With the news that Ford may be permanently conceding the #2 spot to Toyota within the year, MSNBC posted a survey about what vehicle manufacturer you would rather purchase from…
And as of tonight, the poll is running 35% domestic, 65% import.
Maybe I’m off, but it’s odd to me that some of the comments I’ve seen on that site after the poll even go so far as a “serves them right - they should go out of business” attitude.
I’m not trying to start a flame war - but I wonder if anyone has concerns about how America in general is going when we start losing our major industries (textiles and consumer electronics are other examples; aviation is on the fence) and our population doesn’t seem to care.
We’re turning into a service-based economy in the US (I’ve heard that the largest employer in Dearborn is now Henry Ford Hospital), and I feel that this will only serve to worsen the trade balance we have with other countries.
Looks to me like the intent of the post is to start a discussion about the state of the American workforce, economy, and it’s future in an international market.
Hey - I’ll leave it to the mods if this thread needs to be moved to OT.
And yes, I was referring to other industries, but my comments were meant to be directed at the car side of things; car purchases tend to be more emotional than say, refrigerator purchases.
Hopefully, the thread won’t get to the point of being locked.
There are alot of industries where the US leads in technology & research. The bleeding edge as it were.
but my comments were meant to be directed at the car side of things; car purchases tend to be more emotional than say, refrigerator purchases.
Yes, cars can be emotional purchases, however they are not the driving force of our economy. They hardly ever were.
As far a shift toward service based economy… we are way behind that train of thought.
If china can source the raw materials (oil is a biggun), then they will surpass us very quickly. As it is, they are outgrowing their resources, and it’s holding them back.
India is on the rise as well, but is more ‘service based’. Their educational institutions are quickly catching up to the US as well.
But it’s late and I’m tired, so this is probably full of holes.
Scion and Lexus models all are imported. The Camry is built in the US, but many parts are not. All the hybrid parts are imported too. Much of the engineering R&D is done in Japan, although there are some “design studios” in California.
And Toyota employs about 30K in North America, which is less than what GM and Ford let go this year alone. Yes, Toyota has 10 factories in North America (with some in Mexico and Canada), while GM has 56. (And three in Mexico and five in Canada)
for the cars that toyota builds within north america, fewer parts are outsourced than with GM and Ford cars.
for example, the Toyota sienna, %89 of it is built right here.
Ford mustang %65. (if i’m remembering the numbers correctly. i know it’s close to that tho)
obviously as a whole, GM provides quite a bit more for americans than any “import” company. but over time, it seems that will change.