Gas Profits

[turbot2496]

Hey just yanking your chain a little b231 if you wanted to buy a nissan ... who cares calm down and have a nice day

A few years back we were shopping for a new car for the wife. It was between getting a Maxima or an Accord EX. She wanted the Maxima but I made her get the Accord because its made here and at the time had an 85% american part content. The Maxima was made overseas and had a 6% american part content..... You know how wifes are... She has never liked the Accord and always mentions how she wanted the Nissan.

 

[Gary Wells]

FWIW & IMHO:
One minute here while I find a place to duck from frag gernades & friendly fire.
Buying american is only one side of the coin to support America. The orher side is that if America is building a product that is not as good as one built somewhere else, and we buy it, we give the industry no reason to improve the product. Any time you see something like what GM is doing today in regards to buyer incentives. In '04, between GM & the dealer incentives, you could get as much as $ 12.5K knocked off of a '04 vette. Now you see it on the SSR, the retro-look truck, I believe. I'm sorry, but GM was making how much on a new vette? They are making way too much on a new car on the average. Isn't it interesting that you do not ever see anything major knocked off of European or Japanese cars? The fact that GM can afford to and will knock off that much off of a vehicle's list price, and the balance of the world's car manufacturers either will not or do not have to in order to sell cars should say that something is very wrong with this picture. I would never again intentionally support GM or any GM dealership and buy a new car. There are too many 1 and 2 year old cars out there that make it worthwhile to buy a year old or 2 year old car from the original owner, who evidently could afford to suffer the majority of of the loss.

 

[bruce]

The orher side is that if America is building a product that is not as good as one built somewhere else, and we buy it, we give the industry no reason to improve the product.

Just remember that as you watch more and more jobs go overseas, and the roads (amongst other things) get worse. If more people actually wrote a letter to GM and let them know how they felt, the evolution at GM might improve. Not to mention Gm keeps trying to get things right, but when it appears, all the talkers don't even buy the product. The GTO, and Impala SS would be prime examples. There was alot of **acceptance** about both cars early on, and then both literary were flops, due to poor sales. Folks kept wanting fancier, and fancier F-Bodies, and guess what?, eventually they priced themselves out of the market (BTW, Nissan, and Mazda have pulled the same stunts, with the Z-Car, and RX's).

If you can't afford to be somewhat American in your loyalties, don't complain when your country starts falling apart.

 

[Gary Wells]

Just remember that as you watch more and more jobs go overseas, and the roads (amongst other things) get worse. If more people actually wrote a letter to GM and let them know how they felt, the evolution at GM might improve. Not to mention Gm keeps trying to get things right, but when it appears, all the talkers don't even buy the product. The GTO, and Impala SS would be prime examples. There was alot of **acceptance** about both cars early on, and then both literary were flops, due to poor sales. Folks kept wanting fancier, and fancier F-Bodies, and guess what?, eventually they priced themselves out of the market (BTW, Nissan, and Mazda have pulled the same stunts, with the Z-Car, and RX's).
If you can't afford to be somewhat American in your loyalties, don't complain when your country starts falling apart.

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I am american in my loyalities, and it is not primerarily a matter of what I can or can not afford, it is a matter of the difference between what you and what I believe is the best road to recovery for American industry in general, and auto manufacturing specifically. I think that the american auto industry in general has improved considerably from where it was at 15 years ago. I believe that more and more american jobs will go overseas regardless of what you and I do or believe in. Outsourcing is the "new wave" of capitalism, a principal that this country was founded on and has structured business idealogy, practices, and methodology over the years.
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............... If more people actually wrote a letter to GM and let them know how they felt, the evolution at GM might improve......

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GM will not respond to negative letters as well as it will to a dropoff in sales. It is unfortunate, but as long as people , (including and especially me)
buy their cars, their evolution and improvement will be limited. "Why change what works?"
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.........Not to mention Gm keeps trying to get things right, but when it appears, all the talkers don't even buy the product. The GTO, and Impala SS would be prime examples. There was alot of **acceptance** about both cars early on, and then both literary were flops, due to poor sales............

