Re: Sold American!
 

The company uniform jeans I wear every day are Carhart's made in Mexico.

The uniform shirts are made in Haiti.

Re: Sold American!
 

That's interesting. We all have to wear Carhart FR clothing and I've never thought to look where it's made. Gonna look at that today

Re: Sold American!
 

Some very good points here about Toyota.
The japanese car industry is arguably the best thing that ever happened to the American car industry over the last 40 years I think.
The quality and reliability of the Japanese vehicles, particularly Toyota...seriously eclipsed a lot of the poor quality that rolled out of detroit (or Berlin) in the 80's.
This forced everyone to up their game and get on track...North American and European.

I've had both American and japanese....and those Toyota's are darn near bullet proof. Not always the best looking vehicles but very reliable and tight.

As for the German stuff....despite the appearance and german cachet and class 'optics'...their cars still suffer from being unreliable after a few years, hence their immense depreciation.
For some reason....the german's don't understand electricity and electronics, lol...despite their great flair for mechanical, appearance and appointments lol.

all good
Coley

Re: Sold American!
 

As a past dealer mechanic, in the late 90's i worked at a dodge jeep eagle dealer, and we owned a toyota and gmc brand. Because of financial issues they sold off the gmc and toyota brands. Afterwords i asked about the toyota T5 trucks costing as much or more than a comparable gm truck and he told me (he loved toyota's) that the company had an extra $5,000 in clear profits built into every one of them!! I asked him why?? He said " toyota said we could inflate a toyota trade in price by using the $5,000 at their discretion! He also said he could sell them all day lond at invoice and still make the $5,000! Boy if a us company did that would there be an outcry.

Here is what i noticed about the typical usa/foreign mindset; This is exactly what happened. This customer had a dodge minivan and a eagle talon (mitsubishi eclipse). This guy would come in with owner's manual for the talon in hand, highlighted areas of MAINTENANCE to be performed. Asked if he wanted an estimate? NO, just do it. At 50,000 miles, timing belt, water pump while we are in there, balance shaft belt, etc, etc, etc,. Now here is the good part!! His dodge minivan comes in hooked up to the wrecker with an antifreeze leat at 90,000 miles. Waterpump leaking, an easy external part to fix at a relative low cost. He comes to pick it up and *****es extensively about that repair. Hum, let me see, the same brain begged us to maintain his eagle talon, but spent 0000 dollars on maintenance on his dodge and *****ed about the waterpump repair! Isn't that ironic.

My neighbor (fantastic guy) has a 2009 toyota 4 runner with a v8 at 80,000 miles. I go over in detail his projected costs for timing belt ,water pump, and oh yah valve adjustment with these select fit discs that will need to be ordered and the expense associated with these and the local dealer is awful (owner went to jail for odometer tampering). I saved him gobs of money fixing a cracked exhaust manifold (it also contained the upstream primary catalytic converter($1400 i believe) and now the passenger side is doing the same thing.

So i drive my 2014 dodge durango 5.7 hemi v8 AWD with a lifetime, yes a LIFETIME service contract for both my wife and me. Cost up front $2900 dollars (discounted from the selling dealer) and $100 deductable. Covers all electronics and drivetrain except brakes and tires. Towing covered, and up to $1,000 in associated lodging.

i used to love subarus and worked as a subaru dealer mechanic from the 70's into the 90's. This fall pulled the daughter's 2009 forester engine at 110,00 miles to do the full service, t belt, tensioner, water pump all spinning idlers, headgaskets, noticed sunken exhaust guides= valvejob, full clutch job while it's out, replace almost rusted through oil pan, crank seals, yada,yada, and my discounted oem parts (25 percent discount from suggested list) cost me $1700.00 dollars. This would be an almost $4,000 retail repair!

Re: Sold American!
 

lmao. the UAW is the reason the US auto industry is in the shape it is.

That GM plant you dream of that's full of American workers? GM has already moved that plant to Canada and/or Mexico and used the profits that you said go back to Detroit to pay ME, the us taxpayer, back for their bail out.

speaking of those "profits" when was the last time GM sent you a profit sharing check? last I checked, my Toyota stock was trading >$125 USD & paying 2.95% yield. GM? trading at less than $45.

