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

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#6643 of 7263 62vette and steve host by marsha7 Dec 02, 2008 (6:32 pm)
62: "Article in paper yesterday that lawyer work is being outsourced to India"...NO...NO...NO...say it isn't so... Yeah, it had to happen...let's face it...if someone over there understands English, and it is a boilerplate contract, why not have someone check it for errors???...and even matters more complex... While I rail at the union (UAW) for their stupid demands, I also realize that my field is also subject to price competition, and we don't like it either...but we are at least smart enough to acknowledge it exists and we have to compete to win... I used to do real estate closings...we received $600 per closing, not great for the work involved, but it was OK...then someone down the street offered to do them for $300...I knew then that it was time to get out and let the cheapest guy win...I could not do it for $300 for the time involved...competition sucks, but it IS reality... steve: yeah, you busted my chops, but when did I lower the markup to ONLY 200%???..... Replies to this message: fezo (Dec 02, 2008 6:37 pm) cooterbfd (Dec 02, 2008 6:44 pm)
#6644 of 7263 Re: 62vette and steve host [marsha7] by fezo Dec 02, 2008 (6:37 pm)
Replying to: marsha7 (Dec 02, 2008 6:32 pm) Yeah, we go to Lawerz R Us now...
#6645 of 7263 Re: 62vette and steve host [marsha7] by cooterbfd Dec 02, 2008 (6:44 pm)
Replying to: marsha7 (Dec 02, 2008 6:32 pm) " I also realize that my field is also subject to price competition, and we don't like it either...but we are at least smart enough to acknowledge it exists and we have to compete to win... " I'm sorry Bob, but I'll have to partially disagree with you. I'ts one thing to have an AMERICAN LAWYER doing RE closings for less than you (or the $150 divorces), but someone in India doing legal work (I don't care how sublime it is) somehow is just plain WRONG. I mean, if they miss something YOU are still liable, as you would sign off on their work (not to say an American can't mess up). I get the whole "global economy" thing, but I just have a problem w/ us being the world's caretaker when they won't take care of their own, and we haven't taken care of our own.
#6646 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [motorcity6] by lemko Dec 03, 2008 (6:56 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Dec 02, 2008 3:08 pm) Heck, at 43 I won't throw the Big Three under the bus. Too bad there aren't more like you. Replies to this message: m1miata (Dec 03, 2008 8:48 am) 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 9:27 am) gagrice (Dec 03, 2008 12:59 pm) and 2 more... anythngbutgm (Dec 03, 2008 1:13 pm) and 45 more... m1miata (Dec 03, 2008 5:46 pm) nvbanker (Dec 04, 2008 8:52 am)
#6647 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [lemko] by m1miata Dec 03, 2008 (8:48 am)
Replying to: lemko (Dec 03, 2008 6:56 am) Would that be a Union or non-Union made bus? Replies to this message: 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 9:27 am) gagrice (Dec 03, 2008 12:59 pm) 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 1:09 pm) and 1 more... anythngbutgm (Dec 03, 2008 1:13 pm) 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 1:20 pm) and 44 more... m1miata (Dec 03, 2008 5:46 pm) nvbanker (Dec 04, 2008 8:52 am)
#6648 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [m1miata] by 62vetteefp Dec 03, 2008 (9:27 am)
Replying to: m1miata (Dec 03, 2008 8:48 am) Union made GM hybrid bus. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/09/las-vegas-to-the-get-the-1000th-gm-allis- on-hybrid-bus-this-month/ According to a study conducted in 2006 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, transit buses with GM-Allison's hybrid technology deliver up to 75 percent better fuel economy than traditional transit buses, and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) up to 39 percent, particulate matter (PM) up to 97 percent, carbon monoxide up to 60 percent and hydrocarbons up to 75 percent. The report was published in December 2006, and can be viewed at http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/fleettest/pdfs/40585.pdf. Replies to this message: gagrice (Dec 03, 2008 12:59 pm) 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 1:09 pm) gagrice (Dec 03, 2008 2:18 pm) anythngbutgm (Dec 03, 2008 1:13 pm) 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 1:20 pm) circlew (Dec 03, 2008 1:34 pm) and 38 more... m1miata (Dec 03, 2008 6:04 pm) anythngbutgm (Dec 04, 2008 9:14 am) and 3 more... m1miata (Dec 03, 2008 5:46 pm) nvbanker (Dec 04, 2008 8:52 am)
#6649 of 7263 Prius Owners, "The caring crowd" by motorcity6 Dec 03, 2008 (10:05 am)
