FORD, didnt take our money and opening a new plant!!

[opiemaster]

Well back to the point, I was just impressed that Ford is going to re-open the plant to start making the engine here in the USA. I wish Chevy and the rest of them would invest back in the american dream again liket they used to.

I do remember the Wal-mart ads and the big signs in the store "Made in U.S.A" I try very hard to shop at other stores now, even the mom nd pops to keep my money local and let the Waltons take there money and go on. Wal-Mart started with the right idea, offering good products at a fair price. Unfortunatly they did run out the "little guy" because he couldnt compete. Now everyone says," oh I gota go to Wal-Mart to get such and such" Wal-Mart's not selling fabric anymore. There trying to do away with guns and ammo, they went to a "new" look to be more like a higher end stores, (Sam MUST be turning in his grave over THIS! He was a good man with good thoughts to help people and make money, now his spoiled brats are tearing it all apart) but where does that leave us, the common, back breakin Americans who built this country and support it. To them they say " Where are these "peasants" going to shop now? They HAVE to come to us because we are WAL-MART, thanks dad for making us Kings!" Every time I m in a Wal-mart and am standing in line to check out I feel like a sheep going to slaughter. NOW there letting you check yourself out! So they dont have to GIVE someone a JOB at running a cash register to check you out! Oh crap Im off subject again,,,, and its MY POST!! I hate it when I hijack my own post!!!!

 

[reinbeau]

Actually I've thought all along Ford would be the one to make it, they're the most diverse, and sell globally (ya know, it's a global economy, or so they keep telling us). Good for them, I hope they keep it up.

 

[Big Daddy]

Japan makes a lot of great cars. I can't even keep track of all the models Toyota has. Same with all the other manufacturers. I just prefer to buy American. Especially in these times where so little stuff is still made in America.

 

[xineohpoel]

It is hard sometimes to tell what is American built. My dad's Ford Ranger was built in Japan. My Honda Ridgeline was built in Alabama. Our Chrysler PT Cruiser was built in Mexico. My mom is looking at a Toyota Camry (small car). It was built in Indiana.

If you take the BMW cars built here in South Carolina they created 1000 jobs just for the plant themselves and 10's of thousands more jobs for their suppliers that went into production around them.

Spartanburg county is getting huge kickbacks from just letting BMW setup a methane collection station to operate the plant from the city dump.

http://www.all-about-car-selection.com/foreign-cars.html
Most foreign cars aren't all the foreign.

Many Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas, Subaru, Hyundai, are built in the USA. Many of the big 3 automobiles are built in Japan, Europe, Mexico, Germany with some plans to build in China.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

If you buy your vehicle second hand, does it matter where it was built?

Since I don't buy new vehicles, reliability is usually what I look for.

 

[Big Daddy]

Well they say it will take another 2 to 3 million layoffs for this to become a depression. If the big 3 go down that will be the winning ticket.

It doesn't matter if your buying a used car what kind you get. I buy used also and I go for reliability too. Fortunately I have a company car so it's not a big deal. The car the wife uses is also our tow vehicle and it hardly ever gets used.

I really hate to see the way the American people are abandoning the big 3. I know it's management causing it, but I hate the thought of nothing but foreign cars on our roads in 10 years. Of course nothing else is American made in The US so I guess it doesn't matter. Just another step towards globalization.

 

[xineohpoel]

Honestly Chrysler and GM made too many cars that left a bad stain in everyone's mouth. The PT Cruiser is the biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. I do realize it was not from their high end vehicles (which still have tons of issues) but, having the head gasket blow at 17,000 miles and then having to turn around and just buy a whole new engine at 26,000 miles was just uncalled for. My first instinct was to get a Honda and I wish I would have. Ditto for the Chevy I owned where I had to have the defective transmission replaced 3 times and the ignition switched replaced 3 times...still the Chrysler has been worse.

It is like Hardee's (or Carl Jr's) for people up north. Here they started out with delicious burgers decades ago. To save costs they made so-so burgers that were just a fill up. Then they made something that was completely inedible. They tried to redo their menus and put out some pretty good food but, by then everyone knew their food was horrible and couldn't sell anything even if they sold it for a nickel.

2nd only to buying homes, they should have looked after the customers much more than they have done. Treating customers like dirt after sales makes customers vanish.

Chrysler fought tooth and nail with me over the broken down vehicle they sold me and refused to cover anything under warranty. Their claim in both instances was that I didn't have anti-freeze in my car during it's major blow outs. Of course it didn't have antifreeze because it and the oil ran out onto the road when it died. I watched it and cried! Hint hint, when I had the engine replaced I had a retrofitted with a Honda engine and transmission installed which is why I have kept it.

Ford on the other hand make sturdy vehicles. My dad's ranger has 300,000 miles. My last Ford a Thunderbird had 500,000 when I sold it. I think what has hurt them is brand recognition because they retired all the names of vehicles that people are familiar with. You see this with the Ford 500 that they recently freaked out and renamed to a Taurus because they could not sell 500's because nobody knew what they were.

 

[Big Daddy]

I inspected A 2008 Dodge Ram that had 7000 miles on it. The guy was driving down the highway when the engine stopped. He pulled over and noticed smoke coming from his hood. The fire dept came and got the hood open. The battery was melted and the main wire harness was melted. He towed it to the dealer and they let it sit for 5 weeks while they waited for an inspector from Chrysler to come look at it. He finally showed up and looked at it then left. 3 weeks later he sent a report that said cause unknown not covered under warranty. At that point I totaled the truck because the wire short had fried everything electrical in it. The truck was a base model so it wasn't worth that much. The owner had a 1000 deductible. My company is of course sueing Chrysler. We will probably get the money back and get the owners deductible back. But the whole thing is ridiculous. The truck didn't have any after market add ons like stereo or alarm that could've done a ground short. It could only be a defect.

With customer service like that I would never buy a Chrysler. My company car is a dodge but I wasn't involved in that. You take what they give you.

 

[Homesteadmom]

At his point in the game I feel that it does not really matter where the car is assembled. It is where is the company headquarters? If it is an American Co., then it is safe to buy. If it is a foreign Co., then stay away & keep my $$'s in the country.
Even used I avoid the foreign brands.

 

[patandchickens]

It is like Hardee's (or Carl Jr's) for people up north. Here they started out with delicious burgers decades ago. To save costs they made so-so burgers that were just a fill up. Then they made something that was completely inedible.

Wow, that's depressing, I haven't set foot in a Hardees for probably 20, 25 years but that used to be my favorite 'road food'. Bummer!

BTW I think it does make a *bit* of difference what brand you buy if you are buying used. (And I have never bought a new car in my life and am sure that will never change). The more demand there is for a given car in the used-car market, the greater its value, which affects the appeal of *new* ones to a small but nonzero extent. At least *some* people figure in depreciation into their new-car buying decisions.

JMO,

Pat