American Made......

[Big black truck]

Being that I immigrated from South Africa, I was hoping that someone can fill me in. Since I became a citizen in 2002, I have tried to support American Made. Hell, my 3 kids were made here too... The question I have is....Chevy, ford and dodge are our big 3, but my understanding is that most are made and assembled in Mexico and Canada. I have bought 5 new dodge cummins , 2 fords, and am on my 1st silverado. These are the trucks. I also have a tahoe and have bought 2 subs before that.

What percentage of these vehicles are made here and abroad? Also, what percent of foreign vehicles are made here.

It seems that if we stop importing all other brands, close our factories in mexico and canada and reopen them here, it could impact positively as far as jobs , patriotism and happiness is concerned. Hopefully other institutions could follow and maybe we would get the trade balance back. Now it seems that we are importing way more than exporting.

To keep the post on topic....I love my truck.

Cheers

[Jubei69]

Economics and cheaper labor it what drives the Big 3 automakers to ship some assembly/production to Canada and Mexico. I know Toyota has a truck plant in San Antonio, and I believe that there are other plants in the US assembling japanese made vehicles; have no specifics on those though..

[ryan_hermanutz]

Some are built here and some are built there, parts from here and parts from there. It's hard to say exactly where they are built. As for bringing the jobs back home, that is a great idea but we all would have to do some serious soul searching for that. As it sits now most of us are not very thrilled about the price of a new truck, just imagine what the price would be if every part was made here. Generally speaking we Americans have sort of done this to ourselves; we are always looking for the best price. Unfortunately it seems that this has led some industries to lower costs by outsourcing certain things to people who are willing to work for far less than we would dream of. Just my .02.

[revrnd]

The question I have is....Chevy, ford and dodge are our big 3, but my understanding is that most are made and assembled in Mexico and Canada.

 

No more pickups from the Big 3 from Canada. Our plant couldn't compete w/ Silao Nexico seeing as they agreed to drop their wages from 4.50 an hour to 2.50 Last Canadian built Sierra/Silverado 1500 came off the line in May of '09.

 

AFAIK, Silao is only building the half ton shortbox crew cab. All other models are being built in Ft. Wayne or Flint.

 

It has been a few years since Ford stopped building F150s in Oakville. Not sure when (or if) Dodge ever built trucks in Windsor Ontario.

 

The reason GM built the Truck Plant in Oshawa back in '65 was to comply w/ the North American Auto Pact that said to sell product in Canada, you had to build here. Did South Africa have local content rules for their auto industry? Or are vehicle shipped there assembled?

 

I'm not sure if the Auto Pact was torn up because of NAFTA or the WTO.

 

There are a lot of parts for the vehicles that travel across the border before assembly helping the economy of Canada & the US.

 

To the OP, you make it sound like Canada is a 3rd world economy like Mexico or China. This could be the farthest thing fom reality. Our standard of living is close to that of the US. In the province of Ontario, the hourly minimum wage will be $10.25 (almost the same in US $ @ today's exchange rate) @ the end of March 2010.

 

I spend time (and money) in the US and have many American friends. Canadian & American relations are not a "us vs' them" scenario.

 

Over the years I've owned 5 GM pickups & 4 of them were built in the US.

[Big black truck]

Interesting info. I understand about wanting the bottom dollar, but with the way things are going now, it seems more than ever the time to grab hold and change the usual way to do business. China is slowly creeping in all around the world. Angola is a typical example. They have helped and even controlled the building of that country and many other African countries like the progress and are seeking that same aid. Before you know it, they will control Africa and that is not a good thing. Are the unions to blame for the exported jobs or is it greed? It would seem the right time to motivate positive thought to get the jobs back, even if it is for lower income. Does Canada build cars? No matter how we look at it, exporting less than importing = bad mojo. Once we become dependent on imports, then soon they will control the supply and demand and then we are screwed. Just look at the oil industry. I would hate to see that happen with our groceries.

Sorry for the rant, but I sure would like to see America take back their own.

[ryan_hermanutz]

I think most Americans would like to support American businesses that only sell American made products. The reality is that if I need a widget and I have 2 choices, one for $100 and another exact same for $200 I'm going to have to think long and hard to justify the extra $100. I try real hard each and every time I buy something to spend my money where it will do the most good, but sometimes it makes no sense to spend more for the same. This is the problem that we all face, especially in hard times. I know that buying local is the way to help my community, but often I can get a better deal to buy something online from way far away. Sure I might be helping some other part of my state or the country but it’s not helping my neighbor who might need it real bad. As for you specific question about the unions or greed, well you will get some folks real worked up with the union talk, but I think it’s a little of both.

