Why "Buy American"?

[tigerbob]

Someone keyed my wife's car a few weeks back.

Presumably it's because she drives a Toyota in Big 3 country. Maybe the shithead with the key didn't know that she'd been to pretty much every domestic and taken test drives without finding anything she liked (poor visibility, too big, poor quality, etc) before she went anywhere near an import. Maybe the shithead with the key wouldn't have cared if he had known.

"Lost your job yet? Keep buying foreign!" is a popular bumper sticker these days. IMO, anyone who puts one on their car or truck is just as big a fuckwit as the guy with the key, unless of course it's right next to one that says "Bought a shit car? Makes you proud don't it?".

We can bleat and moan about restrictive import laws in other countries but it's up to politicians to fix trade agreements, not consumers. Consumers vote with their wallets, and nobody should expect consumers to prop up ailing and outdated business models out of a misguided sense of patriotism.

Of course, that's just my view as it relates to the auto industry. The following had some interesting opinions as well...

NYT - 11 Feb 2009
That ‘Buy American’ Provision
By THE EDITORS

“Buy American” is a familiar cry in Washington, even though the vast majority of American economists and policy makers oppose anything that hints at protectionism. President Obama has said that “we can’t send a protectionist message,” and the Senate softened a buy-American provision in the stimulus bill it passed by stipulating that any government procurement policies comply with World Trade Organization rules. But business interests argued that the language favoring American producers should be removed altogether.

Why is the buy-American idea objectionable, or, alternatively, under what circumstances should it be promoted?


Robert E. Scott, Economic Policy Institute
Jagdish Bhagwati, professor of economics and law
Roger Simmermaker, author and local union official
Burton Folsom Jr., historian
Ha-Joon Chang, an economist
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Anne Krueger, professor of international economics

That ‘Buy American’ Provision - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com

Do you have a view, or are you a sheep?

 

[manu1959]

probably more american parts in your toyota.....

me i drive a porsche.....

 

[tigerbob]

probably more american parts in your toyota.....

me i drive a porsche.....

Are you in your early 50s?

 

[elvis]

Someone keyed my wife's car a few weeks back.

Presumably it's because she drives a Toyota in Big 3 country. Maybe the shithead with the key didn't know that she'd been to pretty much every domestic and taken test drives without finding anything she liked (poor visibility, too big, poor quality, etc) before she went anywhere near an import. Maybe the shithead with the key wouldn't have cared if he had known.

"Lost your job yet? Keep buying foreign!" is a popular bumper sticker these days. IMO, anyone who puts one on their car or truck is just as big a fuckwit as the guy with the key, unless of course it's right next to one that says "Bought a shit car? Makes you proud don't it?".

We can bleat and moan about restrictive import laws in other countries but it's up to politicians to fix trade agreements, not consumers. Consumers vote with their wallets, and nobody should expect consumers to prop up ailing and outdated business models out of a misguided sense of patriotism.

Of course, that's just my view as it relates to the auto industry. The following had some interesting opinions as well...

NYT - 11 Feb 2009
That ‘Buy American’ Provision
By THE EDITORS

“Buy American” is a familiar cry in Washington, even though the vast majority of American economists and policy makers oppose anything that hints at protectionism. President Obama has said that “we can’t send a protectionist message,” and the Senate softened a buy-American provision in the stimulus bill it passed by stipulating that any government procurement policies comply with World Trade Organization rules. But business interests argued that the language favoring American producers should be removed altogether.

Why is the buy-American idea objectionable, or, alternatively, under what circumstances should it be promoted?


Robert E. Scott, Economic Policy Institute
Jagdish Bhagwati, professor of economics and law
Roger Simmermaker, author and local union official
Burton Folsom Jr., historian
Ha-Joon Chang, an economist
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Anne Krueger, professor of international economics

That ‘Buy American’ Provision - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com

Do you have a view, or are you a sheep?

A couple things come to mind.
I don't know why unions are so pro-obama when he is so free-trade.
If GM wants us to buy their cars, they should start making better quality. I want to buy American but at 20k, it needs to last a long time and the big 3 just don't match up well with Honda and Toyota.

I have a pontiac vibe, so that's kind of the best of both worlds.

 

[manu1959]

probably more american parts in your toyota.....

me i drive a porsche.....

Are you in your early 50s?

nope.....

 

[PoliticalChic]

The cutest car I ever had was a sky blue Toyota Celica.

 

[jillian]

Someone keyed my wife's car a few weeks back.

Presumably it's because she drives a Toyota in Big 3 country. Maybe the shithead with the key didn't know that she'd been to pretty much every domestic and taken test drives without finding anything she liked (poor visibility, too big, poor quality, etc) before she went anywhere near an import. Maybe the shithead with the key wouldn't have cared if he had known.

