Re: Asian auto maker coming this way?
I have several thoughts on this topic and the subsequent posts. I think I heard a sigh <br /><br />As for the quality of the American makes, I have a 1995 Chevrolet T-10 Blazer (that's the 4X4 version of the S-10). It has in excess of 210,000 miles on it and still runs great. The rear end howls from a bad pinion bearing but other than that it's in very good condition for it's miles. I had a Nissan D21 series pick-up that puked a head gasket at 180K, and the tranny at 203K. I love Nissans, but my blazer is great too. And my wife drove a 1992 Olds 88 for 125K and totaled it at 200K. i would not have hesitated to jump in that car and drive it on a 500 mile road trip.<br /><br />On the other hand, the domestics went through this 30 years ago, remember the 70's? The fuel prices went up so people started looking for fuel-efficient vehicles and found quality too in the Japanese imports. Detroit lost market share to the better-built alternatives. They learned and started improving their stables in the late 80's to early 90's. They grew complacent and slacked off as the 90's wore on. In the late 90's and early 00's the quality again is lacking, with many pattern failures which are strictly from an engineering failure. Adn the imports still offer higher quality, so which make is a consumer going to buy, a reliable one or one that has numerous problems out of the box? As for the country of origin, look at the first character of your VIN, if it is a 1 or a 4 the vehicle was made in America. If it is a 2 it was made in Canada, and I think 3 is for Mexico. J is for Japan, and don't ask me about the Europeans, they physically give a headache.<br /><br />As for Toyota keeping parts manufacturing in house, the MAIN reason is so they can keep the replacement parts captive also. When you need a repair on a Toyota, guess where you must buy the part? The Toyota dealer, at their price, at their mercy. That is why they keep the parts manufacture in house. Quality can be stipulated from a supplier. Don't meet the quality standard, lose the contract, bet ya the supplier will se to it that the parts meet the quality standard.<br /><br />And PW2 is at least partially correct about the universal healthcare concern. All you poo-poo'ers stop, open your minds and THINK for a moment. I do not recall where it was published, but I just read a report regarding healthcare costs. Out of 5 or 6 industrialized, developed nations America ranked 2nd highest in national healthcare spending and ranked 2nd lowest in almost all categories of quality care, and dead last in most of the rest. So let's see, we're spending more, and getting less. Oh, heaven-forbid we develop another entitlement program, even if other countries have proven that universal healthcare is a good thing for it's citizens. If you take the cost of healthcare, spread it evenly as say a sales tax like Canada's GST and make that healthcare cover everyone, you lower the cost of benefits paid to the labor force, thereby lower the cost of doing business. That in turn could lower the cost-of-goods, save for the increased sales tax. Or it could allow higher wages for those workers. Or it could lower the cost of the products, increase the labor's wages, AND increase the company's profit by increasing the volume of sales. My God! I'm a genius! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Oh, wait every other industrialized nation with a national healthcare plan did, and so did PW2. Just some nations implemented it better. The US would screw it up though, at least under the current political process (and NO that is not a slam against baby bush). <br />QC you are absolutely right that there is much more to the equation than just the added expense of healthcare. But that is a big part. When you have a worker paid $25.00/hr wage but their bennies and such bring that cost up to $65.00/hr, that's a lot of expense for workers comp, unemployment, vacations, holidays, training, and healthcare. I would bet that half of that $40.00 if not more is healthcare. That's a big chunk to save.<br /><br />I will close, thank you all for your patience and consideration. I sure hope the Chinese keep producing such junk so it won't reach our shores.
I have several thoughts on this topic and the subsequent posts. I think I heard a sigh <br /><br />As for the quality of the American makes, I have a 1995 Chevrolet T-10 Blazer (that's the 4X4 version of the S-10). It has in excess of 210,000 miles on it and still runs great. The rear end howls from a bad pinion bearing but other than that it's in very good condition for it's miles. I had a Nissan D21 series pick-up that puked a head gasket at 180K, and the tranny at 203K. I love Nissans, but my blazer is great too. And my wife drove a 1992 Olds 88 for 125K and totaled it at 200K. i would not have hesitated to jump in that car and drive it on a 500 mile road trip.<br /><br />On the other hand, the domestics went through this 30 years ago, remember the 70's? The fuel prices went up so people started looking for fuel-efficient vehicles and found quality too in the Japanese imports. Detroit lost market share to the better-built alternatives. They learned and started improving their stables in the late 80's to early 90's. They grew complacent and slacked off as the 90's wore on. In the late 90's and early 00's the quality again is lacking, with many pattern failures which are strictly from an engineering failure. Adn the imports still offer higher quality, so which make is a consumer going to buy, a reliable one or one that has numerous problems out of the box? As for the country of origin, look at the first character of your VIN, if it is a 1 or a 4 the vehicle was made in America. If it is a 2 it was made in Canada, and I think 3 is for Mexico. J is for Japan, and don't ask me about the Europeans, they physically give a headache.<br /><br />As for Toyota keeping parts manufacturing in house, the MAIN reason is so they can keep the replacement parts captive also. When you need a repair on a Toyota, guess where you must buy the part? The Toyota dealer, at their price, at their mercy. That is why they keep the parts manufacture in house. Quality can be stipulated from a supplier. Don't meet the quality standard, lose the contract, bet ya the supplier will se to it that the parts meet the quality standard.<br /><br />And PW2 is at least partially correct about the universal healthcare concern. All you poo-poo'ers stop, open your minds and THINK for a moment. I do not recall where it was published, but I just read a report regarding healthcare costs. Out of 5 or 6 industrialized, developed nations America ranked 2nd highest in national healthcare spending and ranked 2nd lowest in almost all categories of quality care, and dead last in most of the rest. So let's see, we're spending more, and getting less. Oh, heaven-forbid we develop another entitlement program, even if other countries have proven that universal healthcare is a good thing for it's citizens. If you take the cost of healthcare, spread it evenly as say a sales tax like Canada's GST and make that healthcare cover everyone, you lower the cost of benefits paid to the labor force, thereby lower the cost of doing business. That in turn could lower the cost-of-goods, save for the increased sales tax. Or it could allow higher wages for those workers. Or it could lower the cost of the products, increase the labor's wages, AND increase the company's profit by increasing the volume of sales. My God! I'm a genius! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Oh, wait every other industrialized nation with a national healthcare plan did, and so did PW2. Just some nations implemented it better. The US would screw it up though, at least under the current political process (and NO that is not a slam against baby bush). <br />QC you are absolutely right that there is much more to the equation than just the added expense of healthcare. But that is a big part. When you have a worker paid $25.00/hr wage but their bennies and such bring that cost up to $65.00/hr, that's a lot of expense for workers comp, unemployment, vacations, holidays, training, and healthcare. I would bet that half of that $40.00 if not more is healthcare. That's a big chunk to save.<br /><br />I will close, thank you all for your patience and consideration. I sure hope the Chinese keep producing such junk so it won't reach our shores.
