Reasons to get amreican cars over foreign?

Question

I want some good reasons to buy american cars, i dont want to know what is better i simply want some solid reasons why it would be good for the economy and just for personal use to buy an american automobile. Thank You

Answer 1

In Defense of General Motors (Sorry, but I have to stick up for them):

GM spends over $1,500 per automobile just to provide health care to their employees, retirees and their dependents. By comparison, Toyota and Honda spend only a few hundred dollars per automobile, mainly because GM has been operating in the United States since the invention of the automobile and Toyota, for instance, only built their first plant here in 1987. Yet they still accuse that GM is "living in the past" even though Cadillac now outsells Mercedes, The Chevy Impala beat the Toyota Camry in initial quality and Consumer Reports detailed how Buick now beats BMW in reliability, quality and overall market sales.

If we stop buying American Cars, we de-fund American retirees and prevent them from contributing to the American economy. Sure, you have a choice in buying a foreign car over an American one, but if you buy the foreign car, you will likely cause a retiree to make a choice between food and medicine. That very choice is a daily one for many senior citizens in this country right now.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how you slice it. General Motors pays more taxes, employs more workers, has more domestic plants, supports more families, retirees and their dependents, and has a higher overall domestic parts content than the foreign competition - hands down. American quality is on the rise. Efficiency has increased. GM kept America rolling by donating millions of dollars in cash and vehicles in the aftermath of 9/11. Where was the foreign competition in America’s time of need? They were busy reaping in record profits and sending them home to reward foreign owners at the expense of an American company that built the foundation of prosperity that America as a whole enjoys.

Answer 2

I think its great you want to support our wonderful country! Hats off to you!

1. Buying an American car (ie, big three) is good for our economy. Keeps jobs here (manufacturing, office and executive).
2. Its a good signal to our neighbors. If they see you driving an American car, they may buy one also. You can start a trend in your area.
3. Its good for your kids. Tell them why you support our great country. Tell them why its important.
4. Good for our government. If the big three go out of business, guess who's going to pay for the retirement, medical, etc of all the former employees? More taxes in the future! :(
5. Sends a message to foreign companies. Yes, the imports have shown us how bad our cars are, but we've made huge improvements and we are now able to compete with them. If we are nearly the same quality, why not give our guys a shot and buy an American car.
6. The American car business is one of the last manufacturing industries left in America. Why lose it, just because there are better cars out there? If we are close in quality, then lets keep the industry rolling.
7. Keeps your local dealership in business, which brings stability to your community. Kiwanis club, American Legion, Rotary, etc. Your American car dealers support these American institutions!
8. Heck, if all they say is true and American cars don't last as long, then you will need to buy a new car sooner and you will be providing more jobs.
9. Also, if 8 is true, then your car will need more repairs - support your local mechanic, dealership and more parts will need to be made = more jobs.
10. It just feels like the right thing to do, doesn't it?

Be proud of our wonderful nation. I think its horrible that you walk into a Wal-Mart or Target and all you see is stuff made in China!

God bless you!

Answer 3

American cars have really improved in quality over the last 5 or 6 years. They're better than the European cars in reliability and just as good as the Asian cars. The big advantage is that parts, when needed, are manufactured by a number of companies, keeping the cost reasonable. Parts for the foreign cars are imported and are comparatively much more expensive. Not enough to sway you? How about keeping the American industries viable so you, your kids and your grandkids have job opportunities doing something other than flipping burgers at McD's? I, personally think that is the best argument of all for buying American, when you have a choice.

Answer 4

In response to Aussiebloke, the only ones getting huge breaks are the Japanese Manufacturers setting up shop in our backyard. The government does not provide any help to the domestics, nor is their help needed. Manufacturers like Ford Motor Company stands on it's own merits-they're building a better car, and the only help they need is from the brainwashed consumers who think that Jap is best, despite the facts. Our consumers need to stop blindly believing in the myth that Jap quality is better & give the domestics a shot.

Answer 5

None. Make sure you know what you mean by american.

Traditionally domestic parts and maintenance have been less expensive but even that isnt true any more. If you buy a chevy equinox the engine is made in china and the transmission is made in japan. A toyota camry or subaru legacy are made in the same plant along with the engines in indiana. The toyota and subaru count as american built cars, but the chevy does not. Its a global market, do your research.

Answer 6

the only one i can think of really is it helps to keep the big tree automakers going and keeps Americans in jobs,as for the products they build i,ll leave that up to the buyer to decide,i own a few American built vehicles,i bought them by choice though not because anyone said they was better or worse,there's too many different reasons why people would buy them though,good luck.

Answer 7

None. So long as people buy them just because they're American, they have no incentive to actually make better vehicles. Other companies tell you to buy theirs because they're faster, more reliable, handle better, more stylish, safer, more innovative...US manufacturers tall you to buy theirs because...dammit, because they're American, that's why. Basically, there's nothing they can say that really competes with the competition. And since they're actually a drain on the economy these days (the federal government is constantly giving them money so they don't declare bankruptcy), they really need to be told to "sh*t or get off the pot" - make something that can compete, or get out of the business. I'm tired of paying without compensation for Chev, Chrysler and Ford to remain inefficient while making an inferior product.

If we stop giving them money for crap, maybe they'll take the hint and actually make something worthwhile.

Answer 8

first you have to know what is an american car. in my opinion i don't care who owns the company, what i want to know is who built it. if the car was made here, by americans, than that's good enough for me.

Answer 9

If you want solid reasons to buy an American, here they are:

The "Big Three"...

-outsourced thousands of jobs to Mexico
-build unreliable cars
-and will soon be bankrupt
- If you get a Ford, you should know that only 9% of their cars are American-made

Note: If there at anytime you doubt my answer, go research on your own. Go look up how Flint, Michigan is doing after GM moved their Flint plants to Mexico.

These car companies should not be called "domestics." If you look at just curious's answer, the government has nothing to do with it. GM deserted Flint, Michigan (you can research on your own) and it outsourced all its jobs to Mexico. As a free country, companies are allowed to do this. Toyota is not setting up something bad in our own backyard. They are actually helping with our weakening economy. You can look at the news... Chrysler has recently broke up with Mercedes (I wonder why?) and are losing billions. They laid off workers and outsourced...Ford is also losing billions and outsourcing...Gm is making substandard cars has fell off its number one spot as the largest car company in the world. Toyota has recently become the US's and world's largest company, it is creating new jobs in America for thousands of hard-working Americans, and has in turn benefitted in making billions. Toyota cars are more reliable and safer. Have a look at this link:

http://www.jengajam.com/r/Mini-Ford-Crashtest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrk6vsb77xk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDtC9kjVk

Toyota is also making better hybrids and environment friendly products. Ford's hybrids and other American hybrids aren't nearly as efficient as Toyota and the Big Three's experiment with ethanol 85 has failed (turns out it creates more emissions in the manufacturing process).

The Big Three (Ford, GM, Chrysler) actually want to leave America, but our government trying to prevent them from doing so. Have look at this article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB108681404285632984.html

http://www.businessforum.com/outsourcingA.html

They actually WANT to desert Americans, how can you guys support this? I have typed too much today and it's not likely that any of you would change your minds. So, here's my answer:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you want to support Mexico's economy and hardworking Mexicans, buy Ford, Chrysler, or GM. If you want to help the American economy and provide decent wages to hardworking Americans, buy Toyota.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is no more American Luxury. It's okay if you don't believe me. Just have a quick search for Lexus LS600h L and compare it to any Cadillac and Lincoln.

