Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: Bye Bye American cars...

  1. #1
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Ever heard of José Carioca?
    Posts
    4,651

    Bye Bye American cars...

    After reading a couple of months ago that Ford is ditching their main passenger car production, sparing the Mustang and one or two SUVs and Pickups, now this...

    "GM Will Begin Massive Layoffs. Here's How Many Jobs Are Being Axed."

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethba...-axed-n2540719

    I guess pretty soon we'll no longer have the option of buying American when choosing a small/medium car. That makes me sad.

    P.S. I'm Brazilian, but I've always driven Ford cars, except for one Volkswagen I owned for about 8 months and sold it to buy another Ford.

  2. #2
    Forum Member melody's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    The third coast..!
    Posts
    3,667

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Me too bro it is sad... What I find most annoying is the fact that they had the North American tax payer bail them out 10years ago, Now they are just shitting on us!

  3. #3
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    New York Finger Lakes Area
    Posts
    8,462

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    American cars are just re-tooling. The next generation will be amazing.

    Fords still makes cars, the domestic buyers here in the US want luxury and power so they continue making Lincolns. The new Continental even had a limited run this year with suicide doors. How cool is that? Likewise, GM has Buick and Cadillac.

    What the american companies have figured out via their truck sales is that they cater to high-end buyers. King Ranches and Siverados still rule the roost in the US even though there are cheaper alternatives. There's not much incentive for anybody to slog it out in the economy crap-box arena. All the imports are still making sedans and a few coupes. The demand is there but the profitability isn't. Those buyers generally aren't "car people" and have no brand loyalty or desire for performance and luxury.

    For people on a limited budget I always thought Mazda was a cool little car company. They don't have the resources of the big dogs so they've always focused on making cool, desirable, fun cars that perform well for not a lot of money. From your local SCCA parking lot event to LeMans, they love to race.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

  4. #4
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    The Deep North
    Posts
    2,346

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Last North American car I bought was in 1988. Wow, 31 years ago! Been driving German and Japanese since then.

    My my next vehicle will be a truck so that means NA truck if I don’t go with a Tacoma or the mythical diesel VW truck that’s been rumoured.

  5. #5
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    The Deep North
    Posts
    2,346

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    .

  6. #6
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Northern Virginia, USA
    Posts
    3,928

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    You want American? Honda's Accord is made in Ohio. So is the Acura RDX. Nissan makes trucks in Tennessee. Toyota makes the Camry, the Avalon, the Corolla and the Tundra in the U.S.A.

    A lot of GM vehicles are made or assembled in Mexico, Canada, and until recently, Australia.

    So what are you really buying when you "buy American?"

  7. #7
    Forum Member Volumeknob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Swampneckistan
    Posts
    589

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    https://mexico-now.com/index.php/art...uture-in-sight


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ford_factories

    Depending on the Model Mate-- you might be buying a FORD made in......Brazil :)

    its hard to find things even things MADE in a particular country have parts-- bits-- pieces -- outsourced from OTHER countries--

    I bought a jar of dill pickles the other day at a LOCAL grocery store-- I was SHOCKED when I looked on the label---
    "PRODUCT OF INDIA" !?!?!? WTF???????? really?
    The "Danish" butter cookies I bought at Christmas time---- "PRODUCT OF CHINA" -- again -- WTF?!?!?


    its a globally "F"ed up world --- one women in AUstria is going miss payments-- get her house foreclosed on -- and the ENTIRE WORLD ECONOMY will collapse!
    The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.
    T. Roosevelt

  8. #8
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Northern Virginia, USA
    Posts
    3,928

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    I've heard that one of the reasons foreign auto makers find it lucrative to make vehicles in the USA (one of - if not THE - largest markets) is that they, unlike the American car makers, employ non-union workers. Detroit is still being held hostage by the UAW, while the VW workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee can choose to not join a union.

  9. #9
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    11,288

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    The Honda Fit is made in Mexico.

    Do the Fords sold in Brazil have anything at all to do with the Fords sold in the US?

