Made in USA

[K6JEK]

It's such a pleasant surprise to buy something actually made in the USA.  Today, tires, Goodyears.  I know not all Goodyears are made here but these were.

Earlier in the day, paint brushes, Purdy (or is it Purdee).  Great brushes.

[WA1GFZ]

I just bought Purdy trim brushes for the same reason. The Purdy trim brush I have been using since this time last year is starting to show its age but still very usable.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

My HF rig is made in the U.S.A. So is my microphone, tri-bander, and coax. The dark chocolate covered raisinettes I just ate, were grown, covered in chocolate, and packaged here in the U.S. My Toyota was made in Indiana.

[The Slab Bacon]

My Toyota was made in Indiana.

Pete,
       I got to chime in on this one, I believe Assembled should be the word of choice here. As of the last I looked into that a few years back, Most of the Japaneese cars had all of their parts manufactured overseas, then were shipped over here in parts and assembled here. This way they beat the import taxes, loading  and unloading fees etc. It was a loophole thing to maximize proffitability and get a leg up on the American car manufacturers. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

                                                                     the Slab Bacon

[Ed W1XAW]

The Federal Trade Commision has very strict rules for using the words "Made in the USA."   Basically the words can only be used if the product was wholly made in the U.S. except for some minimal operations or parts overseas.   "Assembled" is the language that is allowed if significant parts are of overseas origin.   The rules do allow you to mention specific processes that occur in the U.S.   For instance, a show can be marked "Handsewn in the USA" even if the upper was cut overseas.   

Ed

[K6JEK]

My Toyota was made in Indiana.

Pete,
       I got to chime in on this one, I believe Assembled should be the word of choice here. As of the last I looked into that a few years back, Most of the Japaneese cars had all of their parts manufactured overseas, then were shipped over here in parts and assembled here. This way they beat the import taxes, loading  and unloading fees etc. It was a loophole thing to maximize proffitability and get a leg up on the American car manufacturers. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

                                                                     the Slab Bacon

I believe new cars say how much came from where on the sticker.  Stuff comes from all over.  Toyota has an engine plant in W. Virginia and a transmission plant there too.  I think Honda builds engines and whole lot of other stuff in Ohio.

However, the only automotive assembly plant west of the Mississippi is the NUMI plant in Fremont, CA, a joint Toyota and GM operation.  GM has pulled out and Toyota probably will too leaving none.  We're left producing nothing but lettuce, computer chips, software, movies and weird politics but lets not dive into that last one.

[K9ACT]

"Cash for klunkers" has turned out to be a program to get all those nice big American made cars off the road and replace them with overwhelmingly foreign imports.

One might think this is an unintended consequence of shortsightedness but I am too cynical about government to think anything not in the best interests of Americans is unintended.

js

[Pete, WA2CWA]

My Toyota was made in Indiana.

Pete,
       I got to chime in on this one, I believe Assembled should be the word of choice here. As of the last I looked into that a few years back, Most of the Japaneese cars had all of their parts manufactured overseas, then were shipped over here in parts and assembled here. This way they beat the import taxes, loading  and unloading fees etc. It was a loophole thing to maximize proffitability and get a leg up on the American car manufacturers. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

                                                                     the Slab Bacon

I don't really give a hoot where the individual parts came from. The finished goods, "the car" was made in the U. S. MY Flex 5000 was made in the U. S. I don't really care where the individual resistors, capacitors, or chips were made. Did you really think that every part in a Ford or Chevy was made in the U. S.   

[WD8BIL]

I don't really give a hoot where the individual parts came from. The finished goods, "the car" was made in the U. S.

Profits still go to Japan! That don't help US one bit.

[The Slab Bacon]

I don't really give a hoot where the individual parts came from. The finished goods, "the car" was made in the U. S. MY Flex 5000 was made in the U. S. I don't really care where the individual resistors, capacitors, or chips were made. Did you really think that every part in a Ford or Chevy was made in the U. S.   