"Lost your job yet? Keep buying foreign!" is a popular bumper sticker these days. IMO, anyone who puts one on their car or truck is just as big a fuckwit as the guy with the key, unless of course it's right next to one that says "Bought a shit car? Makes you proud don't it?".

We can bleat and moan about restrictive import laws in other countries but it's up to politicians to fix trade agreements, not consumers. Consumers vote with their wallets, and nobody should expect consumers to prop up ailing and outdated business models out of a misguided sense of patriotism.

Of course, that's just my view as it relates to the auto industry. The following had some interesting opinions as well...

Do you have a view, or are you a sheep?

I would have liked to buy an American car. I've always loved the way the Mustang looks. The new Camaro is hot looking, too. Unfortunately, they rattle when you drive them and are made like...

well, like American cars.

I love my BMW. It rides like a dream. The steering and suspension are tight. When I need service, they bring the loaner car to whereever I am (including once to a diner where I was eating breakfast with my son) and then bring the car back to me when it's done.

When American cars ride like my Beemer and hold up like my Beemer, I'll get an American car.

 

[007]

I just don't get this bashing of America made cars and trucks. I think you people have alternative motives.

I've owned seven Chevy trucks and currently own a GMC. Two of the last trucks I owned were a '75 Chevy Blazer, and a '80, 3/4 ton, 4X4 Chevy with 4.56:1 gears and TH400 rock crusher trans. I BEAT THE LIVING DOG SHIT out of BOTH of those trucks, and NOT ONCE did they ever let me down. My sister has owned Toyota's for years. First she leased them but then decided she'd be better off to own, but not one of those Toyota's would hold a stick to my Chevy's. I've owned a Ford Taurus, a Pontiac Grand Am, Several Cadillacs, a '67 Chevelle Malibu SS, an AMC AMX, a couple Camaros, a Corvette and many other American made cars and trucks, and I can honestly say that the only lemon out of ALL of them was a '68 Ford, Thunderbird that the lower control arm buckled on it. So out of owning and driving American made cars and trucks for almost 40 years, I really don't get why you people have to bash American vehicles and sing the praises of the foreign shit. I call BULL SHIT on it as a matter of fact. America makes a damn good car AND a damn good truck. Maybe you don't know that because YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT ONE.

 

[jillian]

I wouldn't buy one... I've test driven them. Trucks are different. We're talking about cars... and American cars don't hold up on NYC roads.

And perhaps if you actually owned a foreign car (and I don't mean the little japanese ones, cause i wouldn't get one of those either), you'd see the difference.

 

[elvis]

I just don't get this bashing of America made cars and trucks. I think you people have alternative motives.

I've owned seven Chevy trucks and currently own a GMC. Two of the last trucks I owned were a '75 Chevy Blazer, and a '80, 3/4 ton, 4X4 Chevy with 4.56:1 gears and TH400 rock crusher trans. I BEAT THE LIVING DOG SHIT out of BOTH of those trucks, and NOT ONCE did they ever let me down. My sister has owned Toyota's for years. First she leased them but then decided she'd be better off to own, but not one of those Toyota's would hold a stick to my Chevy's. I've owned a Ford Taurus, a Pontiac Grand Am, Several Cadillacs, a '67 Chevelle Malibu SS, an AMC AMX, and many other American made cars and trucks, and I can honestly say that the only lemon out of ALL of them was a '68 Ford, Thunderbird that the lower control arm buckled on it. So out of owning and driving American made cars and trucks for almost 40 years, I really don't get why you people have to bash American vehicles and sing the praises of the foreign shit. I call BULL SHIT on it as a matter of fact. America makes a damn car AND a damn good truck. Maybe you don't know that because YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT ONE.

Toyota and Honda continue to have higher customer satisfaction ratings. My cousin's saturn needed a new transmission at 35k miles. my grandmother's Cutlass needed a valve job at 40k. The tolerances are much tighter at Honda than at GM. I know because our company supplied both companies.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I just don't get this bashing of America made cars and trucks. I think you people have alternative motives.

I've owned seven Chevy trucks and currently own a GMC. Two of the last trucks I owned were a '75 Chevy Blazer, and a '80, 3/4 ton, 4X4 Chevy with 4.56:1 gears and TH400 rock crusher trans. I BEAT THE LIVING DOG SHIT out of BOTH of those trucks, and NOT ONCE did they ever let me down. My sister has owned Toyota's for years. First she leased them but then decided she'd be better off to own, but not one of those Toyota's would hold a stick to my Chevy's. I've owned a Ford Taurus, a Pontiac Grand Am, Several Cadillacs, a '67 Chevelle Malibu SS, an AMC AMX, a couple Camaros, a Corvette and many other American made cars and trucks, and I can honestly say that the only lemon out of ALL of them was a '68 Ford, Thunderbird that the lower control arm buckled on it. So out of owning and driving American made cars and trucks for almost 40 years, I really don't get why you people have to bash American vehicles and sing the praises of the foreign shit. I call BULL SHIT on it as a matter of fact. America makes a damn good car AND a damn good truck. Maybe you don't know that because YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT ONE.

Currently we each have a Ford Windstar with 3.8L engine and we've been very satisfied with them.

 

[tigerbob]

America makes a damn good car AND a damn good truck. Maybe you don't know that because YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT ONE.

Er, yes I have. It's my wife that has the RAV 4. I have a 1500 Ram, which is generally very good though there is an annoying intermittent issue with the cruise control. No biggie though.

Do you always take such offense at views that disagree with yours? I'm delighted that you've had good experiences. Why would you be so hostile about people saying that they haven't?

 

[manu1959]

american cars....hmmmmmmmmmm....trucks fine......but i don'tlike trucks.....

i would love to buy an american car......fact is i will be buying a nice 4 door sedan soon......problem is....there is not one good looking american car ...... of any quality ..... period .....

 

[Jon]

It depends on what class of vehicle you're buying. For trucks and SUV's, no one beats GM. I love my TrailBlazer.

But if I were going to buy an economical car, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima, and MAZDA6 dominate the sports sedan category. What other choice is there? The Ford Focus? Don't make me laugh.

 

[strollingbones]

i got my first subaru in 1986..i havent driven anything else since....the man drives a blazer...i normally get around 250 k before the subbie gives up the ghost

 

[editec]

I like my American FORD Ranger

I am informed that it's a MAZDA design and parts, one with a Ford emblem that was assembled in Mexico.

Sp buying American is damned difficult.

I would LOVE to buy an American made lawnmower for example.

The ones that used to make in the USA were great, but now that they're all made in Mexico, they're complete crap with a one year life expectency.

 

[Bern80]

I just don't get this bashing of America made cars and trucks. I think you people have alternative motives.

I've owned seven Chevy trucks and currently own a GMC. Two of the last trucks I owned were a '75 Chevy Blazer, and a '80, 3/4 ton, 4X4 Chevy with 4.56:1 gears and TH400 rock crusher trans. I BEAT THE LIVING DOG SHIT out of BOTH of those trucks, and NOT ONCE did they ever let me down. My sister has owned Toyota's for years. First she leased them but then decided she'd be better off to own, but not one of those Toyota's would hold a stick to my Chevy's. I've owned a Ford Taurus, a Pontiac Grand Am, Several Cadillacs, a '67 Chevelle Malibu SS, an AMC AMX, and many other American made cars and trucks, and I can honestly say that the only lemon out of ALL of them was a '68 Ford, Thunderbird that the lower control arm buckled on it. So out of owning and driving American made cars and trucks for almost 40 years, I really don't get why you people have to bash American vehicles and sing the praises of the foreign shit. I call BULL SHIT on it as a matter of fact. America makes a damn car AND a damn good truck. Maybe you don't know that because YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT ONE.

Toyota and Honda continue to have higher customer satisfaction ratings. My cousin's saturn needed a new transmission at 35k miles. my grandmother's Cutlass needed a valve job at 40k. The tolerances are much tighter at Honda than at GM. I know because our company supplied both companies.

Considering Saturn is a step up from a KIA (which like the IKEA of the car world) I don't really think that's a fair comparison. Saturns'a and KIAs are dirt cheap because, well, they're dirt cheap.

 

[Bern80]

I like my American FORD Ranger

I am informed that it's a MAZDA design and parts, one with a Ford emblem that was assembled in Mexico.

Sp buying American is damned difficult.

I would LOVE to buy an American made lawnmower for example.

The ones that used to make in the USA were great, but now that they're all made in Mexico, they're complete crap with a one year life expectency.

Actually there is a Ranger plant in Minneapolis, MN. It was suppossed to be shut down a number of times, but they keep hanging on. I think mainly right now because it's the cheapest 'truck' you can find. They do look exacty like Mazdas so I'm not sure what the deal is there, maybe it's the other way around?

 

[midcan5]

I've never understood how so many put down American cars? We have owned Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, and Saturn and all are as good or better than any foreign car I have driven or driven in. They do tend to cost more but you are supporting your neighbor so for me the additional cost is no biggee. And our cars are passed to family and still on the road. It reminds me of the person who dislikes something not because of itself but because of some internal scale of prejudice. Google Toyota recalls and you soon see they are all equivalent except in the mind. Ever notice how many pretentious people own Beemers - my relatives for instance! lol

 

[Andrew2382]

Go German

Buy a Beamer