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although there are GM engines built in China for the US.
I believe those engines can be found in the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent. I also believe they are assembled in Canada.
As for the Trailblazer, i don't know anything about it being assembled in China. I believe this year is the last year of production for the Trailblazer.
I know my '03 Trailblazer was made by Americans in Moraine, Ohio and has over 80% US Content, although this # may include some parts from Canada, as i believe automakers don't differentiate between the two.
Oh yeah, and Drover is right about those Buicks made in China. They are only for the Chinese market, so far. The Chinese love their Buicks!
GM FastLane Blog: Buick Is Popular in China? (http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2006/12/buick_is_popula_1.html - broken link)
Here's an interesting article on the American/Forgein debate, from last year:
Looks like most Toyotas, Lexus, Scion, along w/VW and Audi, among others are made overseas.
Quote:
Altogether, Toyota imported close to half of all the vehicles it sold in the USA last year from Japan, including all its gas-electric hybrids and most of its luxury Lexus division vehicles.
Honda's imports soared 30% last year, Mazda's rose 19%, and Suzuki's were up 23%, the Congressional Research Service finds in a new report. It says Japanese makers are simply trying to meet customer demand while running their U.S. plants at full tilt.
Quote:
All told, each of the Detroit automakers supports 2½ times more U.S. jobs than Toyota, says Jim Doyle, president of the Level Field Institute, a Washington research group. He acknowledges, however, that "people are trying to define what an American car is, and they are having a tough time."
Here's another great resource i posted in another thread.
2008 GM Vehicles Built by UAW Members in the United States (http://www.uawlocal1590.org/Pages/Misc/2008_UAW_GM_American_Made_Cars_And_Trucks.htm - broken link)
I was told that they were building the Trailblazer there? I wasnt informed that they were only building them for the Chinese market. If thats the case, that doesnt bother me at all. Carry on...
The Trailblazer V6 engine is assembled in China from largely American machined parts then re-imported. Turns out it wasn't a huge gain economically. The optional V8 engine is sourced in the US. The old Saturn Vue Red Line, if I am not mistaken, had a Honda V6 in it. But the venerable and soon-to-be-retired all American-made GM 3800 V6 may be one of the most reliable, if not exciting, engines ever made.
In any case, as a car nut, this thread intrigues me. Cars across the board are built so much better than they were even 10 years ago that quality differences are largely academic. Having said that, IMHO, Japanese cars are still tops in quality but I would never buy one because they would put me to sleep and thus make me a menace to traffic! Well, I might buy a Mazda but most definitely not a Toyota. German cars are great driver's cars and look good, but the quality can still be very hit or miss - JD Powers confirms this. Again in my own humble opinion, Mercedes-Benz is the single most overpriced nameplate sold in America today. American cars are generally in between on all fronts, except their interiors tend to look cheap. So right now my vehicular compromise is a re-badged Mitsubishi Eclipse with extended wheelbase, a.k.a. Dodge Stratus Coupe (R/T with a 5-speed). Though they share the Stratus name, the sedan and coupe share very little else and are built on different platforms. Anyway, I'm generally quite happy with it, but that's because I did so much research that I should be happy with it (thank heavens for the internet). Quality has not been an issue.
The biggest lemon I ever owned was an '88 VW GTI - lots of fun to drive and very practical but it spent more time in the mechanic's garage than mine. My brother owns a prior generation BMW 325 that has also been in and out of the shop since he bought it. He makes fun of my pedestrian car but I make fun of him since my car cost thousands less, has more horsepower, gets better mileage, and has not given me a lick of trouble in nearly 50k miles. Heck, my R/T coupe even has a bigger trunk than the 325i sedan even though it's a coupe. I've also owned an '86 Sentra with literally zero options (hand-crank windows, no radio, manual trans of course) which turned out to be a lot of fun, and the light weight, front wheel drive and skinny all season tires combined to make it by far the best snow car I've ever driven (the low power may have kept it from skidding too).
To each his own, I say, but you're not doing yourself any favors making a purchasing decision based solely on some foggy notion of quality from 20 years ago. And for all you crossover buyers out there - take another look at station wagons. They are spacious as crossovers (sometimes even more spacious), with better handling and gas mileage. You can't lose!
I was on another forum and a guy posted this about his mothers 2007 Acadia
"Here is a funny little story about my step mom's new 2007 GMC Acadia.
Rainy season is just around the corner here in the sunshine state, and the first downpour of the year came the other day. The day after the storm, she got in her car and realized that the floors were flooded. She assumed that she must have left the sunroof or one of the doors open, oops!
Well, yesterday when she took it through a car wash, she got to see what was really going down. The seat belt holes, and the Oh- handle holes were squirting water out into the cabin like little fountains! Apparently, the "drains" for the rainwater are not big enough from the factory, so this as the result. She took it in to get it fixed and the did a few of the other recalls as well. She got all new seats, new fuses for the aux power outlets and the inverter."
The old Saturn Vue Red Line, if I am not mistaken, had a Honda V6 in it
Youre correct.
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