Is Toyota more American than GM or Ford???

[Bosshoss]

Thousands? Okay but what about the MILLIONS reported to be saved when we bailed them out? So out of MILLIONS, we have thousands employed here in the US.....Not worth it to me, I'd rather go with the ones built here from parts made here.

BTW, Chrysler is now owned by the Italians and the union, before that, Daimler (Germans) owned them......

Thousands was my termology,(I didn't say how many thousands could be several thousand thousand) the goverment said millions. The millons was including all the projected jobs that would be lost such as the bank teller that wouldn't be needed any longer in the town where the auto plant was located when it closed. The ripple effect it was called. I don't know how many jobs were saved and neither do you.

What ones are you saying are built here from parts made here?

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Thousands was my termology,(I didn't say how many thousands could be several thousand thousand) the goverment said millions. The millons was including all the projected jobs that would be lost such as the bank teller that wouldn't be needed any longer in the town where the auto plant was located when it closed. The ripple effect it was called. I don't know how many jobs were saved and neither do you.

What ones are you saying are built here from parts made here?

The "japanese" cars built here are done so using "just in time" shipping tech. That means that the parts are all made within a 50-100 mile radius of the factory. What that means to you and me is that the cars they build are built ENTIRELY from US made components. Can the big 3 make the same claims? It also means MORE jobs HERE, MORE factories HERE, more money HERE. No, they don't pay some high school drop out $31.85 per hour plus another $85 per hour in bennies to pump 1.74 gallons of gas into each car as it passes by.

 

[kwatters]

I have a friend that is a quality engineer for GM. He is on the "road" up to 2 weeks a month.
I put quotes on road because the division he works for has NO manufacturing on US soil any more. He spends his time flying to Mexico and Romania primarily, sometimes in India. They just built a new plant in Romania.
He and the other GM guys at church quit giving me a hard time about my Toyota's when all the factories left town and the writing was on the wall.
I do make an effort to buy American, including my American made Toyota's. (I also have a F-150 super crew which has been good to me)

 

[whocares]

It seems as though this more than obvious equation of buy foreign cars made in America versus American cars made everywhere but America that the foreign manufacturer has a greatly more far reaching impact on local economies than the American mfgs.

I wonder why information like this is not made more main stream.
More American workers would benefit from a bail out for Honda than they ever would for GM, of course Honda didn't need one. Maybe its because they make a mean mulching lawn mower IN NORTH CAROLINA!

 

[trnsplntfrmohio]

It will never be made main stream because the employees of a Honda/toyota factory on US soil are just that employees. No unions, they are paid by the company, there are no contracts, if you want to work you work, if you don't GTFO.

The unions hate this, unions are liberal. Mass media is liberal.
There for the Mass Media hates americans working at honda and toyota factories because they are non-union workers.

 

[Hotdoger]

The "japanese" cars built here are done so using "just in time" shipping tech. That means that the parts are all made within a 50-100 mile radius of the factory. What that means to you and me is that the cars they build are built ENTIRELY from US made components. Can the big 3 make the same claims? It also means MORE jobs HERE, MORE factories HERE, more money HERE. No, they don't pay some high school drop out $31.85 per hour plus another $85 per hour in bennies to pump 1.74 gallons of gas into each car as it passes by.

I have hauled plenty of parts into "japanese" auto manufacters in the US.
Many well over 300 miles.
And lots of containers came from outside the US too.

Also many runs for GM and Ford back and forth to Laredo and into Canada for the socalled "american made" vehicles.

 

[Bosshoss]

OK… even though I know better than to get in this discussion I have to ask where did you come up with some of this info? I would love to see the links or did you pull this info out of your ***. I know, you read it on the internet and everyone knows that it must be true, it's on the internet.

I don't know if it is still true or not, but you used to be able to tell if a "jap" car was made here or overseas by the side that the gas fill was on. Drivers side = US made, Passengers side = overseas. With the honda motorcycles like the goldwing and valkrie, the US made ones don't have reverse while the japanese made bikes do.

I worked for GM for 30 years in skilled trades (retired now) at the marion stamping plant. A chief project engineer from Detroit told me that the gas fill location is regulated by the Gov. Domestic auto makers must keep it close to 50/50 split right and left fill. This is to ease the pressure at the gas pumps. Not everyone waiting on same pump. I don’t know what the foreign auto maker do or why they do it. I am just repeating what I was told but he was involved with these things every day.

As for reverse on a goldwing. Well the Goldwing was first built in the Marysville Ohio plant when it opened in 1979 (before that it was built in Japan). In 1988 the six cylinder 1500 was introduced and with the exception of a few early 1990’s interstate models which were stripped down, with no cruise or reverse, ALL goldwings had reverse. ALL goldwings after 1979 were built in the USA. NO valkrie had reverse.

The "japanese" cars built here are done so using "just in time" shipping tech. That means that the parts are all made within a 50-100 mile radius of the factory. What that means to you and me is that the cars they build are built ENTIRELY from US made components. Can the big 3 make the same claims? It also means MORE jobs HERE, MORE factories HERE, more money HERE. No, they don't pay some high school drop out $31.85 per hour plus another $85 per hour in bennies to pump 1.74 gallons of gas into each car as it passes by.

Just in time shipping has nothing to do with how close the part supplier is to the factory. GM has supplier all over the country that supply parts JUST IN TIME. It is ALL about inventory levels. GM has been using this for close to 15 years. The imports developed this process and I know all the domestic use it now.

There are NO I repeat NO entirely US made autos. Here is a link that has a list (about have way down) that shows the ford tarsus at 90% domestic content is the highest.
The Cars.com American-Made Index - Cars.com


As for your last sentence, where do you come up with those numbers? Show me the link because those numbers are B******T. Why make up some numbers just to make your post more interesting? GET THE FACTS.


About the high school dropout comment. I hired in 1979 and yes they were some worker there that didn’t finish high school. They “dropped out” to help feed their family. They were hired in the late 50’s early 60’s because of a good work ethic and strong backs. They were some of the best workers because they knew their options were limited. They would work 95 percent of today’s people into the ground without breaking a sweat. They EARNED their jobs; they didn’t think they were entitled like so many people today. They took care of their families; raised kids put them through collage and paid taxes. They stood in line to get a job that a lot of people didn’t want or couldn’t handle.
When I hired in they were hiring quite a few. 2 out of 5 quit in the first week. It was HOT, DIRTY, NOISY, and DANGEROUS. You needed a high school diploma when I hired in. And now most people have to have a college degree. In fact several people I worked with on the lines at the end had master degrees.
The high school dropout is old, old, history used by the media to spice up their stories.
I have no problem with someone buying a Toyota or Honda or anything else made here in USA. Buy what you want and enjoy.

Get the facts before typing about stuff you don't know about. Don't just make up stuff to make a point.

 

[John Galt]

I've not seen much mention of the raping that the American taxpayer received when the government took $80 + BILLION from them and their children and put into GM and Chrysler. Or, the raping the secured creditors received when the Obama administration ignored centuries of contract law and gave a major portion of the companies to the unions. GM and Chrysler truly are "American" companies, as the "American" taxpayer has been forced to subsidize them.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Just in time shipping has nothing to do with how close the part supplier is to the factory. GM has supplier all over the country that supply parts JUST IN TIME. It is ALL about inventory levels. GM has been using this for close to 15 years. The imports developed this process and I know all the domestic use it now.

Actually the just in time inventory process was developed by Edwards Deming. He approached the domestic auto manufacturers about using statistical analysis to improve their efficiency, thereby becoming more profitable. He was told to go pound sand. So he went to Japan where his ideas were embraced almost as a religion. That was in the early '50s. It took the domestic manufacturers thirty years of falling behind and twenty years of getting their asses handed to them before they decided this Deming fellow might be onto something.

The Japanese are so into Edwards Deming that they give out a yearly Deming award to the company/individual that best follows Deming's ideas and principles. It's considered an extremely high honor to receive it.

 

[Keyser Soze]

TESLA MOTORS

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Just in time shipping has nothing to do with how close the part supplier is to the factory. GM has supplier all over the country that supply parts JUST IN TIME. It is ALL about inventory levels. GM has been using this for close to 15 years. The imports developed this process and I know all the domestic use it now.

Actually it DOES have a lot to do with distance, that's why all the factories sprung up around the Columbus Toyota plant. It requires a quick response to the daily requirements of the plant.

 

[Bosshoss]

I've not seen much mention of the raping that the American taxpayer received when the government took $80 + BILLION from them and their children and put into GM and Chrysler. Or, the raping the secured creditors received when the Obama administration ignored centuries of contract law and gave a major portion of the companies to the unions. GM and Chrysler truly are "American" companies, as the "American" taxpayer has been forced to subsidize them.

Maybe because this thread isn't about that?

 

[Bosshoss]

Actually it DOES have a lot to do with distance, that's why all the factories sprung up around the Columbus Toyota plant. It requires a quick response to the daily requirements of the plant.