Pete,
        I think ur kinda missing the point. Yea, even my Harley-Davidson motorcycle has a japanese carburetor and japanese electrics on it. (Unfortunately they are better than ours)  

But, there is a big difference between component level parts (which sometimes you have no choice where they come from) and specifically engineered sub-assemblies designed to get around import loopholes. If they are actually manufactured here from raw materials, then I have no bitches about it. Howeva, I dont think they are. (but I have been wrong before)

                                                                  the Slab Bacon

[WA3VJB]

How come people didn't get all hot and bothered when German-owned Chrysler was a "foreign" automaker by the same definition I'm seeing here?

Many still lumped it in with the Detroit Big Three.

Seemed hypocritical to me.

[K5UJ]

"Cash for klunkers" has turned out to be a program to get all those nice big American made cars off the road and replace them with overwhelmingly foreign imports.

One might think this is an unintended consequence of shortsightedness but I am too cynical about government to think anything not in the best interests of Americans is unintended.

js

Jack,

think about this--A lot of American car dealers are getting a ton of business--the rules of the program don't stipulate that you have to buy foreign import cars.  American companies are also making high mpg cars that fit the program.  Also, the purchases of Toyotas, Nissans, and Mercedes and maybe others all benefit American workers because these companies all have domestic assembly plants.  Also, not all American cars qualify.  I have a friend who would love to get rid of his Saturn, but they won't take it, even though it is 16 years old because it gets 31 mpg.

73,

Rob K5UJ

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

American workers are paid out of those profits, so they don't all go to Japan. The plants the foreign companies built were paid for out of those profit (or as a result of those profits), so once again, not all of it goes to Japan.

It's a global economy. Where do all the profits go from all the profits of Microsoft sales in Japan? Or all the Apple iPods and iPhones sold in Japan.

I don't really give a hoot where the individual parts came from. The finished goods, "the car" was made in the U. S.

Profits still go to Japan! That don't help US one bit.

[Bill, KD0HG]

I heard that the #1 selling new car as a result of the program is...
(drum roll)

The Ford Focus.

Dealers can't keep them in stock.

Don't give up hope, gentlemen.

[WA1GFZ]

Say what you want but how is it the strongest country on the planet is also $11T in the red. sumpin ain't right

[WA3VJB]

That's right Bill.
These are facts.

Ford Focus remains leader among foreign car sales in Russia in Q1

MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) - The Ford Focus remained the leader in terms of foreign car sales in Russia in the first quarter of 2006, the committee of automobile producers of the Association of European Businesses said in a press release.

Sales of the Ford Focus grew 89% year-on-year to 20,791 cars in the first quarter, the release says.

The Renault Logan ranked second with sales of 12,502 cars in the quarter compared to 7,566 in the first quarter of 2006. The Chevrolet Lanos came in third

Actually, depending on which week you look at, the U.S. "clunkers" race shows first place both to the Ford Focus and the Toyota Corolla, both made (to some extent) by American workers drawing paychecks in the U.S. dollar.  The Corolla has been made at a California factory for more than 20 years.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/toyota-corolla-overtakes-ford-focus-for-top-cash-for-clunkers-purchases/

Interesting information in the story linked above -- of the top trade-ins, there's not a single model from Toyota, Honda, or Nissan.

[K9ACT]

It's a global economy. Where do all the profits go from all the profits of Microsoft sales in Japan? Or all the Apple iPods and iPhones sold in Japan.

To China, of course.

js

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Yes, but that is the ONLY US car in the top five sellers. The rest are from foreign companies. Further, the majority of the cars sold are from foreign companies. This program is but another of this governments payoff to special interests, except it's paying off the wrong special interests - a double screw up.

I heard that the #1 selling new car as a result of the program is...
(drum roll)

The Ford Focus.

Dealers can't keep them in stock.

Don't give up hope, gentlemen.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I didn't know Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, lived in China. When did he move?

