How about a wannabe made in USA thread?

[Looking4new]

My first choice in buying bigger stuff is Made in Canada, WTH I'm a Canadian, eh? Second choice is Made in USA. Everywhere else comes as last choice.
I do not like to admit it but, my Kioti was made in South Korea and the reason I bought it from there is because of price and I have a strong dislike for Jap. stuff. Maybe I am biased, maybe I am pregidious (sp), you might even call me racist, but I am a firm believer in I am Canadian keep Canadians working.

 

[Oldoak]

My mother-in-law is retired from the UAW and bought a Toyota Minivan that was more American made than a Ford F150 at the time.

F150s are American made, just not every one in the United States.

 

[PJSprog]

My first choice in buying bigger stuff is Made in Canada, WTH I'm a Canadian, eh? Second choice is Made in USA. Everywhere else comes as last choice.
I do not like to admit it but, my Kioti was made in South Korea and the reason I bought it from there is because of price and I have a strong dislike for Jap. stuff. Maybe I am biased, maybe I am pregidious (sp), you might even call me racist, but I am a firm believer in I am Canadian keep Canadians working.

Nothing "racist" about that, Bill. Everyone wants to keep their own people working, and, unless I'm mistaken, I think that's the original intent of this thread. We all wish there was more of that.

Our LS is Korean, too. However, like most mechanical things, it was "built" in parts there, shipped in crates here, and assembled in Southern Illinois, about 50 miles from our home. I'd be lying if I said that had no influence on our purchase. We both drive Kias, and have no problem with Korean manufacturing, but the "assembled in America" part definitely helped our decision regarding the tractor.

 

[cat fever]

I'm not even sure if my Harley is completely American made!

I can for sure say my oldest son is American made. However my youngest son may have started out in the Bahama's but as the parts were coming together it's all American and final delivery was American.:laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

F150s are American made, just not every one in the United States.

When she bought her Toyota Sienna, it had more American made parts, assembly, and labor in it than ALL Ford F150's of the same year. For that matter, Toyota had three vehicles in the top 10 most American made cars that year, and the F150 was not even on the list. Only 55% of its parts were American made that year.

 

[Garandman]

I'm not even sure if my Harley is completely American made!

Not even close. You'll find most of the front end is made by Showa and you need metric tools (DAMHIKT). Ditto shocks, which are the cheapest Showa products, mostly. The brakes are "Findlay" but Findley is a 100% owned subsidiary of Nissan Koygo. There are other parts from China, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, Japan and Mexico. The "Street" models (500 and 750) are made in the US and India. But the batteries are Deka, made in PA.

This is not uncommon in the motorcycle industry. My [mostly] English-made Triumph has mostly Japanese electrics and the rear shock was Showa (replaced with a US made Penske). While all BMW's are assembled in Germany, the G series used to be made by Aprilia, and some engines and other components are made in China, Taiwan (Kymco builds their scooter engines) and Austria. My Kawasaki KLR650 was made in Thailand. Honda used to build Gold Wings in Ohio. Etc.

 

[Sysop]

I like to buy from a US company that uses US materials and US workers when possible. Having an assembly plant here is not the same as being an American company. US factories churning out foreign products is simply a shift of our fortunes to their countries.

Most of the foreign auto makers that produce cars here have always paid their assembly line workers much less than the US companies. Those foreign companies are only making things here that can be delivered to customers cheaper than using their own workforce, not to do our workforce any favors.

When it is the best job available to them in their area, I don't blame the workers for taking those foreign jobs. When it is the best product for the dollar a consumer has available, I don't blame them for purchasing foreign made stuff. But in the end, I'd rather see the sales numbers shift back to US companies that are keeping their profits in the US. I'd like to see them able to hire more people and provide them higher wages than they earn from the foreign companies.

 

[Oaktree]

When she bought her Toyota Sienna, it had more American made parts, assembly, and labor in it than ALL Ford F150's of the same year. For that matter, Toyota had three vehicles in the top 10 most American made cars that year

To say that I'm skeptical of these claims would be an understatement. Is there any oversight or can companies fudge the numbers (not that a fine upstanding company like toyota would ever do something like that).

 

[moriboy]

Whether we like it or not, it's a global economy, and that's not going to change.

 

[newbury]

Cleaned up the thread title... had ampersands and such...

Do you think the title was made overseas ?

When she bought her Toyota Sienna, it had more American made parts, assembly, and labor in it than ALL Ford F150's of the same year. For that matter, Toyota had three vehicles in the top 10 most American made cars that year, and the F150 was not even on the list. Only 55% of its parts were American made that year.

"American made" may include North America, Central America, or South America. Made in the USA is a subset.