9th Oct 2009, 06:58
The vets I know all drive domestics. I think based on the current state of the economy, it takes it beyond the pride of made in America. If there was ever a model made in North Vietnam, I would not buy one, especially to drive to our family cemetery.
9th Oct 2009, 11:49
12:24 Ask yourself who signs your paycheck and who buys or utilizes your companies sales or services as we speak. I would like to continue receiving ours. I buy as much as possible instead of mfr done in Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan etc etc. They do not employ me other than paying them.
And it's more than cars. Sure there's some imports from the past in my home. I hope to see my employer remain open and it's one of many small businesses hanging on, although it's hard to compete with overseas poverty wages, no benefits, OSHA or worker safety concerns with any imports. Seems like whatever is cheap has appeal.
I will pay much more for high quality such as my company offers. Need a paycheck though. I guess I could buy a little import car and work at a minimart. I would rather see my employer remain however.
9th Oct 2009, 12:27
"The vets I know all drive domestics I think based on the current state of the economy it takes it beyond the pride of made in America. If there was ever a model made in North Viet Nam I would not buy one especially to drive to our family cemetery"
What is your point here? We shouldn't buy anything from anyone we've been at war with? Boy that would really limit us severely if we tried to do that. We now wouldn't even be able to buy oil!
Also, what is "made in America" anymore? Even Chevy's and Fords have many foreign parts. Why just the last generation of GM's Saturn Vue was using a Honda V-6. Should you tear out the engine and demand something made in the US?
The auto industry has been, for decades now, using foreign branded parts and in many cases the whole cars, to supplement their own lines. You are against the guy in the Corolla but okay with the guy next to him in the Chevy Prizm? The guy in the Stratus is a patriot but not the one in the Eclipse? This goes on and on....
I mean, seriously, where do you draw the line here? "Gee that guy isn't a patriot because he has a Sony TV". Of course if he had a Pioneer, which was an old "made in America" company, he'd still have a Japanese TV wouldn't he?
This all gets complicated with something called free trade. It's what makes the world go round. It creates better products through competition. Without it your precious big three would still be making cars that rusted in two years and were complete garbage. They also would not have their very profitable global brands and markets and probably would have ceased to exist long before now. I am sorry you feel more comfortable supporting GM and Chrysler after they took your tax money so they could try to do the right thing in business for once. Ford isn't much better.
So, do you support someone driving a Mazda, or a Volvo? Did you forget that Chrysler now only exists because of Daimler and now Fiat? These are only a very few examples of the cross marketing going on in the auto industry.
You should really rethink your whole patriotism thought process. Judging someone for what they drive is so shortsighted. If it is only going to take the auto industry failing to destroy this country, then guess what, we had all our eggs in the wrong basket. Those three companies have been running way over budget with fat pensions and ridiculous salaries for decades. Did no one see this coming?? I did. I am not surprised this happened at all.
To keep rewarding them for their failures is not really a positive thing to me. Let them fail and regroup with maybe smaller companies taking on the brands that we all know and love, so they run leaner and better than ever. My opinion is that they would not have failed as brands, but maybe just start over with new smaller companies taking on less overhead and increasing the level of quality. It is evident that this would happen as Saturn and Hummer have been bought so they will continue on. We have to let it happen though as the way it is being handled now is not progress, but regress right back to the same old same old. This is coming from a car guy who loves Mustangs, Firebirds, etc.... so I am not an import lover by any means. I do drive them more often nowadays though because they have better business practices plain and simple.
If buying a Chevy is patriotism to you, then good luck to you. It is the dying Capitalist mentality hard at work...
9th Oct 2009, 15:52
"The vets I know all drive domestics"
Maybe the vets you know do. My uncle is a vet. He drives a Toyota Camry. I think he might find it offensive that you think it is unpatriotic to own an import. Especially since he just got back from Iraq and will be going back again soon.
10th Oct 2009, 06:38
11:49
I too buy products made in the USA whenever possible.
I do not and will not EVER call a fellow American "unpatriotic" simply because they drive a Honda, Toyota, Subaru or whatever, however. That is just plain wrong.
By the way - I drive a Jeep.
I must add one other thing, due to the person who keeps extolling the wonderfulness of Ford Fusions on this site and continues to attack the integrity of import drivers, and because of the viciousness of the attacks, I now will never purchase another Ford.
10th Oct 2009, 08:01
I must agree with you there. I don't know who that person is, but he is way out of line. I too drive a domestic vehicle, a Dodge to be exact. But to call somebody else "unpatriotic" because they drive an import is very unfair. I'm the same person who posted about having an uncle who drives a Camry and that he just got back from serving his country in Iraq. That somebody would call him unpatriotic because of the car he drives is very shortsighted. And so because of that, I must say that I will also never purchase another Ford.
10th Oct 2009, 10:58
I couldn't agree more. My late father and father-in-lawn would turn over in their graves if they knew how many supposedly "patriotic" American citizens were destroying our economy and our way of life by supporting foreign industry. They never owned anything but American cars and
insisted that their children do likewise. It is a slap in the face to every person who ever fought for our country to see U.S. citizens on this site cheerleading for the destruction of our industries, jobs and way of life. To wish for the destruction of our own economy would make most true Americans furious.
7th Oct 2009, 08:29
I drive a Jeep, and I disagree with all of your propaganda.
Sorry.