With gas $4++++, the eco crowd was paying big bucks to "feel good", shelling out 3-6 grand over MSRP just to drive the second ugliest car ever made..Now with petrol under $2.00, your local Toy dealer will kiss your backside and throw in the store to get them off the lot. Some owners are probably upside down 10 grand, and probably not too happy, wishing they had bought the 30mpg car with some comfort and lots of protection from SUV collisions..The Kool-Aid crowd no doubt stepped up to plate and shelled out hard earned bucks to drive an Asian rickshaw.. Awful cold here in Fla, maybe we should start up our big internal combustion engines and heat up the air... Don't worry about all the Global weather worries, for Mother Nature trumps Politics every time.. You crave a retro-car, gas loving critter, great time to buy. Looking for a 2005 LS V-8, 2005 T-Bird or 2007 Dodge Hemi wagon, under 10k miles..May unload the 2006 GPGT for I am running out garage space at 3.. I was impressed after reading several articles on the Chevy COBALT SS with the 260 hp 4-banger, it would probably cream my Bullitt..Maybe a 4dr w/sunroof for around 19k... Hope everyone is enjoying the Big3 bailout hearing before Congress, lots of hot air from our esteemed Congressional experts, after everyone gets through belittling Detroit and scoring points with their constituents with their screaming babble over business plans which our $160,000yr folks really don't understand, they will dole out the cash, pat themselves on the back and hit the UAW up for more contributions.. Folks, it's a sad day for American industry when our life takes a big hit and the Motorcity has to agree to build crap that nobody wants except the Kool-Aid crowd.. Replies to this message: circlew (Dec 03, 2008 1:30 pm)
#6650 of 7263 cooter by marsha7 Dec 03, 2008 (10:06 am)
"...someone in India doing legal work (I don't care how sublime it is) somehow is just plain WRONG. I mean, if they miss something YOU are still liable, as you would sign off on their work..." I must be missing your point...if someone in India is doing legal work for a client, I am not going near it with a ten foot pole...I don't care what THEY miss, as I am not liable for any of it...that is the other side of outsourcing---caveat emptor... How much did I miss your point??? Remember, I do bankruptcy and personal injury...bankruptcy is a one-to-one type of situation, often highly emotional for the client...I do not see that being done in India, and besides, if you have ever dealt with Indians or Pakistanis (try 7-Eleven) there is a culture barrier where they cannot come across as sympathetic...plus, their cultures still see women as low class chattel, and their condescending attitude to women is, frankly, repulsive to me... Replies to this message: steve_ (Dec 03, 2008 10:53 am)
#6651 of 7263 Re: cooter [marsha7] by steve_ HOST Dec 03, 2008 (10:53 am)
Replying to: marsha7 (Dec 03, 2008 10:06 am) My understanding is that it's not the client interaction or even pulling simple boilerplate together. It's trying to find out how the court would handle a certain situation and having the Indian lawyer research past cases and write up a memo. It's up to the lawyer in the states to interpret the memo, review the work and apply the research to the case in the office. And you get the memo for lots cheaper than having an associate do it. The HP story rings true too - there's two HP engineers on my block. One deals with counterparts in India and Japan and the 12 hour time difference is a hassle. But a request gets emailed out and the next morning, there's some code in the inbox waiting to be reviewed. If it passes muster, it may go into the firmware of the printer under development. GM could have a design group sending off problems to China or India - like, how do we make the Sierra 1500's drive train fit into a compact SUV and get a magic seat to fit. Then, if gas remained cheap, parts could be manufactured offshore for final assembly somewhere. Freight and currency issues will probably limit that. But all the paper stuff like dealer warranty claims could be processed offshore. Not to mention lots of engineering. There must be CAD stuff going on now involving engineers on different continents.
#6652 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [62vetteefp] by gagrice Dec 03, 2008 (12:59 pm)
Replying to: 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 9:27 am) Hybrid buses not all that was expected. What they don't tell you is they cost about $300,000 more than a conventional bus. Most cities that have bought them are finding they Never pay back the higher cost. They would be better off with a CNG bus. Replies to this message: 62vetteefp (Dec 03, 2008 1:09 pm) gagrice (Dec 03, 2008 2:18 pm)