  10. #10
    Forum Member melody's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    The third coast..!
    Posts
    3,667

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Quote Originally Posted by OldStrummer View Post
    I've heard that one of the reasons foreign auto makers find it lucrative to make vehicles in the USA (one of - if not THE - largest markets) is that they, unlike the American car makers, employ non-union workers. Detroit is still being held hostage by the UAW, while the VW workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee can choose to not join a union.

    I have always said that unions are just a democratic forum of communism and I live in Michigan.. They are a parasite that slowly kills it's host.

  11. #11
    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bloomfield, CT
    Posts
    6,774

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Quote Originally Posted by melody View Post
    I have always said that unions are just a democratic forum of communism and I live in Michigan.. They are a parasite that slowly kills it's host.
    I think unions do some harm, but given the way corporations in America (and elsewhere) seem more than ready to throw their employees under the bus in the search for higher shareholder returns, something does need to be there to look out for the employees. Sadly, the unions often look out for the benefit for the union rather than the employees.

    My Nissan is made in the US, my last Chrysler was made in Germany (Mercedes) and my Mustang is about 30% Mexican parts.
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

  12. #12
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Ever heard of José Carioca?
    Posts
    4,651

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    The Honda Fit is made in Mexico.

    Do the Fords sold in Brazil have anything at all to do with the Fords sold in the US?

    Most models sold here are the same you got there (with some minor modifications, i.e. a Brazilian Focus might not have the same configs. as a US made one. Same goes for Fiestas, Rangers, etc.), plus some smaller European ones. Some cars like the Taurus aren't sold here, though.
    Last edited by S. Cane; 02-04-2019 at 07:23 AM.

  13. #13
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Ever heard of José Carioca?
    Posts
    4,651

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Quote Originally Posted by melody View Post
    I have always said that unions are just a democratic forum of communism and I live in Michigan.. They are a parasite that slowly kills it's host.

    Ditto

  14. #14
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    8,163

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    My father was a UAW worker, and the union got the workers job security, and a livable and fair salary and insurance benefits Ford wouldn't give them. Dad retired in 91. Perhaps the UAW has changed.

    I know this is a touchy issue. I hope we don't get heated. I don't want to debate anyone because most minds are already made up about unions.

    I respect you all and your opinions.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  15. #15
    Forum Member Old Ranger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    East Texas, USA
    Posts
    557

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    You've got enough on your plate as it is Willie. I don't think anybody here is going to give you any grief over anyting said in this thread. Carry on buddy you're all right. And the rest of y'all, show a little decorum. We don't even bat an eye over instruments being made in every country of the world with a US name attached to the headstock. WTF guys? Its just cars...

    Thank you, Ranger out.
    I forgot what I was going to say...

  16. #16
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Northern Virginia, USA
    Posts
    3,928

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    My father was a UAW worker, and the union got the workers job security, and a livable and fair salary and insurance benefits Ford wouldn't give them. Dad retired in 91. Perhaps the UAW has changed.

    I know this is a touchy issue. I hope we don't get heated. I don't want to debate anyone because most minds are already made up about unions.

    I respect you all and your opinions.
    First, my prayers for you @ch willie.

    Your father was the beneficiary of a time when unions were the means of getting worker rights. No problems or complaints there. But times HAVE changed, and forced union membership is now just a means of feathering the shop boss's pockets, for the most part. The are labor laws now that unions helped bring into place.

    But having done so, many of them are now irrelevant.

  17. #17
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    11,288

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    No doubt, the unions had a time and a place (and sometimes still do), but I don't think it's the unions that hurt American cars as much as it was the car companies being slow to respond to the quality of Japanese cars. Toyota, Honda and the rest really stepped up longevity, especially with small cars, while American companies rested on their laurels and built small cars that weren't as good. By the time they improved their quality it was too late.

  18. #18
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    8,163

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    Thanks, guys.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  19. #19
    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bloomfield, CT
    Posts
    6,774

    Re: Bye Bye American cars...

    In my line of work it's the teacher's unions that can cause trouble. It's one thing to negotiate salary increases, but in Connecticut, because of binding arbitration and "last-best offer" the erosion of management rights and school governance issues has probably done more to harm public education than anything.
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •