Thanks for the detailed explanation; the Grand Marquis, Crown Vitoria, and Lincoln Towncar were the worst gas guzzlers, so I guess it made sense to turn them into imports. A colleague of mine wondered why part of his Crown Vic came from Spain and other offshore locations.
A very good book on a very realistic view of what’s happening is “Outsourcing America” by Conservative Republican Lue Dobbs.
That was also my understanding back then when I decided I would never buy another one. At this point I would avoid just about any product that has been touched by a worker in north america.
my wifes chevy aveo is great. I would of never thought that was such a great car… excellent build quality inside and outside too…
“Buy American” means to buy a product manufactured by a union shop in the USA. At least it meant that 30 or 40 years ago when the phrase was coined and for many years after. I still think of it that way, though I’d include Canada (Buy North American?) for automobiles since the UAW operates there, too.
I remember that…and thought it was So Hypocritical of Lee Iacocca to say it. He’s telling America in Chryco’s advertising to buy American…yet at the time…Chryco was buying more and more Steel from Japan and South Africa…Robotics from Japan and Korea…Electronics from Japan and South America…
“Buy American…Someone has to because we’re not.”
That seems a bit harsh. You wouldn’t buy anything, or just automotive products? Either way, it shows that you have little respect for the thousands (automotive) or millions (all products) who manufacture goods in North America. Would you be happier in Europe?
I certainly don’t buy any north american automotive products, and I don’t think there are that many non-automotive consumer products made in the U.S. anymore (I suspect the computer I just bought was not made in Iowa either, but I’m pretty sure the coffee I bought this morning was made by an american worker). It’s really not my job to prop up what’s left of the U.S. manufacturing sector, it is going to disappear with or without my help. The sooner the U.S. stops pretending to be in the manufacturing business the better off we will all be, then we can get on with providing higher value-added services to the world. The U.S. is good at many things; high volume, low cost manufacturing is definitely not one of them.
I don’t know if I would be happier in europe (but I do like their cars better), there is a much better chance that I (or my kids) will eventually end up living in asia than in europe. That’s where the action will be for the next few decades. My grandparents came to the U.S. when the growth was here, I’m really not sure what’s next. Where do you think your kids/grandkids will end up? I am pretty sure I won’t be moving to detroit anytime soon.