A good indication of how well companies are doing in America is to look at how their stocks are doing on NASDAQ:

Ford shares: ~$8.00
Toyota shares: ~$108.00
GM shares: ~$30.00
Chrysler shares: I couldn't find Daimler Chrysler after Mercedes split with Chrysler. Another indication that Chrysler is doing horrible is that they recently laid off thousands of American workers and had to pay top dollars to get Toyota top executive, James E. Press, to work for them.

The fact is, "American" automakers want to open plants outside America for cheap sweatshop labor while Toyota is taking up their past roles in supporting small-town America, building new high tech plants here and providing thousands of good quality jobs. How can you guys support America if you re supporting companies that are trying so hard to get out of America and outsource labor to the Mexicans, Canadians, and Chinese? If you buy a Ford, you are supporting Mexico's economy, well at least 91% of your car is (remember, only 9% of Ford's are American-made).

Note to Ethol: GM would never make cars in Japan. They want to make money, so they would build cars in Mexican sweatshops. If they made cars in Japan, they would lose even more money than they already are. This is just common sense economics.

Note to justcurious:

You do know that Mercury Milan, Ford Fusion, and Lincoln MKZ are pretty muh the same car built in Mexico right? It's good that you want to support the Mexican economy, but we are talking about the America economy. You said before that you hate the Japanese because of Pearl Harbor, but I am sure the people at Toyota Management have nothing to do with it. GM has create an atrocity recently in Flint, Michigan...do some research.

I don't see how people can give me thumbs down. These are all facts. How can you give a thumbs down on a fact? Why don't you give a thumbs down to all the news stations that report facts that you don't like?

Answer 10

At Witz’ End: What’s an American Car?
Where it’s assembled is irrelevant.
by Gary Witzenburg (2007-02-27)

So what is an "American" car?
If it is simply one built inAmerica, as most foreign makers and U.S. media would have you believe, then vehicles built in Canada are Canadian, those assembled in Mexico are Mexican and Porsches built in Finland are Finnish.

But we know intuitively that's not the case. And yet in this global age of autos, some people insist on sticking to the idea of purely "American," or "German," or "Japanese" cars - when in many cases, today's vehicles are polyglots, products of the same global industry.

But that doesn't change the political nature of the question.

Say General Motors decides to build Chevrolets in Japan . If the cars are competitive (could happen), that might make sense to escape expensive barriers the Japanese government puts in the way of imported vehicles to protect its own automakers.

So GM buys some land outside Nagoya , builds a plant and hires some local workers and managers to run it. Say it builds a GM Powertrain plant next door, hires more locals and - since it would be cheaper to source parts and components locally than import them - sources most of them with Japanese suppliers. Say it starts cranking out enough appealing and carefully assembled cars to put a meaningful dent in the Japanese market.

This would be good for the local economy in and around Nagoya. However, assuming that the Japanese new-car market was not growing, it would displace sales of cars built by weaker Japanese makers and hurt employment elsewhere in Japan. And as those companies' sales and shares declined, the jobs displaced would not be limited to factories; a lot of better, higher-paying headquarters jobs would be lost as well, most of them in and around Tokyo.

Would the Japanese people and media see this displacement, and net loss, as okay because "home-built Chevrolets are as Japanese as anything from our own makers"? Would they see profits from increasingly popular Japan-built Chevys going back eastward across the Pacific as okay for their own (currently struggling) economy? What do you think?

Protection or barrier?
Let's carry this scenario a few steps further: Say GM's success with its first Japanese plant and its growing penetration of the Japanese market leads it to build more plants there. Say Ford and Chrysler Group follow, and their American suppliers are encouraged to build parts plants there to support them…and to win business away from Japanese suppliers.

Japan 's highly protective government, of course, would never allow any of this to happen. And even if it did, few highly nationalistic Japanese would buy American-brand vehicles at the expense of their own coveted makers regardless of where they were built.

But say, just for a moment, that they would. Would those Japan-built cars and trucks - most designed and developed in North America -- qualify as "Japanese?" Would those parts built in American-owned Japanese plants be considered "Japanese?" Would the assembly and sales of those vehicles in Japan be perceived as good for Japanese jobs and the Japanese economy? Could their U.S. makers get away with advertising them as such? Would the Japanese media endorse and recommend them as such? What do you think?