Re: Sold American!
 

Estwing hammers, made in USA. Many tools are still USA made if you look.

I was looking at bowls for cereal at Walmart. I see two styles I would buy. One is ceramic with a glaze and the other blue glass. The ceramic will chip easier. The glass is thick and seems like quality. The ceramic is $1.50 and made in China. I look at the glass and it's $1.00 and made in USA by Pyrex! What the? Here we have a time tested brand name quality USA product of a superior material selling for 33% less on the same shelf. I thought it was a mistake.

Re: Sold American!
 

I'll bet the blue glass is curdled milk proof too.

I always wonder how much lead is in the China ceramic.

Re: Sold American!
 

About 3 years ago,I broke my axe.
I put it on an oak log and drive it in with a small mall.So,i broke it.
i looked everywhere for an American made axe.Couldn't find one at any local stores.
When at Wal-Mart,I found 3-all made overseas.
But,one kinda pissed me off,because it had a Made in America label on it,but the fine print said-Made in Taiwan,assembled in Viet Nam!Packaged and labeled in the USA!
Ended up in a big argument with the department manager over it,saying I refuse to buy anything that is mis-labeled like this axe.
This wouldn't have happened when Sam Walton was alive!
I bought a good used axe at the flea market.
Also found there are American made axes,but they are very expensive!
Now,I've found that big box stores don't sell what you want.They will give you a couple choices of products that they can make the most profit on.The higher price American made products never get to the shelves.Not enough profit in it!
And,most people don't care-They want the cheapest they can find!
We have to change our attitude before we can improve the quality of our lives.
Mike.:chevy:

Re: Sold American!
 

A great number of the people that work in the Wal Mart hdqtrs weren't Made in America either.

Re: Sold American!
 

Nope, curdled right up. But... the sides are steep so the oatmeal never boils out. Tapered bowls will make you a nice mess in the microwave if not careful.

Exactly! They decide what we need based on what's best for them... their best deal on a sea-tainer full or box car load. You also lose consistency. If they do happen to offer a quality product you are satisfied with, try buying another one six months, a year, or whenever later. That product will likely be replaced with the next bargain THEY got.

I buy old stuff made in USA all the time. I am involved in retail buying as little as possible. I put more effort into what I don't buy than into buying. There is very little offered that I need or want. I love a quality made item, if you can find it new. Think twice about throwing that old American made thing that broke. Can it be fixed? Think about fixing it. Repair shops will tell you "It will cost as much to fix this as buying a new one". Yeah well, the difference is the old thing made in USA that lasted 30 years before breaking is more worth a repair than buying that new junk made over seas sold at the same price. I say "I'm not here to fatten Mr. Soldusout's pockets. I'm here to get the product that serves me best. Let's fix it"

Re: Sold American!
 

Here is a quick test and move to 'doing the right thing'.
Try to avoid going into Walmart for one month....particularly at this time of year.
If you have to shop, do a little searching and see if you can find a locally owned store and they might be more likely to have 'home grown' items.
You will have to pay more.....so pay more....just buy less quantity.
Note: this is also where things usually, quietly fall apart....given that people have become addicted to 'cheap' prices and thats a bad habit to break
For myself...I haven't darkened the doorstep of walmart in about 4 years and that was to buy a set of walkie talkies for a road trip we were on. I don't expect to be in there for another 4 years, maybe 5...lol

all good
Coley

Re: Sold American!
 

I never went to Walmart, Home Depot or any of the big box stores when they first came around. Then they put other businesses out so it's hard not to deal with them. But nw that I deal with these places I still don't buy anything made overseas that domestic is available. Most of the made in China stuff I buy at those places are what everyone else is selling at the local shops, where there is still one left. Our hardware store is an Ace, so really same thing, but they are local and I want them to remain so I deal with them as much as I can. It is hard for the consumer to follow any sort of conscientious buying creedo when at the manufacturing level corporations have taking their craft abroad after they bought out the smaller businesses. The problem starts at the monster corporation level and that's the business model that is shaping our choices. It's go big or stay home these days. This is what the banks who run the country want. Not a bunch of smaller loans to so many smaller weaker businesses. They want to put endless amounts of money into the dominant business to help it buy others out and build more stores for Generica.

Re: Sold American!
 

That's how we cheated the American Indian out of their real estate.
We traded them cheap shiney stuff and made them sign contracts for it!
Mike.:chevy:

Re: Sold American!
 

Now that I think about it...Amazon is supposedly bigger than Walmart now.
This is probably lends itself to the online shopping trend that is replacing the 'bricks and mortar' business option.
In our city there is more and more business space available to rent every year as more businesses drop out out of the 'in person' shopping world and move into the online shopping world....rent free.
I'm not sure what this does for the content they sell tho' and where it's made.


Coley

Re: Sold American!
 

I always check the local stores first.

I read in my research that Menards has in house line of American made tools. I didn't check it our yet.

Re: Sold American!
 

Any guys shifting more to buying online?

Full disclosure....I do this from time to time....although I do like going out and actually 'living' the odd shopping trip to an actual store.
In addition, I don't think that when I've shopped online that I've paid much attention to where the item is made...thus making me part of the problem I suppose....go figure.

Coley:chevy:

Re: Sold American!
 

The Answer; Yes.

Your comment about buying online causing you to pay less attention to where it's made makes me raise another point I ponder a lot.

Somebody, special-K I think, has made points about banks and corporations.

I agree.

Wall Street and the big banks and corporations created smoke screen that lets them get away with a lot.

Mutual Funds.

Most people think the money on Wall Street belongs to the greedy banks and greedy brokers. No, they are the ones that profit the most from the money, but the money is invested by blue haired teachers, factory workers, bus drivers etc. that have retirement accounts.

Mutual funds have made it easy for the handlers of the money to do what ever they want without repercussion from the investor.

If a company is failing, the CEO walks with his bonuses anyway, because the investors don't even know which company they are invested in.

Mutual funds are the best way to invest, but they also make corruption easier.

I have my 401K in mutual funds and have done very well. I don't take the time to see what is going on as long as it provides a good return.

All that rhetoric and got nowhere. :lol:

Re: Sold American!
 

It was "Sold American" in the '60s. Now it's "Sold America". You know, the first thing that made American great economically was tobacco.

Re: Sold American!
 

[QUOTE=special-K;8110508]Nope, curdled right up. But... the sides are steep so the oatmeal never boils out. Tapered bowls will make you a nice mess in the microwave if not careful.


I always lay a double thickness of paper towels under my oatmeal in the microwave.

Re: Sold American!
 

I tell you, steep sides are your friend. Discovering this was a major improvement in my quality of life. That's real important when you're still sleepy headed fumbling some breakfast up while coffee is still brewing. I do buy foreign-grown coffee.

Re: Sold American!
 

If you think that people who buy Toyotas are sending money to Japan, then why not buy stock in Toyota (symbol "TM") and rake in a dividend of aprox. 3% per year. Toyota is owned by the public and traded on the NYSE. This is the case with most big corporations to my knowledge. It truly is a global economy. Thousands of people and companies in China own stock in Ford and GM as well and rake in dividends and make huge profits buying and selling stocks judiciously.
So I guess it comes down to where is the work force, not where is the home office. -BA

Re: Sold American!
 

The dollar amount of a stock means nothing except when it last split, if ever.
By the way, Toyota stock has been virtually stagnant for the past three years.

Re: Sold American!
 

I started a long diatribe but decided to say this.

GM and Chrysler should have been allowed to go bankrupt.

The taxpayers suffered a 10 billion dollar loss because of mismanagement.

Re: Sold American!
 

Carhart coat I referenced earlier...hmm...

Re: Sold American!
 

I saw some crap about the owner of Macintosh saying it's a myth that manufacturing went to China for cheap labor. He says the reason he plans on continuing to use Chinese labor is because of their higher skill level. Now calm down, let's not start a riot. That pure BS still has my feathers ruffled. Screw him and his self-righteous lying a...a...you know what I mean. If that is true, then why am I not seeing a higher level of quality in the products? Or maybe he means damn good work for $3.25hr because that's what they average at those jobs. One fact I know, China has gone from 90% unemployment to 10% and I guess you can get by ok on $3.25.