Thursday, April 15, 2010

Made in the USA?

This is a guest post by Eric Bush:


Toyota? If you want to stimulate the Canadian economy, a Ford Edge or Chrysler 300 would be a nice choice. And Ford’s much anticipated car, the 2011 Fiesta, coming this summer, is to be made in Mexico. Even the Ford Crown Victoria, used by police departments across the U.S., is made in Canada. How about a good old Civic made in Greensburg, Indiana? Or a Toyota Camry, made at the Georgetown, Kentucky plant? If you buy an “American car,” the only Americans stimulated are greedy CEOs. The good news is that if you buy an economical “foreign” car, you’re supporting a middle-class American workers.

6 comments:

Terri said...

Says the man who, I'd be willing to bet, has never worked a blue-collar job a day in his life. Your concern for the working class is noted.

Bridget M. Bush said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bridget M. Bush said...

"Terri",

He'd appreciate you calling him a man given that he's 12. And yes, his concern was genuine. But thanks for showing him the warm and fuzzy side of "progressives"!

Eric M. Bush said...

I am the author. I'm just concerned that "American" companies are building their cars out of the country. Not that there aren't any American car plants in the U.S., in fact, there is a Ford plant less than 10 minutes from my house, (which unfortunately makes "gas guzzling" SUVs and trucks, therefore causing layoffs). The point is that the most popular and efficient American cars are not made in America.

Terri said...

Being that I am talking to a young man (sorry, I presumed this was your husband), perhaps it might be time for you to have "the talk" with him. You know, the one where you tell him that if you buy a "foreign car," you are also lining the pockets of foreign CEOs? Or maybe about Nafta's impact on the U.S. auto industry and American workers?

Of course, I don't believe in purchasing new cars anyway (what can I say, I'm a Dave Ramsey fan). And kudos to you for taking interest in these things at such a young age!

Eric M. Bush said...

Maybe it's good to reward foreign CEOs for actually doing something right, unlike most American CEOs. But that's not the point. The point is to help consumers be aware of where your money goes when they buy a new cars. Some say the reason some middle class jobs have been lost is because it is too expensive to manufacture in America. That is true, yet the top five best selling sedans are all Japanese, and all the companies in the top five have American plants. That may be because a smart company believes in American quality. NAFTA only prevents tariffs from being added on imports and exports in North America. It may make man manufacturing out of the U.S.cheaper, but the point of my post was to show who was making American cars.