So why has exactly this scenario evolved in the U.S.A., where nearly every Japanese automaker and some Europeans and Koreans assemble cars and trucks for the American market and beyond? Because, once import vehicle makers began achieving serious penetration of this market during the fuel-crisis 1970s, our government essentially forced them into it by imposing quotas on imported vehicles. Because our domestic makers during the 1980s and '90s were not especially worthy of protection. Because enlightened off-shore makers saw huge PR and some business benefits in building vehicles here despite our much higher business costs. And because our governments (federal and especially state and local) and most media encouraged, enabled and welcomed them here as job "creators."

Job creation - or job death
What they did not see, or chose to ignore, is that "creation" of a few thousand plant jobs here and there would eventually destroy many more and better jobs elsewhere. So while some (mostly southern) states continue to battle each other with big incentives to attract new foreign-maker plants to gain two or three thousand jobs, other (mostly northern) states lose tens of thousands. While import companies will "create" about 3000 U.S. jobs in 2007, raising their total to 106,000, U.S. automakers will lose nearly 43,000 this year, falling to about 378,000, according to Jim Doyle, president of the Washington, DC-based Level Field Institute, which tracks and reports auto-company U.S. employment.

Doyle further predicts that U.S. industry-job losses will total some 95,000 (from 2005 employment) by 2010, and even then the three U.S.-based companies will employ 71 percent of all American auto workers - four times more per car sold than Hyundai, 2.5 times more than Toyota, and nearly twice as many as Honda. "Reporters tend to focus on plant jobs and miss the headquarters jobs," Doyle asserts.

"Foreign automakers spend millions around the country promoting their new plants and U.S. investment," he says. "We welcome their investment, but Americans should know that each Ford, GM, or Chrysler Group purchase supports nearly 2.5 times the number of U.S. jobs of foreign automakers, on average."

What's more American?
Some say a Japanese car bolted together in America with a fair amount of U.S. content is more "American" than a U.S.-brand car assembled in Canada or Mexico with some foreign-sourced parts. Nonsense! Ask yourself, again, where are the bulk of the better jobs and where do the profits go? DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group, by the way, still qualifies as "American" because it is an entire self-contained car company based in America and employing tens of thousands of Americans at all levels that happens to be owned by a German company, just as Opel is a self-contained German company owned by General Motors.

"Toyota spends huge sums of money promoting the idea that they 'support' 368,000 U.S. jobs," Doyle says, "but those include supplier, dealership and other peripheral jobs. Using the same multiplier, GM supports 1.9 million U.S. jobs and Ford 1.2 million. Toyota also says it builds here most of the vehicles it sells here. That may be its eventual intent, but Automotive News reported that 48 percent of the vehicles Toyota sold here in 2006 were imported.

"Is it more important to the U.S. economy for someone to buy a Ford Fusion, although it's built in Mexico, from a company that employs 105,000 Americans," Doyle asks, "than a Honda built in Ohio from a company that employs 27,000? Domestic makers also purchase nearly 80 percent of the parts made here, and domestic vehicles average 76 percent U.S. content vs. 48 percent for U.S.-built imports. That represents billions of dollars in spending."

No, an "American" car or truck is one built by a U.S.-based company that supports primarily U.S. jobs and the U.S. economy, regardless of its parts content and especially its point of assembly.

And should Americans buy "American" out of patriotism. No, but they should carefully consider U.S.-brand vehicles - now that most are competitive or better in design, engineering, quality, and fuel economy - out of their own economic self-interest. Because whatever business they are in, every time "Detroit" and its struggling U.S. auto suppliers shed another 10,000, or 20,000, or 30,000 American workers, that multiplies to hundreds of thousands who can no longer afford whatever goods or services their own employers sell.


Think about it.