11th May 2011, 13:30

Americans. By a factor of 10 to 1. U.S. car companies employ 10 workers for every 1 employed by all foreign manufacturers combined (including German and British cars). And with Ford bringing production of the Fusion back to the U.S., GM taking over as the largest car company on Earth once more, and Chrysler opening several new plants in the U.S., that figure will no doubt soon increase to more like 15 to 1.

Of course people are free to buy whatever they choose, but to use false arguments to justify hurting U.S. workers is a practice that needs to be pointed out.

12th May 2011, 12:50

Chrysler is 50% FOREIGN owned! 50% of Chrysler is owned by Italians. Where do you get your facts from?

The Ford Fusion is built in Mexico by Mexicans.

The following cars are built in Canada:

Chrysler: Town & Country, Caravan, 300, Charger, Challenger.

Ford: Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Edge, Fiesta, MKX, Flex, Escape.

Go ahead, continue support of false American car companies that will increasing outsource their labor to other countries. How is that supporting fellow Americans?

GM: Camaro, Cruze, Impala, Allure, Lacrosse, Equinox, Torrent.

12th May 2011, 13:01

There are so many inconsistencies and flaws with ANY discussion of import vs. domestic and American jobs and such, it is not even worth talking about anymore... yet here we are repeating the same old posts over and over again. How about this... we talk about the cars we own and our experiences with them, and leave the auto business politics at the door. Can we ever do that on this site?

Try it, it will be like a breath of fresh air... and it will curtail these pointless arguments and threads with 300 posts on them about the same old crap.

13th May 2011, 08:17

So in your mind, I should keep buying poor quality American vehicles, and spend 10 times in repairs on them over imports so I save someone's job? Who is looking to save my job? If I can't perform and exceed the competition, I don't deserve a job. The same is true for the auto business. I will not support second rate business just because it is American. Sorry, we live in a global economy. The auto companies made their own beds, as they all have used and continue to use foreign parts, and in many cases entire foreign cars, in their lines. What US worker has ever benefited from the use of a foreign car in a domestic line? Please enlighten me.

You are the victim of media hype. The domestic companies have a poor track record of performance, so they started this whole 90% argument to gain blind support of Americans. It is working well, as so many people will look past the higher cost of purchasing and the higher maintenance and repair costs associated with the average domestic, because they feel they are supporting their fellow American. Please!

Why does anyone suddenly care about this one business? Every time I drive, I get cut off and pulled out in front of by people that only care for themselves. This happens in every aspect of life. The job market is dog eat dog, and no one cares about anyone else. Americans feel entitled and deserving, and are very self serving. Now all the sudden you care about Joe Shmo's job? Please!! The only thing you care about is the collapse of the auto business, because you think it will create waves in your little world, and you might not be so comfortable. Sorry to say it, but you are living in a fantasy world if you think this one business is making or breaking the US.

We are already broken, so the best thing to do is buy what you like and enjoy it while it lasts. I am going for imports because they are cheaper to own, period! Until I am proven wrong, I cannot be swayed on this. I do not care about the auto business, as I feel it should have been left to fail and regroup. Maybe they would be viable by now if they had... but they probably will tank again, now that gas is over $4 per gallon. Haven't we spent enough of our valuable time supporting incompetence in this country?

14th May 2011, 11:42

"So in your mind, I should keep buying poor quality American vehicles, and spend 10 times in repairs on them over imports so I save someone's job?"

Myths die hard when fueled by billions of dollars in Japanese advertising revenue. At no time in history has ANY American car cost "10 times" as much in repairs as an import... EVER. Even when ad dollars were enticing many questionable "ratings sources" to rate Japanese cars higher in reliability than domestics, the difference in repair costs were even then listed as fractions of a percent, not even 1 percent. At the present time Ford holds the number one spot in reliability in the world, and GM and Chrysler are close behind. Toyota has fallen to a very low standing (21st out of 33 car makers) and Honda is still plagued by its transmission problems. Nissan has never been noted as very reliable, and the Titan and Armada were disasters. To justify abandoning American industry on the pretext that imports are more reliable is simply no longer a valid argument, if it ever was. A recent news story stated that more industry is moving back to the U.S. because American workers are far more productive. American-bashing is rapidly losing its appeal all over the world. It's sad that our own citizens still practice it with regard to the import car myths.

15th May 2011, 10:51

Imports: cost more to buy, repair costs are higher and insurance is usually higher. North American plants in the U.S. and Canada have stepped up their game as of the 2008 recession and financial troubles, things are looking up...