We recieved and shipped parts all over the country.
Just the dies I worked on we shipped parts to Texas and Louisiana. But they try to keep it local but when they downsized they have to ship parts from the stamping plants, and when they only have a few stamping plants left they ship it however far they need to. During the steel shortage we recieved steel coils that came across the ocean, not many but they did come in. I bet that was expensive. Steel was crap to, had a hard time making parts out that spot buy stuff.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

We recieved and shipped parts all over the country.
Just the dies I worked on we shipped parts to Texas and Louisiana. But they try to keep it local but when they downsized they have to ship parts from the stamping plants, and when they only have a few stamping plants left they ship it however far they need to. During the steel shortage we recieved steel coils that came across the ocean, not many but they did come in. I bet that was expensive. Steel was crap to, had a hard time making parts out that spot buy stuff.

I recall GM having a problem with some of this steel from overseas back in the '80s. If I remember correctly there was trouble getting paint to stick to it?

 

[Bosshoss]

Actually the just in time inventory process was developed by Edwards Deming. He approached the domestic auto manufacturers about using statistical analysis to improve their efficiency, thereby becoming more profitable. He was told to go pound sand. So he went to Japan where his ideas were embraced almost as a religion. That was in the early '50s. It took the domestic manufacturers thirty years of falling behind and twenty years of getting their asses handed to them before they decided this Deming fellow might be onto something.

The Japanese are so into Edwards Deming that they give out a yearly Deming award to the company/individual that best follows Deming's ideas and principles. It's considered an extremely high honor to receive it.

Thanks for info didn't know the whole history, I just knew GM started doing it because others had done it successfully. Just in time saves having a large supply of parts on hand. It also can get expensive when it goes wrong.

 

[murphy45]

I have worked in automotive for the last twenty years so this thread hits close to home. Today's reality is that our global economy has made it difficult to call most automobiles American or foreign based on part content. They are all global. Parts are sourced from all around the world regardless of the badge on the hood. Of course GM and Ford were founded in the US and are still viewed as American companies so many of us are more comfortable with the idea purchasing vehicles from them. I completely understand that line of thinking. I too prefer to purhase items that are made in the US or at least assembled in the US because it keeps a US resident/ citizen working. If someone wants to buy a vehicle from Ford or GM for the sole reason that they view it to be more American than I am fine with that but the unfortunate reality is that there aren't any truely American vehicle manufacturers anymore. The model for Ford and GM has changed and it is not going to revert back to what it was 70 years ago, companies owned by US citizens focused only on the US. Instead of attempting to put the auto industry cat back in the bag or trying to determine the lineage of the cat we really need to focus on building up smaller and mid size manufacturing in the US so our country and thrive on its own. Great discussion topic and good thoughts from everyone.

 

[hornadylnl]

My factory operates on JIT - Just Isn't There

Tomorrow, we will implement **** -Should Have It Tomorrow.

 

[John Galt]

ok i was just seriously confused.

and plus it's not like the stock market matters to us 3rd class citizens any how.

You should care, REALLY care, because your government is raping you and your descendents to the tune of several TRILLIONS of dollars/debt/printing/inflation just to prop it up right now. The greatest transfer of wealth in the history of man is happening right now and our eyes are wide open!

 

[John Galt]

Maybe because this thread isn't about that?

Partially true and point taken, but still relative due to the association with made in America and who benefits from it. I acknowledge it was a stretch, but it irritates me to no end. I drive a Toyota Tundra truck (The Tundra Is Now America’s “Most American” Pickup - The Tundra Is Now America’s “Most American” Pickup | Tundra Headquarters) and couldn't imagine a better vehicle while I just sold my wifes 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV after having had it in the shop 14 times in 2 years. Some of the cheapest quality I have ever seen in a vehicle and I have never been so happy to bid good riddance to a vehicle ever. As much as my wife loved it when we got it, even she couldn't defend it at the end. AND, they got $50 BILLION of my tax dollars (yes, mine, I plan on being rich someday) to sustain that crap!

 

[Arthur Dent]

What sort of problems did the Caddie have?

An interesting thing to note is the difference in how the Japanese and US auto manufacturers do business with their suppliers. US manufacturers constantly demand a lower price from their suppliers. Doesn't matter how it's achieved, just do it or we'll find someone else to buy from. And they hop around from supplier to supplier. The Japanese work with the same suppliers for the long term. Decades, preferably. They, of course, expect a fair price and realize that the supplier also needs to make a profit. A supplier may not make a tremendous fortune, but they will always make a profit and remain in business. Plus the Japanese tend to pay their bills on time without having to go to court.

However, to get the business from the Japanese you have to jump through a tremendous number of hoops and invest a lot of time and money in the relationship. They expect a high quality part and are willing to pay for it.

Our future Japanese customer will be getting a much higher quality product than the US manufacturers get. They are also paying for it. They are so involved in the project they've probably had more contact with our people in the last three years than all of our US customer have in the last ten combined.