Re: Whitch 9.9 outboard is the best
Mercury does have a factory in China that produces their own four-stroke engine designs. Orginally it was undertood that it would be a small plant that would produce two model sizes. I have no idea what they produce there today. But, I do know that none of the Tohatsu models are built in China. Since Mercury's from 30 hp and down, in 4-strokes, are Tohatsu's it is obvious that they are not Chinese. Mercury also buy's a lot of 2-stroke Tohatsu engines that it sell's in countries other than the U.S. Usually they are 50 hp and smaller, but it will vary from country to country.
There is a lot of misinformation that appears on the web about who makes what. At present there is a plot(Yes...A real, honest to God plot.) by either Chinese manufacturers or their lackey importers, to smear Tohatsu with the Chinese stigma. It's popping up with some regularity now and usually claims that Tohatsu's are built in China and are not EPA approved. Of course it is a load of pooh, but people read it and then repeat it in some fashion. Several Chinese outboards, Parsun and Gull, being the two most advertised in the U.S. have recently made a push towards the U.S. market. As most of their outboards cannot get EPA approval, I think that their lackeys have focused their efforts on some strange reverse marketing campaign where by they slander Tohatsu while promoting their Chinese engines as the alternative.
