22nd Nov 2012, 17:54

I do not think one person on here truly believes Toyota is a domestic. You can talk in double speak all you wish; it's an import. If I work or am deployed overseas, I am quite aware of where my dollars are paid from. It gets tiring reading this mess over and over. People know the truth. I knew as a little kid that Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda were certainly foreign cars. I think it's all to take attention away from the awful quality issues Toyota has been having. I'm sure I am far from alone on that feeling.

23rd Nov 2012, 11:22

Yeah, and what about all those Fords and GM's made in Mexico, Korea, and Europe? Are they domestic or imported? What about Chrysler's future lineup, based on Fiat products? The most beloved car of domestic lovers is the Ford Fusion ("see how reliable domestic cars can be???"), which was mostly built from Mazda parts, was assembled in Mexico, and now uses parts from around the world.

23rd Nov 2012, 15:30

They are domestics. Good for us. Better than siphoning the big profits out of the country.

23rd Nov 2012, 16:12

And still no one gets it... it's amazing that our own citizens can't tell a foreign-owned company from an American-owned company. They rant about where the cars are assembled, and overlook the fact that the taxes and profits go to build the American economy. And yes, most of these anti-American comments are probably a smokescreen to take attention away from the fact that Japanese cars, and especially Toyota, can no longer be remotely considered high quality vehicles.

23rd Nov 2012, 19:25

Here we go again...

With all due respect, I don't for a minute believe that *everything* you own was actually made in the USA - Do you wear a wristwatch?

They haven't made any in the USA in decades. Same with TVs (until this year), VCRs & you name it.

Please tell us again where was your car manufactured? What amount of its content is manufactured in the USA?

The only thing missing from your posts is a fife & drum playing in the background.

24th Nov 2012, 10:26

I agree with you. We bought mew Mazdas vs Toyota. Let's all play the flute and rejoin the band after these millions of recalls quit happening again and again. It's pathetic. When consumer confidence returns, we will maybe consider it. Remember, there are new import owners that bought other new imports on here. There's more than Toyota to buy. Living in the past does not guarantee a repeat buyer if quality takes severe drops in the millions.

24th Nov 2012, 11:48

It only takes a brief Internet search to find virtually any product you can imagine made right here in the U.S. by American companies. My computer was made a mile from my home and my appliances, furniture, and electronics (TV's, VCR's, etc.) all are made in the U.S. by American companies. One of my last TV's was built by an American company within 10 miles of my home.

24th Nov 2012, 22:15

The money comes back and lines the pockets of the executives. It doesn't line anyone else's pockets or add money to the public purse.

24th Nov 2012, 22:50

So given a choice, if there is a corporate based automotive factory in the United States, are you in favor of keeping the larger profits here? That's the question I have. Or is your argument that lower ticket items like televisions makes it alright to buy all products made overseas, including vehicles?

Lastly, with all the millions of recalls facing Toyota over and over lately, what is the desire or appeal to even consider this brand... I see enough arguments to pursue domestic brands, as evidently the quality control issues override any consideration.

Homes are the largest purchase a consumer makes, followed by vehicles. I am not losing sleep over a toaster, but given the choice with the abysmal economy and job losses, it seems worthy of retaining businesses that are corporate based here. There are too many people unemployed to be so generous or being so nonchalant about it.

25th Nov 2012, 09:55

Thanks for the economics lesson, but everyone has the right to buy what they want. If people choose to purchase domestics (as do I) that is fine. But I don't judge my neighbor's loyalty to their country based on the vehicle parked in the driveway or garage. I guess THAT is the fundamental difference between some of us.

25th Nov 2012, 15:23

22:50 makes a valid point. Given the choice of sending 30 grand to Japan or keeping it in American hands, I'll opt for buying American every time.

26th Nov 2012, 07:14

Consumer conscience is all yours. That's the beauty of this country. Hopefully there will be enough people still working here to afford to buy imports or domestics!

26th Nov 2012, 12:05

As I said, I buy domestics, but don't forget that plenty of people working in this country work for companies that make & sell imports. Be it assembly line workers, executives as well as dealership employees, independent mechanics and parts stores. It is pure fallacy that buying an import does not support American jobs.

Anyway, the last time I checked, isolationism wasn't a very good idea.

26th Nov 2012, 16:53

As long as people continue to reason like 09:55, it is doubtful our economy has much of a future!

27th Nov 2012, 08:22

Remaining loyal to a brand or customer retention relies mainly on continuing quality. There are other imports to buy vs Toyota. Usually a dissenter indicates it's import bashing. What if you buy a new Honda, Nissan or Mazda? With all the recurring recalls in the millions, why buy? It surely does not make us want to rush out and buy new ones. There's more focus on flag waving instead of remedying many serious issues. Maybe it's denial, as quality at one time was strong. We did not buy more over the quality drop and apprehension over the brand becoming worse. There will still be those that will buy over distant past experience. We buy on what's happening within the past few years. Our comfort level buying has plummeted. Our sales have zilch to do with our patriotism; it's quality. Would be nice to send a message that brand loyalty can go a different direction over all these recalls. Hard to call someone import bashers when they choose another import brand. If they screw up, we can buy somewhere else quickly for our next new cars. Maybe even a domestic!

27th Nov 2012, 08:40

On the contrary, our economy would suffer more if we subscribed to isolationism. If our exporting of goods dried up, where would the economy be then? You have to look at the entire picture with an open mind.

27th Nov 2012, 15:14

Again - if the argument is about buying American versus buying foreign, then if the argument is that we should ONLY buy products exclusively made in the USA by American companies, well then the US economy would collapse almost immediately. That isn't to say certain countries during the cold war didn't try and make a closed economy. In every single instance those economies failed: Without any outside money coming in or inside money going out - as in trading with other countries for their goods and they for ours, their economies collapsed. This also means less innovation, since these national companies have no international firms to compete with. If Japanese companies hadn't come to the US and raised the bar on quality, the big 3 would still be making junk.

But either way, anyone that argues that we should ONLY ever buy American products from American companies probably doesn't understand basic economics, because if we did do so, we would be in serious economic trouble.

But in any regard the US actually manufacturers more goods than they did by far in the 30's, back when most people think of as the golden age of manufacturing in the US. Something like 60-70% of the imported brand cars and trucks are now made in the US. Of those, the Camry, Accord, and Tundra amongst others have some of the highest American-made part percentages available in the country.

As earlier stated, just because a car that has a foreign badge on it has corporate headquarters elsewhere, doesn't mean it doesn't employ not only American workers, but American companies as well. In some cases American companies make parts not only for Japanese, but domestic brands as well. If that is the case, then I fail to see the argument here: In any case we're talking about AMERICAN workers here. Nobody can claim that those who work making Japanese cars somehow don't count as workers: They get a paycheck just like you and me, and thus contribute to the national economy.