@Bing
the Mexican auto industry is doing phenomenally at the moment
Apparently, their quality level is extremely high
I think it’s more accurate to say Mexico is “the new Canada” of car production
I agree, Mexico makes good stuff. I bought an old style Chevy crate engine manufactured in Mexico, it was terrific. Manufacturers of all types used to only build in Mexico until the employees children finished university. Then they built design centers in Mexico and staffed them with local engineers and US managers. Now they are staffed with Mexican managers.
A number of car makers have built there for decades; GM, Ford, VW and more.
My current car was made in Canada, as was my old '94. My old truck was made in Mexico. I have to say the Canada vehicles seem to be better put together, though this is only my opinion and they are all vastly different vehicles with different components. My old truck was a '98. I expect Mexico has come a long way since then, like China has.
My former 1995 Corolla was made in Japan, and my current 2005 Camry was built in Kentucky
Sadly, I have to say my Corolla was built to a much higher standard than the Camry
I’m hoping it’s got nothing to do with where the Camry was built. I’d have to spend some time looking at Japan-built Camrys to form a real opinion. According to Toyota TSBs, there were some Japan-built Camrys of this vintage, but I haven’t seen any yet
My 1997 Mazda Protege was built in Japan
Does Mazda have any US factories?
Mazda used to own a plant jointly with Ford, but hasn’t in years. I believe they’re building a plant in Mexico, as are many of the companies that hadn’t already. More and more cars are coming from there, which I think is great. A healthy Mexican economy is very good for the US.
Quoting @MarkM “A healthy Mexican economy is very good for the US.”
A healthy US economy would be even better.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Mexico and most Mexicans I’ve met. I’ve been deep into Mexico more times than I can count or remember, and I speak passable Spanish, BUT I think Ross Perot was right about the large sucking sound of American jobs heading south that we’ve been hearing since NAFTA became law. I know of one local company that terminated 53 employees when they lost a long term contract to a Mexican company. That’s just one very small example.
How is THAT good for the USA?
Because then Mexicans can buy more US products like iPhones. Oh wait…those are Chinese products.
Job losses happen because the Mexican economy has not been very healthy, driving labor costs down. As their economy improves (as it has been) it becomes a less attractive place for American companies to move jobs to. The same pattern has already been seen with Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. The low-paying jobs have all gone to China, Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries. The Koreans have done a nice job reinventing themselves and the Japanese have struggled.