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Originally Posted by Blownhotrodder
Haha, you got a large number of imports coming here and making cars too that gives somebodies dad a job, which in tern sends their kid to private school and maybe they buy 3 cars too. I guess you just dont see that though, right? No thats right, when an import sells in the states they take all that money and send it back to the motherland.
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When someone buys a BMW, they send their money to Germany. They may have employed some American workers, but GM, Chrysler, and Ford all employ more American workers. Just because someone's BMW was made by a few Americans doesn't mean that someone else's Silverado was made by any fewer Americans. Even if the entire Z71 line was made in Bangladesh, the money pays for offices in Detroit, executives who live in the Union, and all of those factories in America. When you buy a foreign car, the company invests the money at home. American companies invest their money in suppliers, offices, and personnel in the States. How is that hard for anyone to understand?
Quote:
Originally Posted by chadrcr
With the current state of the economy, how do you think we should help the motherlands of all the 'imports'.
If possible, we should save ourselves first, because we will (and always have) been willing to help other countries. Think about what the flight attendant says: "if the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first, then help those around you". So, if the U.S. economy goes in the tank, who is going to save 'us'. If we 'Americans' do not find a way to keep 'our' money here..... stop buying more imported stuff than we export..... eventually Georgia may be a colony of China....
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I posted this argument elsewhere. Basically, we can only count on ourselves. If we give money to Japan, they aren't obligated to give money to us. In fact, the Japanese, for instance, have tariffs that raise the sale price of US cars. We don't match those tariffs in the same way, so their cars are easier to sell here. The tariffs are designed to protect domestic investment. I know what you're going to say. "This is a free market and we should be able to buy the best products for the best price." You're wrong. This is called a mixed economy. The government is involved to protect its interests and the interests of citizens. The government has an interest in serving the public, and that is best served by collecting taxes and spending money on social programs, national defense, and all of the other things that make government a necessary part of society as we know it. If the government does not collect taxes, then it cannot serve the people.
I know what you're going to say to this, as well. "Why are you talking about taxes?" Big companies pay lots of taxes. Motor companies are some of the biggest companies in the world. They pay some of the biggest taxes as a result. Without that tax money in the budget, the government has to make cuts or make citizens pay more money to compensate. Do you who disagree with me want to pay more taxes? I didn't think so. Support American companies.
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Originally Posted by Milk 1027
Is it a factor?
NO
It's the cherry on top.
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That's okay. It may not be the biggest issue to anyone. We all take pride in our purchases. If anything, the fact that Milk 1027 is buying an American car without really prioritizing American cars actually proves my earlier point. American cars do compete in the global market. When compared to foreign cars, they are equally matched or superior in every category that matters. You can't tell me that a Cobalt and a Civic are totally unrelated cars. They compete, and they therefore have a lot of similarities. The differences are in the performance. If one has a few more square inches of cargo space, do you really care? Are you going to use every square inch? Think about it. Now think about how functional that space is. The trunk is a weird shape in every car. It isn't a perfect square, so that space is distributed weirdly. Just because a car has more space doesn't mean that all of the space is functional. Even if it was, you weren't buying a Cobalt or Civic for the cargo room. If that's all that mattered, then you'd buy a full-size van.
People take pride in their purchases because they want to feel that they made the right decision. They scan every advertisement in search of something that helps them justify their decision, and then they tell their friends how that stupid 4 square inches of cargo space really make or break the deal. Here's the blunt truth. Most of us and our families have bought cars for the wrong reasons. My parents bought this Impreza without considering an American product. Now, I drive a green wagon despite knowing that American alternatives did exist in 2002, and those alternatives operate just fine for the purpose of getting my passengers, cargo, and me to any destination safely.
Once again, I've ranted for too long.