[pm26]

Economics and cheaper labor it what drives the Big 3 automakers to ship some assembly/production to Canada and Mexico. I know Toyota has a truck plant in San Antonio, and I believe that there are other plants in the US assembling japanese made vehicles; have no specifics on those though..

 

Then why are sticker prices the same on vehicles from any given manufacturer, regardless of whether they are made in Mexico or USA? The labor costs in Mexico are obviously much lower.

[ryan_hermanutz]

Economics and cheaper labor it what drives the Big 3 automakers to ship some assembly/production to Canada and Mexico. I know Toyota has a truck plant in San Antonio, and I believe that there are other plants in the US assembling japanese made vehicles; have no specifics on those though..

 

Then why are sticker prices the same on vehicles from any given manufacturer, regardless of whether they are made in Mexico or USA? The labor costs in Mexico are obviously much lower.

 

 

 

My guess is greed

[revrnd]

Does Canada build cars?

 

GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota & Honda all build cars in Canada.

 

The McLaughlin company built McLaughlin-Buicks in Oshawa before GM was formed. Buick sold motors to McLaughlin & they built the rest of the car. It later was bought by GM and became GM of Canada.

 

Ford has been building vehicles in Canada since the early days of the company. These aren't recently set up operations, trying to "screw" Americans.

 

A lot of the Honda parts come from Marysville OH for 1 example of the cross border trade.

[evanstock]

The sticker on the side of my drivers door shows my truck was built in Michigan.

[r1byker]

Economics and cheaper labor it what drives the Big 3 automakers to ship some assembly/production to Canada and Mexico. I know Toyota has a truck plant in San Antonio, and I believe that there are other plants in the US assembling japanese made vehicles; have no specifics on those though..

 

Then why are sticker prices the same on vehicles from any given manufacturer, regardless of whether they are made in Mexico or USA? The labor costs in Mexico are obviously much lower.

 

 

 

My guess is greed

 

 

Greed? How about just trying to survive. Even with all the outsourcing, GM still managed to lose hundreds of billions of dollars over the past couple of decades and had to be bailed out by the government.

[ryan_hermanutz]

Economics and cheaper labor it what drives the Big 3 automakers to ship some assembly/production to Canada and Mexico. I know Toyota has a truck plant in San Antonio, and I believe that there are other plants in the US assembling japanese made vehicles; have no specifics on those though..

 

Then why are sticker prices the same on vehicles from any given manufacturer, regardless of whether they are made in Mexico or USA? The labor costs in Mexico are obviously much lower.

 

 

 

My guess is greed

 

 

Greed? How about just trying to survive. Even with all the outsourcing, GM still managed to lose hundreds of billions of dollars over the past couple of decades and had to be bailed out by the government.

 

 

 

Maybe that too. One would think that if it cost $30,000 to build a truck in the U.S. while paying the American workers $20 something an hour or what ever they make, then the same truck that is built in Mexico by workers making only $2.50 an hour should cost less. But like I tried to convey in my previous post I don't know.

[ATMINF]

The UAW has been a major factor in why many jobs have left US soil and moved to Mexico. The big 3 have also looked at the bottom line and did things to try and bring in the largest profits, so they also are a factor in why factories close in the US and moved south. Another factor is that GM is making cars where the new markets are starting to grow. A prime example of this is China. It is much cheaper to build a car in the local market, than make it in the US and then ship it to the country. Don't get me wrong, I wish we had more factories here in the US, but things will have to change for that to happen.

[jro909]

not much is made here as far as trucks, tahoes left my town about a year or so ago to go to mexico...easiest way to check where somethings made is the first digit of the vin i think.....sometimes its not always about where its made its who owns it, people have to realise that almost everything in your life that you buy isen't even made here...the days of american making stuff is dieing and being replaced with an economy based on "services"...sad

[shocktrp]

Some are built here and some are built there, parts from here and parts from there. It's hard to say exactly where they are built. As for bringing the jobs back home, that is a great idea but we all would have to do some serious soul searching for that. As it sits now most of us are not very thrilled about the price of a new truck, just imagine what the price would be if every part was made here. Generally speaking we Americans have sort of done this to ourselves; we are always looking for the best price. Unfortunately it seems that this has led some industries to lower costs by outsourcing certain things to people who are willing to work for far less than we would dream of. Just my .02.

 

Actually, it is very easy to determine where it was assembled - look at the first digit of the VIN;

 

1 = USA

2 = Canada

3 = Mexico

 

(Vin's starting with other numbers/letters are made in the smaller countries.)