Buy American or Get Out
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| Mon, 09-08-2008 - 7:09pm |
A directive recently handed down by a Detroit-area suburban mayor has ignited the latest round of a seemingly endless debate -- one that always burns with more intensity in the home of the Big Three than anywhere else.
It's the debate that relates to cars goes something like this: "Buy American!" vs. "I'll buy what I want!"
That debate sometimes, but not always, begins as a civil conversation. But the Detroit area has been hit hard in the last five years by the ongoing, sometimes enormous financial losses posted by the Big Three. The Big Three's financial woes have had a direct impact on the Michigan economy with hundreds of thousands of layoffs and/or buyouts.
Given that so many of the state's workers have lost their jobs -- and in some cases, their homes - it sometimes doesn't take long before the car debate escalates into an emotional one. That can lead to angry name-calling and insults - like many of the reader comments that flooded the online edition of the Detroit newspaper that first reported a controversial story.
Opinions???



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Did you hear that at a recent shareholder meeting for Ford that the shareholders basically sent the message that they didn't want Ford to move too far away from trucks and SUVs (too profitable per unit)? This flies in the face of current market trends that indicate that consumers don't want those products and has seen Toyota to surpass the big 3.
Maybe more people would buy American if the big 3 gave people what they wanted.
i'm torn on that story. we own four cars within our family - two foreign, two domestic. I drove one of the domestic cars for the last 4 years until we "handed it down" to one of the kids and replaced it with an upgrade. it is a Chrysler and it performed fine for me. but we had performance problems with other cars in the past - which lead to the "upgrades" to more comfortable and more reliable foreign cars. i do think that if domestic cars gave the same comfort (no clunking, no wind noises) and reliability (no break-downs, better service departments) as some of the foreign cars, we would drive them.
at the same time, my livelihood and that of my community is not based on the auto industry. if it was, i would feel it was just plain stupid for administrators and executives to drive foreign cars. if someone gets a hand-me-down foreign car, fine - that's an economic decision. but for someone in leadership with the means to purchase a new car goes for the competitor, that's irresponsible because it sends a message "our product isn't good enough for me."
As long as he doesn't fire the librarian for driving a Toyota or VW van, he is within his rights - and the community can vote him out if they don't like his policy.
Bea
Well, I live in the metro Detroit area, and I can understand this.
Susan
I will buy an american car when one of the big three builds a car that is as reliable, effecient, and fun as the cars I do drive.
American cars (interestingly, american-designed, as opposed to necessarily built-in-america, where my honda was built...) are generally:
1.
>>>>I don't agree with Obama giving money to the auto companies to re-tool to make more fuel efficient vehicles.<<<<
I totally agree.
I live in a suburb of Detroit also.
To me, it's sort of a poor excuse for "economic patriotism." It only applies if you're talking about people being patriots of Detroit, MI. Otherwise, there are several other car companies that manufacture in the United States and provide millions of jobs here. For instance, a Subaru/Isuzu plant is the #3 employer in my area. A Toyota plant is the #3 employer in my extended family's town. A Honda plant is a major employer in another family member's town. Each of those plants provide American jobs and pay American taxes.
If American engineered car companies want to be competitive, then several things need to happen:
1. The companies need to listen to consumers. The Camry, Corolla, Accord, and Civic models made up nearly 30% of new car purchases in August 2008. (http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html) Obviously, Toyota and Honda are doing something that consumers appreciate.
2. It's not *just* the companies' fault, though. High taxes and union wages/benefits have been hitting our American automobile industry hard for some time now.
It will take quite a bit to get our auto industry out of the hole that has been created.
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I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure
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