 pm) maverickj (Oct 30, 2008 12:37 pm) circlew (Oct 31, 2008 3:15 am)
#6486 of 7263 Re: grbeck [grbeck] by tlong Oct 28, 2008 (7:21 pm)
Replying to: grbeck (Oct 28, 2008 11:38 am) Nothing is ever Detroit's fault. Blame can be laid squarely at the feet of (take your pick): Consumer Reports, people who buy Toyotas and Hondas, the Bush Administration, environmentalists, commie-pinkos who read The New York Times, free trade....have I missed any? How could you have forgotten the Asian currency manipulation? Oh the humanity!
#6487 of 7263 captain2...... by cooterbfd Oct 28, 2008 (7:36 pm)
Here is a good article on the 2010 Lacrosse: http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2010-buick-lacrosse.htm
#6488 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [cooterbfd] by captain2 Oct 29, 2008 (11:27 am)
Replying to: cooterbfd (Oct 28, 2008 1:42 pm) the Australian connection sounds right because not only are we getting G8s over there but also the soon to be new Impala. Oh well, more Americans (and Canadians) out of work I guess. Building cars in Australia obviously not doing anybody in this country any good either. As far as violating any UAW deals go - so what? - what would you think the UAW's remedy would be in some sort of lawsuit - a bid arss judgement that would only hasten GMs bankruptcy? Replies to this message: cooterbfd (Oct 29, 2008 4:10 pm) maverickj (Oct 30, 2008 12:37 pm) circlew (Oct 31, 2008 3:15 am)