Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 Forum - View Single Post

JMROD · 08-07-2007, 03:57 PM

This is an interesting thread and a subject I have great interest in.

I used to wonder why Toyotas and Hondas where "better" cars than US built ones( assuming this was true at least at one point since some poeple here seem to think this was never true) . As a kid I thought "Made in the USA" meant "perfect" (american born w/ foreign born parents). I wondered how the greatest country in the world and the pioneers of the automobile, assemby line..ect can make inferior cars. One reason I thought an american car could be "inferior" is Capitalist greed. I thought it may be corporate America cutting corners and doing what it takes to increase profits and make the already rich CEO, richer. This angered me and made me want to buy foreign. Then a friend gave me a totally different perspective. He said it was the auto unions asking for to much and making it difficult for the companies to produce quality product while still making there empoyees happy to compete with cheap labor foriegn companies(money is going into workers instead of cars). In summary he said, the time of unions have past, they did there job to establish laws for the worker but now are just like any other greedy corrupt orginization. I dont know what the answer is.

I am glad in a way that Toyota and Honda have been giving the big three something to worry about. Competition is always good for the consumer but also good for us "American made" fans because that means we also see our companies become "better" and not take us for granted.

As for the "american made" debate. I work in aerospace with a defense company. There is also a "big three" in the aerospace industry like the auto. One thing I realized as I started here out of college was that its rare for one company to produce the complete product. My companies products (fighter jets, sattelites, battleships...among many) are not as much "designed" by my company but maybe moreso "put together" by the company. It seems companies are now more specialized. YOu have a company that builds acutators and another company that builds Control Units that sell to a company that needs them as part of a bigger picture, a Fighter Jet. I think this is true for the car industry. Even if a car was built by and American company, in the US, for the US, it will still have "made in china" part in it. Maybe the days of companies making 100% of their product themselves are over, at least for complex product like cars and fighter jets. Isnt this part of the "global economy" they say we are moving towards?

I really dont knowthe true reasons or answers. What I do know is that I am happy with the recent turn around that seems to be happening wtih american auto makers. I love the idea of buying an american car that has the high american quality I imagined when I was a kid.

One thing is true we are becoming a service economy(if not already). I think we need to put the right "P" back into our products, pride not just profit.

08-07-2007, 03:57 PM	#37
JMROD Drives: 2SS RS ABM "Bumbleblue" Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: So. Cal Posts: 60	This is an interesting thread and a subject I have great interest in. I used to wonder why Toyotas and Hondas where "better" cars than US built ones( assuming this was true at least at one point since some poeple here seem to think this was never true) . As a kid I thought "Made in the USA" meant "perfect" (american born w/ foreign born parents). I wondered how the greatest country in the world and the pioneers of the automobile, assemby line..ect can make inferior cars. One reason I thought an american car could be "inferior" is Capitalist greed. I thought it may be corporate America cutting corners and doing what it takes to increase profits and make the already rich CEO, richer. This angered me and made me want to buy foreign. Then a friend gave me a totally different perspective. He said it was the auto unions asking for to much and making it difficult for the companies to produce quality product while still making there empoyees happy to compete with cheap labor foriegn companies(money is going into workers instead of cars). In summary he said, the time of unions have past, they did there job to establish laws for the worker but now are just like any other greedy corrupt orginization. I dont know what the answer is. I am glad in a way that Toyota and Honda have been giving the big three something to worry about. Competition is always good for the consumer but also good for us "American made" fans because that means we also see our companies become "better" and not take us for granted. As for the "american made" debate. I work in aerospace with a defense company. There is also a "big three" in the aerospace industry like the auto. One thing I realized as I started here out of college was that its rare for one company to produce the complete product. My companies products (fighter jets, sattelites, battleships...among many) are not as much "designed" by my company but maybe moreso "put together" by the company. It seems companies are now more specialized. YOu have a company that builds acutators and another company that builds Control Units that sell to a company that needs them as part of a bigger picture, a Fighter Jet. I think this is true for the car industry. Even if a car was built by and American company, in the US, for the US, it will still have "made in china" part in it. Maybe the days of companies making 100% of their product themselves are over, at least for complex product like cars and fighter jets. Isnt this part of the "global economy" they say we are moving towards? I really dont knowthe true reasons or answers. What I do know is that I am happy with the recent turn around that seems to be happening wtih american auto makers. I love the idea of buying an american car that has the high american quality I imagined when I was a kid. One thing is true we are becoming a service economy(if not already). I think we need to put the right "P" back into our products, pride not just profit.