He started berating me about not buying American. I pointed out that my honda was actually assembled/built in Canada – and showed him the stamp on the engine block… then had him pop his hood – and pointed out his “American” Ford was built in Mexico. He got a lot quieter.
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I hear this alot from people justifying their purchase of a vehicle from a foreign manufacturer – especially Honda and Toyota owners.
But if you look at events from this year, The Chevy Cruze is now the #1 selling car. Why? Because the Accord and Camry production is way down due to the inavailability of parts from Japan.
The Cruze has little to no Japanese content and thus production is not impeded.
That doesn’t prove that it has more US content (parts may be from Canada and Mexico), but it is built in the US with American design and management. Something you can’t say of Toyota and Honda.[/quote]
I would say Camry is down because the new model is around the corner (though as boring as before)..Not to mention that Hyundai has eaten into this segment too and is doing quite well.
What we will see that’s interesting is VW entering the brawl, as they just opened the new tennessee factory…BUT quality remains to be seen from a VW product.
I think it’s really ironic that folks still hold on to these made in usa versus made in overseas labels on cars, because it’s really too complicated these days.
UAW prez just last month was bashing the hell out of japanese cars…And then in my parking lot the other day, I saw a brand new Mazda 6 was a sticker on it that says “Made with Pride by UAW”….. Go figure….
Well, at least when it lasted. Looks like the Mazda 6 production is moving elsewhere…because it’s not selling… http://wot.motortrend.com/mazda6-production-move-japan-report-83867.html
Don’t get me wrong… If I had to pick and choose, I’d say Ford’s really got it going on….I like what they are doing….and GM has improved somewhat on their cars too.
