So, I occasionally see Chevy and Ram trucks on the road with "Buy American" signs in the back window, so I put 'Top 10 vehicles made in America parts and labor 2021" into the internet search box and one of the sites that comes up is this one.
The purpose of this post is not to pass judgement on anyone. I don't care what people drive. In fact I bought my 2012 vehicle based on my desire to obtain a durable long lasting truck (Tundra) and could not have cared less if it was 100% made in Japan. (As it happens it was #4 on the list for American parts and labor for 2012, #10 for 2021)
So, looking at the index some notable things pop out.
I see literal Tons of Silverados and Ram trucks on the roads here.
Silverado comes in at #74.
Ram 1500 is #42, Ram 1500 Classic is #89. I don't see the larger Ram trucks on the list which tops out at # 90.
I wonder how many Silverado and Ram owners think their truck is more American made than it is.
Both Chevy and Chrysler/Dodge took bailouts back in 2008 'to save American jobs". Chevy's CEO at the time (2012) in this youtube starting at the 0:41 mark explains how GM moved its R&D to China and that 7 of 10 GM vehicles come from out of country. That was 2012. That bailout money went to China. It appears things have shifted out of country more since then based on the above index.
Just FYI.
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ReplyDeletehttp://wellalldieasmarines.net/2022/03/evs/
The link did not work Mustang.
DeleteWorked for me just now .... Hmmm.
DeleteThis is what I get -
DeleteThe webpage at https://wellalldieasmarines.net/ might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.
Worked for me.
DeleteOk, well it would not open in Chrome but did in Safari.
DeleteMy dad put me through school working at Ford.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place to visit as a youth was Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum.
It was a tragedy when the Rotunda burned down.
I drive Ford.
Currently another F-150.
F-150 was #1 on the top 10 in 2012 and Ford didn't take a bailout.
DeleteGrew up not to far from the old Ford plant in St. Paul. I was blessed to be able to actually be allowed to see the caves underneath where most of the sand came from to make glass. My mom had a friend who worked there. We used to watch all the cars streaming down Cretin Ave. when the plant closed in the evening. Hundreds of Fords going by.
DeleteWhen I quit working for Ford in '99, they were getting their parts from over 30 different countries.
ReplyDeletePhil, Yea, I was rebuilding a small block Chevy or two back in the 70's where the heads were stamped Made in Mexico. I think the situation got worse and worse over the years with regard to this subject line.
DeleteGlobalization changed this forever and I am only concerned about our not making critical stuff anymore, like Steel that Trump made issue of that is a national security issue if and when.
I buy America when I can but it's hard to do for lots of stuff and I am not going to overpay by much either for the same quality item. Is what it is. I just don't want Silverado owners at 74 on the list thinking I'm a problem for owning a Tundra at 10.
Cederq, I deleted your comment by accident. It was:
ReplyDeleteMy 2000 Chevy truck was made in Amarillo, Texas. Does that count as foreign made?
Well, that didn't count as Mexico in 2000 so I'd say no.
DeleteI am heartbroken... I don't think I have ever been so publicly canceled as that.... snicker. I have to say I have had that truck since I bought it in Feb 2000 and it has 272,000 miles on a original engine and tranny, even the u-joints, radiator hoses. I just had to have upper ball joints and tie rod ends replaced this summer...
DeleteThat truck's doing well Cederq. May it live long and prosper. My personal experience with the big 3 doesn't go much beyond 1980.
DeleteSadly, if the foreign car/truck market had not taken off, we would still be stuck buying junk out of Detroit. How well I recall the '50's.
ReplyDeleteOne had to buy a new one every 3 or 4 years and the mandatory visit after purchase to "fix a few things." Quality control wasn't in the equation.
Bunk, yep cars even through the 80's were serious junk. I used to work on them back then. Always changing suspension parts, ignition systems were junk, 100k on an engine was a real milestone, drum brakes, hub caps, etc. And given the inflation index they really were not 'cheap' either.
DeleteThis was their downfall. It wasn't that hard to make much better stuff. I had a 2000 Toyota Sienna van. 178k miles. No repairs, No suspension parts replaced. Nothing. No rust either and it spent 13 years in Ohio weather and salted roads.
It's just so awesome, offshore all our manufacturing and we'll all be richer. Said satan.
ReplyDeleteI sure don't want government in control of business but in terms of critical products, the government was out to lunch or more likely On the take. Disgusting. Worse are the people that think government gives a shit about them.
Delete