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Sorry, but in my book that still reverts to GM not doing things right. Why didnt people buy the product?
Who did the **acceptance** about both cars early on?
Could it have been somebody that they paid to assess the product evaluation. Sending out questionaires to the american public sometimes does not work very well. Sometimes "polls" come out very biased too. The upset in the race for Presidency of the United States, and the papers announcing an incorrect victory comes to mind for accuracy of polls and questionaires.
There is generally a lot of acceptance early on with so called "Concept cars" and so forth, but in the long run, the cars are rarely similiar enough in design and manufacture to garner the sales necessary to make their manufacture a success.
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Just my $.02 worth, before taxes, and not meant to flame or dis anyboy's concepts, ideas, beliefs, thought processes, judgements, or anything else.

 

[bruce]

Just my $.02 worth, before taxes, and not meant to flame or dis anyboy's concepts, ideas, beliefs, thought processes, judgements, or anything else.

Same here, but we'll see who'll be correct in the long run.
IMO, shopping to save every possible penny (or under the excuse of wanting to be more cost effective) will force all the manufacturers to move as many jobs overseas, as possible, there is just no way to avoid that, not even DC on a good day could prevent that. Taken to an extreme, if no buys American, America won't be making anything. At least buying American, even if GM and other are slow to evolve keeps the manufacuting HERE, while they evolve. Once manufacturing is gone, it'll take alot to get it back. No one can play for the short term, and expect to win in the long term. That lession, will be learned as things get worse.

 

[smokin'6]

hey Gary, your patriotic... feelin guilty bout that Honda :wink:

 

[Gary Wells]

FWIW & IMHO:
Hey, Jeff, not a bit, other than the fact that I am just plain too old to ride an oversize crotch rocket. I Believe in buying the best product available for the amount of money that suits the needs/requirements the best. I am sure that if I buy another vehicle, Which runs through my scattered mind every so often, it will be a '87 gn/turbo-t or a '89 tta. Nothing else seems to get my attention the way that any of those cars do. I have been using the vette for a daily driver for quite a while now, 26K miles worth. Not that I enjoy it that much, but I just don't want to turn the turbo-t into a daily driver. Car cruise next Sunday in Irvine, right across from John Wayne airport, starts at 7ish, some of the southern calif grand sports will be there, you guys interested??
Let me know and I will e-mail directions & so forth. Say "Hi" to Sandy for me.

 

[2quiktocare]

With the cross breeding of our global economy, if you do buy Japanese or German, or practically any other so called "import", chances are it is built American. The strong growth of the Southern sector of this country is due to capitol investment from those "foreign" companies in America and they employ one hell of a lot of Americans. Yes, the profits may go to a foreign based company, but the vast majority of the benefits reaped off of each one of those cars goes into the pockets of Americans. Ford and GM both (for a long time) have strong presence in Europe, Australia, and starting to grow in China as well so things aren't so off balanced as it appears.

Toyota, Honda, Chrysler, and Nissan all build products that have high initial quality and have good long term quality traits as well. Those are built by the same American workers that build GM and Ford cars. This simple fact leads me to believe that the problem lies with the manufacturer itself for giving their workers a lower grade of components to assemble into the finished product. At one point America did have low quality assembly, but the work force has improved, problem is the manufacturers haven't adjusted their standards to compete.

As far as the hotel goes? Damn, I would love to win a dream vacation there for a few weeks. Packing my b/p vest and Ruger as I speak.

 

[Blown&Injected]

The Japanese economy thanks you for your "patriotism". And remember, your money went to Japan, not to an American-based company (you had a choice). World economy, freedom, whatever.... you supported the Japanese over your own people period. I'll be taking your advice fer sure bud.

!!!!!!!HERE HERE!!!!!!!!

and if ya still believe the pure marketing crap about superior Jap cars - I thank you! It keeps the price down on truly nice cars :wink: My Bonneville kicks ass over most every Jap car I have driven or rode in and I can get a great used one for half the price of a lower performing, to expensive to maintain, uncomfortable noisy jap car lol!!!

 

[turbot2496]

Also just because the sucker says GM or Ford etc on it doesn't mean its more american. Check the sticker for where it was assembled and the part content. Thats what counts if your wanting to buy american. I've seen several GM and Ford models that were assembled elsewhere and had a american part content of under 20%. Your camrys and accords have a pretty high american part content and are assembled in america if you want a toyota or honda.

 

[Blown&Injected]

Where to the profits go? Sure the GNP is better when made in America but that is a measure - the profits go where?