mead107 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Two things.... 1. Build a better product. People want a good product and loyalty and patriotism are meaningless when you're shelling out $30,000 for a car. You want the best and that's all that matters. 2. Unions have killed the American manufacturing economy. The average employee at Dephi is making $27 an hour to do the work a robot can. Is that conducive to a making good, affordable vehicles? These labor high costs mean they have to reduce quality to stay competitive. And don't give me the "that's what the bargained for" or deserve. How can you not pay the ransom demand of thousands of employees when you're threatened with a strike that could cripple your business, cost you a lot of sales and hurt your market share forever? So when that business struggles, are you saying only the employer should take the hit, not the employees. BTW, I recently leased a Chevy Equinox for my wife, after owning nothing but Honda's and Nissan, and the thing is a pile! Can't wait for the lease to expire, another Honda will follow. Best car for the buck and my 1997 accord is a better car than her 2005 Equinox. 629910[/snapback] the union guy only puts together what the management wants built . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 If Americans made a dependable car, I would buy it. Sorry but that is what is called a free market economy. 629826[/snapback] Personally, I buy Fords and find them very dependable. My '98 Contour SVT is the best car I've ever owned.... much better than my wifes '01 Nissan. That being said, I'd love the Bills to hookup with Ford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agilen Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 but wait, where is all that profit ending up? 629768[/snapback] The profit ends up here: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?d=t&s=TM You want some of it? Go ahead and pick up a few shares of Toyota! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Please tell me you're joking about the healthcare thing..... 630025[/snapback] of course i'm not joking. health care spending in the us is far higher in the us than in other oecd (measured as a percentage of gp) yet it has clearly inferior results according to pretty much every key public health measure -- mortality, deaths per 1000 births, rates of people insured, etc. check out the public health systems of germany, japan, and france as well as the statistics associated with them and you'll see what i'm talking about. having said all of this, you should know that i'm to the left of the current democratic party, so i don't expect you to agree with me on any of this. which is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dib Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 A number of years ago, I decided to buy an 'American' car- so I bought a chevy monza. One day while working on the car I noticed a metal plate on the chassis that read, and I quote "Product du Canada". I doubt there is any such thing as an "American made car" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 of course i'm not joking. health care spending in the us is far higher in the us than in other oecd (measured as a percentage of gp) yet it has clearly inferior results according to pretty much every key public health measure -- mortality, deaths per 1000 births, rates of people insured, etc. check out the public health systems of germany, japan, and france as well as the statistics associated with them and you'll see what i'm talking about. having said all of this, you should know that i'm to the left of the current democratic party, so i don't expect you to agree with me on any of this. which is fine. 630300[/snapback] Well Dave, there's nothing wrong with disagreeing....All I'll say is that I work in the field and, in my opinion, the shortcomings of a government-run healthcare program are clearly evident and NOT favorable for the majority of people. There is a reason why people who live in Canada seek treatment in the US when it pertains to something outside of a sniffle or a sore throat. God forbid you live in one of these countries and you end up needing a heart bypass, or some sort of donated tissue or organ.....believe me, you're better off being here, in our privately run healthcare system. In terms of preventative care, I don't doubt that government run systems may put up good numbers. But in terms of tertiary care? No way..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I buy American whenever feasible, but I'm sorry.....I'm not spending 15k on something that is not top quality. I'll take German, Austrian, or Japanese over American vehicles any day. 629781[/snapback] That's sad but true! I switched from Chev/Buick to Nissan in 1983. I just got fed up with being on a first name basis with MR. GOODWRENCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 i know alot of you are probably ignore this and/or tell me to shut it, and who cares but you should care. these foreign manufactures are slowing killing the north american middle class. sure they try to convince you that these vehicles are built here, by american workers and they are bringing jobs but wait, where is all that profit ending up? anyway i'm sorry for the mini-rant, but it's little things like this that seem minor but they slowly change public perception. and when our automakers have all gone bankrupt and we are all working for foriegn companys we'll wonder, how did we get here? what happened? 629768[/snapback] foreigners are people too. they need jobs just as we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts