Posted on 12/14/2007 9:53:02 AM PST by Incorrigible
 Honda may be a Japanese brand, but it makes cars in Ohio, where it employs more than 15,000 workers, including Lori Dennis. She believes her job in Marysville is as American as those who work for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. (Photo by Thomas Ondrey) |
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Buy American doesn't mean what it once did. Not in the auto industry.
Honda's best sellers come from plants in Ohio while Ford imports cars from Mexico. Toyota opened a plant in Texas this year while Chrysler brought in cars from Europe.
And vehicles assembled in the United States are made with a growing number of foreign parts.
"Ten years ago, it was a much more regional business," said Dave Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.
Parts suppliers once clustered around U.S. plants making General Motors, Ford and Chrysler vehicles. Now, Detroit's Big Three comb the globe for high-quality parts at the cheapest price.
For buyers, these changes have blurred the emotional, decades-old conflict between domestic and foreign cars.
Which is which these days? How can a Honda made in America, by Americans, be foreign? How can a Chevrolet with a large share of foreign parts be American? The questions will only grow more difficult as automakers grow more global. And as more young people, lacking the us-versus-them allegiance, become car buyers.
The trend seems unlikely to retreat.
The Big Three still have more domestic content — defined as made in the United States or Canada — on average than their foreign-owned competitors. But the gap has closed considerably since Honda quietly opened the first Japanese vehicle plant in the United States in Marysville, Ohio, some 25 years ago.
Honda and Toyota still get a substantial volume of components from Japan, although those numbers are shrinking. Meanwhile, imports from Mexico, largely to the Big Three, are rising.
Chinese imports also are increasing, but those generally go to parts stores and repair shops. That's starting to change as General Motors and others use those parts in new cars and trucks.
Two-thirds of the value of a car lay in parts produced by independent suppliers, said Jim Rubenstein, a Miami University professor who has co-authored a soon-to-be-released book called "Who Really Made Your Car?"
"In other words, there really isn't that much Toyota or that much Ford in your car," he said.
That percentage has increased over the years as producers have looked to outsource as much production as possible to lower costs.
The trend has both helped and hurt domestic auto production.
Visteon, Ford's former parts division, and Delphi, GM's former parts division, have both found new work making parts for Honda, Toyota and Nissan plants in the United States. But much of the work those companies used to do for Ford and GM has gone overseas.
For all of the Asian-Pacific countries combined, imports of auto parts to the United States totaled $16.1 billion in the first half of 2007, up 4.2 percent over the same period last year. Mexico's jumped 6.4 percent to $14.4 billion.
Still, groups such as the United Auto Workers would like to see Americans avoid cars from those companies. It releases a list each year of vehicles it recommends from union-staffed plants in Canada and Mexico. That list includes two Toyotas built at a GM/Toyota joint venture in California and eliminates imported Ford, GM and Chrysler vehicles.
Toyota countered in 2005 and last year with a series of commercials that advertised its investments in U.S. plants, research centers and sales offices.
For all but the staunchest of "Buy American" advocates, the level of foreign-made parts in a vehicle is largely unimportant. Most Americans don't care about domestic content or whether a car was assembled at a union plant or a nonunion plant, said Rubenstein, the Miami University professor.
They are partial to certain brands, however. The most loyal American buyers drive Ford and Chevrolet pickups, Rubenstein said, but when it comes to cars, the Japanese brands have the edge.
That said, the buying habits of American consumers do transcend their own personal enjoyment.
While the Japanese do more than just make cars in the United States, evidenced by the 1,000 engineers working for Honda of America near Marysville, a purchase from one of the Big Three means that all the profits go to an American company. It also lends support to a greater number of U.S. workers producing parts.
The Level Field Institute, an organization formed by former UAW members, publishes reports on employment levels by foreign-owned automakers. The institute encourages buyers to consider the domestic content even when deciding between a Honda and a Volkswagen.
Honda makes cars in Ohio and Alabama out of parts produced in this country. VW imports all of its cars.
"Buying a Honda supports nearly 2.4 more U.S. jobs per car than a VW," the institute says on its Web site.
Rubenstein would take the argument further.
"Buying a car made by Ford, GM or Chrysler, on balance, is putting more money into the American economy than buying a Toyota or Honda," Rubenstein said.
(Peter Krouse and Robert Schoenberger are reporters for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. They can be contacted at pkrouse(at)plaind.com and rschoenb(at)plaind.com.)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
Only Democrats and RINOs would go for closed door, unAmerican tribuuuuuuuuuunals. Sorry, you can’t get away from being unAmerican when you back free trade, the WTO and tribunals.
Again, let me remind you what brought you and I to this thread . . . someone lamenting that foreign auto makers located in the U.S. don’t use American parts. Apart from being false, is the above opinion more or less likely to be held by a Democrat?
After 38 cars in 35 years, I will never buy another Ford, Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler, GM, Subaru or Toyota product.
I agree with your assessment except for the Toyota. I love and only buy Toyota or Honda. They have never given me a problem. Ford on the other hand was a painful experience.
I don't know as I am not a Democrat. You are the one who brought up the subject of Democrats. I guess you know. LOL!
Interesting standard you have there . . . if you cannot comment on whether something is Democrat-like because you are not a Democrat, why do you inflict your opinions about economics on the rest of us?
Read the artical again. It’s written from the point of view of the UAW. The UAW exists in both canada and mexico. So the UAW considers canada and mexico the same as america.
I just bout a New Holland. My dealer siad they were made in Georgia. After it was delivered I noticed in the owners manual it was made in Japan. I was crushed. The only thing New Holland did at the factory in Georgia was add the wheels/tires, gas tank, seats, roll bar etc
Look around you. It's happening now.
- John
Some are made in India, some made in Poland, some made in Korea. Some of the new john deers are made in china.
EGR(Exhaust Gas Recirculation) is designed to reduce the NOX emissions, by cooling down the combustion chambers, not to cut down on power.
The EGR kicks in at about 1500 RPM controlled by engine vacuum and reroutes a small amount of exhaust gases back into the cylinder chambers thus cooling down the combustion chambers, thus reducing the NOX(nitrous oxide).
Nissan's issue most likely was that the cars failed smog test due to high amount of NOX, created in part by partially plugged up EGR pass ways.
You really honestly believe your pickup is as american as it gets?
Buying crap ensures there will be more crap. I still remember the driver side door falling off my Explorer. I'll take my Lexus, thank you.
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