HOW WE GOT NISSAN: Seeds of move planted during California energy crunch

Nashville Tennessean ^ | 11/11/5 | RICHARD LAWSON and BUSH BERNARD

[SmithL]

As reported earlier this week, Nissan is moving its HQ from California to Tennessee. Here's what went on behind the scenes.

[johniegrad]

Better weather, closer to japan, a huge population/customer base and most CA residents would not get caught dead in GM or Ford car.

That's true. I've never seen a Californian drive an Expedition or a Suburban.

[Jimmy Valentine]

"Actually, most of us Tennesseans speak a variant subset of English called redneckonics"

Well, in the further reaches of the hills in Tennessee and Kentucky, linguists have found that the english spoken is very close to Elizabethan english in word usage and accent.

[Jimmy Valentine]

I feel for you Californians.

We in Maryland are suffering from a one political party malaise, but we face nothing like you are in Cali.

The DemocRATS will ensure the bankruptcy of California within five years.

What happens then?

[ErnBatavia]

The train could be headed for a wreck.

Seriously, and I said so here before Davis was recalled, I did NOT want him removed from office. It was clear than Arnie wouldn't be able to change that much, and that the coming crash-and-burn should be attributed to Davis and the 'Rats.

Now, of course, it's all going to be on the Republican Watch.

[Kimmers]

Looks like I am going to be the same as you in a few years....a TT....so far there a lot of things I like about Texas...how are y'all liking Texas....I was told I did not have to be a Cowboy fan...sweet relief

[taildragger]

For the life of me I Can't figure out why Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites haven't left Kalipornia.

If you ever have heard him in one of his forums at Oshkosh both him and his brother Dick are Conservatives.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Maybe you should watch closer. Perry already convinced Toyota to build a huge plant in San Antonio, another big plant is coming to the Texas side of the Rio Grande valley, and numerous companies have already been wooed here from CA. Forget that the Trans-Texas Corridor is also about making sure we have enough power and water trunk lines to accomodate all our growth?

[TennesseeGirl]

"I visited a Japanese plant in Athens TN several times and noticed that at lunch the Japaneese segregated themselves from the locals."

But, isn't this true for a lot of social settings? Senior citizens will tend to gravitate to other seniors, teenagers with teenagers, blacks with blacks, white with whites. On university campuses foreign students will sit with the other foreign students. Have you been to dinners where the women and the men will segregate after the meal (or is this just a Southern-thing)? It has been my experience that people will gravitate to other people that have a common bond or are like-minded rather than someone different.

[bert]

.....But, isn't this true for a lot of social settings?.....


Of course. I was commenting on the author's staement that there were many cultural similarities between the Japaneese and the good folk in East Tennessee. My personal observation belied the statement in the workplace.

The author did get one thing very correct. He said "East Tennessee" rather than "Eastern Tennessee", indicating a pretty good usage of the local language.

And aside from your post and as a comment on the original post,for the record, they're moving to Franklin which is in Middle Tennessee. The

[bert]

Check out item 77... Bertland

Knoxville is 103 and Nashville 206
..................

Best Places to Live -- TRI compared to Mountain West (excluding Pacific Coast)

2005 Source: www.bestplaces.net



National

Rank
Metro area

2
Santa Fe, NM

9
Reno, NV

18
Colorado Springs, CO

20
Pueblo, CO

39
Las Cruces, NM

45
Albuquerque, NM

60
Denver, CO

62
Grand Junction, CO

68
Boise City, ID

70
Tucson, AZ

77
Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

84
Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT

89
Greeley, CO

96
Missoula, MT

106
Billings, MT

128
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO

129
Las Vegas, NV-AZ

142
Boulder-Longmont, CO

146
Provo-Orem, UT

182
Cheyenne, WY

185
Casper, WY

204
Yuma, AZ

212
Great Falls, MT

244
Flagstaff, AZ-UT

273
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ

279
Pocatello, ID

[Redbob]

Anyone thinking there's no income tax in Tennessee should investigate a not-so-little tax called the "Hall Tax."

You wait until you retire and go to live on your savings and investments, and see what kind of income tax Tennessee doesn't have!

[Redbob]

Businesses aren't leaving California?
ROTFLMAO!

Try telling that to C.J. Buck of Buck Knives: they moved to Idaho this year - after announcing 5 years ago they were leaving California

When I asked him what took them so long, he said it was because NOBODY wanted to buy their industrial facility in (I think) San Diego - nobody!

[Redbob]

"I visited a Japanese plant in Athens TN several times and noticed that at lunch the Japaneese segregated themselves from the locals."

That would be largely because the locals don't speak Japanese...

Having worked for quite a number of years for a Nissan supplier company (in fact, Nissan's largest supplier) in Tennessee, I can say this about the Japanese who are assigned there:
They think they've died and gone to heaven!

They get to live in a home 5 times or more the size of the "apartment" (we call them closets) they lived in in Japan, they don't spend all their driving time stuck in traffic, and Jack Daniels costs one-fourth as much!

[bert]

.....That would be largely because the locals don't speak Japanese.......

The simple explanation is the best and obviously correct explanation.