It's a global economy. Where do all the profits go from all the profits of Microsoft sales in Japan? Or all the Apple iPods and iPhones sold in Japan.

To China, of course.

js

[k4kyv]

I don't really give a hoot where the individual parts came from. The finished goods, "the car" was made in the U. S. MY Flex 5000 was made in the U. S. I don't really care where the individual resistors, capacitors, or chips were made. Did you really think that every part in a Ford or Chevy was made in the U. S.

My Simplicity riding lawn mower was made in USA and has a Briggs & Statton motor.  I saw a later model of the same mower the other day, with a decal affixed: Powered by Honda.  Last year, I took apart an old Hunter ceiling fan motor to clean it and check its internal condition.  One of those Original models with the cast iron motor in which you can look up through the ventilation holes in the bottom cover and see motor windings and spinning rotor, and has ball bearings bathed in oil, which requires oil to be added periodically. I was surprised when I removed the cast iron cover and saw "Taiwan" stamped on the inside face.  That one was manufactured decades before the manufacturing operation was moved offshore, from Memphis.

A salesman at a local garden supply store told me there is a much higher demand for power tools such as tillers, pressure washers, lawnmowers, etc that  have Honda motors over those with Briggs and other US manufactured motors.

"Cash for klunkers" has turned out to be a program to get all those nice big American made cars off the road and replace them with overwhelmingly foreign imports.

At least they put a 20-year limit on the age of the vehicle to be traded in.  Nobody will be destroying any 55 Chevys, 49 Hudsons, or 34 Hupmobiles.  Don't forget, millions of perfectly good classic American cars were destroyed under another government program: scrap metal drives during WW2.  It was hard to find gas, oil and replacement tires while everything was rationed, so many people patriotically donated their perfectly good Model A or Model T to be melted down for the war effort, rather than leave it parked to rust away for the remainder of the duration.  That's why there are so few of them in existence to-day.

American workers are paid out of those profits, so they don't all go to Japan.

Workers are not paid out of the profits.  Profits are what is left over after workers are paid and all other operating expenses are covered. 

Even GM and Chrysler pay their (remaining) workers.

[K9ACT]

I didn't know Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, lived in China. When did he move?

You threw in that red herring.  We were talking about autos and hardware.  I chose to ignore Microsoft and you chose to ignore ipods and iphones.

Talking past each other.

js

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Not really. We're talking about global companies and profits and where they go. Bill Gates is but one example. If you want to talk iPods, then the last time I checked, Steve Jobs still lives in the USA.

The point is that it doesn't matter that much where a big, global company is located. Their profits benefit people around the world.

I didn't know Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, lived in China. When did he move?

You threw in that red herring.  We were talking about autos and hardware.  I chose to ignore Microsoft and you chose to ignore ipods and iphones.

Talking past each other.

js

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Workers are not paid out of the profits.  Profits are what is left over after workers are paid and all other operating expenses are covered. 

In an accounting sense, you are correct. But if the company isn't making a profit, there are no workers or pay.

[K9ACT]

I forgot the details but it seems like a US car only leads the klunker race in administration provided propaganda.  It is in fact, an accounting trick that takes things into consideration that assure a US car is on top.  

The rest of the counters put it down the list quite a bit.

Another little remarked detail is the loop hole that exempts certain categories from the mileage requirement because there is none for that category.  This seriously distorts the propaganda that people are trading in for high mileage vehicles because it is, as usual, only half the truth.

js

[K9ACT]

The point is that it doesn't matter that much where a big, global company is located. Their profits benefit people around the world.

That's nice but sounds like something Hillary would say.

Check the subject line and the comments that followed.  I believe that the consensus is that buying American is good for American. 

When jobs go off shore Americans lose.  Cash for Klunkers would be better for Americans if it were limited to American cars.

............

>In an accounting sense, you are correct. But if the company isn't making a profit, there are no workers or pay.

 Surely you jest?  Remember "too big to fail"?  I can think of quite a few bankrupt companies that are still doing business as usual thanks to us taxpayers.

js