[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by cksh

What are CAFE standards? I do not think I have heard of that term.

Here is a link to explain CAFE:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/cafe/overview.htm (broken link)

[scirocco22]

Funny you should mention Philips. A friend of mine was thinking along the same lines. When he looked at the back of his Philips branded VCR (I think it was a VCR, I'm not positive), he had to laugh because it said "made my Matsushiita <spelling changed to over-ride the bad-word-filter> Electric" ...a Japanese company (Panasonic, I think).

I guess it goes to show that everything is "global" nowadays. I'm sure if you looked at the label of other Philips products that it's going to say "made in Malasia" or "assembled in Taiwan," etc.

--'rocco

[M TYPE X]

Got my car back from the body shop yesterday. Any and all guilt vanishes when I get out of a Chrysler rental crap product and back into my Honda.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

Funny you should mention Philips. A friend of mine was thinking along the same lines. When he looked at the back of his Philips branded VCR (I think it was a VCR, I'm not positive), he had to laugh because it said "made my Matsushiita <spelling changed to over-ride the bad-word-filter> Electric" ...a Japanese company (Panasonic, I think).

I guess it goes to show that everything is "global" nowadays. I'm sure if you looked at the label of other Philips products that it's going to say "made in Malasia" or "assembled in Taiwan," etc.

--'rocco

Yeah, I know, 95% of electronics are made in asia nowadays.

That being said, recognize if I buy a Sony product, 100% of the money I spend goes to an Asian economy.

If I buy a Philips, only the assembly labor and maybe some material goes to Asia. The profits, costs to cover R&D, etc, still goes back to Philips in Europe. I'd rather support their engineers and administrative workforce than Sonys.

So that is how I do my best to limit the amount of money I send to Asia. When they start to play fair then I won't worry about it. (Not sure that'll ever happen, though. Our government, amongst others, is too stupid to understand what is going on....and they wonder why our trade deficit is soaring while Asian countries have a positive balance. )

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by M TYPE X

Got my car back from the body shop yesterday. Any and all guilt vanishes when I get out of a Chrysler rental crap product and back into my Honda.

Btw, do folks in Michigan still consider a Chrysler product an "American" car? ...or is it now in fact a German car, being the profits ultimately going back to Germany?


--'rocco

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

Yeah, I know, 95% of electronics are made in asia nowadays.

That being said, recognize if I buy a Sony product, 100% of the money I spend goes to an Asian economy.

If I buy a Philips, only the assembly labor and maybe some material goes to Asia. The profits, costs to cover R&D, etc, still goes back to Philips in Europe. I'd rather support their engineers and administrative workforce than Sonys.

So that is how I do my best to limit the amount of money I send to Asia. When they start to play fair then I won't worry about it. (Not sure that'll ever happen, though. Our government, amongst others, is too stupid to understand what is going on....and they wonder why our trade deficit is soaring while Asian countries have a positive balance. )

Yup, I understand what you're saying, weasel.

--'rocco

[Drover]

Originally Posted by avalon

Honestly, whenever I see someone driving in a Ford Fusion or Chevy Tahoe, or Chrysler Mini-van, I have to wonder what the level of mentality is of the driver.

a) They're probably thinking "this was the best car that fit my needs in my budget;"

b) The Ford Fusion is basically a re-skinned Mazda 6. You'd think a fan of Japanese cars would think a Fusion was a decent choice.

I've bought exactly 2 American-badged cars in the last 10 years: An Eagle Talon and a Ford Taurus. The Talon, of course, was nothing more than a re-badged Mitsubishi. And the only reason I bought the Taurus is because of its Yamaha-built engine. The rest of the car is a rattling POS.

It appears that the American companies are finally starting to get their act together, but it took a drubbing from foreign competitors to force them back into designing cars people actually want instead of pumping out dreck and telling us to take it or leave it. In the meantime, no company deserves my loyalty without earning it first. That goes for domestic companies too. Those of you who've bought domestic cars strictly out of some sense of patriotic duty have helped to make them into the mediocre companies that they are today by enabling their complacency.

[sci311]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

Just note that for every job Subaru brought to the US, 5-10 americans lost their jobs in the process.

I wanted to expand on that just a little and say that it is just not people that work directly in the auto industry that are losing their jobs. Michigan's economy fluctuates with the American auto industry. Our tax base has declined in large part due to the struggles of the domestic brands. First off, I am actually a science teacher, and even though I personally do not work in the auto industry I am immersed in it. I have family, friends, and many of my students families who do work directly in the industry. As the state continues to pull back funding to the schools due to our projected deficit, some of my newer collegues will not have a job with us next school year. In fact, one new teacher just bought a house on the street behind mine. I don't see how she is going to able to keep her job and therefore pay the mortgage. It has been announced that some Michigan state troopers will also be losing their jobs. If this is happening in the schools and to the police it also must be happening in other state funded institutions as well. It feels like a downward spiral.

[sci311]

Originally Posted by Drover

It appears that the American companies are finally starting to get their act together, but it took a drubbing from foreign competitors to force them back into designing cars people actually want instead of pumping out dreck and telling us to take it or leave it. In the meantime, no company deserves my loyalty without earning it first. That goes for domestic companies too. Those of you who've bought domestic cars strictly out of some sense of patriotic duty have helped to make them into the mediocre companies that they are today by enabling their complacency.

I agree that competition has and will always force improvement, but as we have been saying it is very difficult to compete when you have one arm tied behind your back. Meanwhile, regular American people are paying the price. I don't buy American to be patriotic, I do it to help my neighbors.

[Drover]

I'm sure your neighbors that work for foreign-based companies really appreciate that.

You don't have to buy American products to help your neighbors.