"Buy American" Argument is Hypocrisy at it's Finest

We all know this already, though many refuses to believe it. Especially all the crack smokers and drug addicts who sent all their money down south.

— Badgewhore (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 2:11:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -4   

I have two cars that were not made in America. One is a Pontiac, the other is a Subaru. There is not currently a car that I desire & can afford that is made here. I am not too concerned with the origin of my automobiles. Having intermingled with union employees in the workplace, they don't seem to care either.

— Shredmo (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 2:40:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

"At IT'S Finest..."????? There is no need for an apostrophe. Why can't people understand the basics of the English language?

— 204E60 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 2:48:05 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8   

The more money we send 'over seas' the less we have in our economy for ourselves. think of it as two airtanks under water if we graudualy give air to one tank over the years the second will soon run low. Also if the air (money) is low there will be less and less hiring in America such as we see today. Our Economy has never been the same since the 50's when made almost everything for ourselves and keeped the money in the US. A family could be supported from one job that a guy could get out of highschool. No more of that becuase our econmy is getting smaller every day, we can only print so many dollars before they all have no value.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 3:03:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

"Buy American"?

- How about a better product?

— LexSucks (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 3:37:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

Those who advocate "Buy American' should look around his/her own household and find stuff that were not made in USA. Try buy a TV made in US. You will have a field day.
For example, Vizio is an US brand (sold mainly at Costco), but they source LCD panels, parts from Taiwan and Korea. Some, if not all, were made in these two countries. So, "buy American". Tell me how to tell. Most American would love to do that if they could actually tell and be convinced.

— ceric (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 3:41:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

It is almost to the point now that every consumer product we buy is made overseas. How in the world could we reverse it now ? This idea of a "world economy" has cost us (USA) dearly, instead of "lifting" up the world economy to our levels we are "sinking" down to theirs. We have sent our industries and jobs overseas and at the same time leveraged ourselves to the edge of oblivion. I am not a religous man, but maybe I should be (you?) GOD HELP US...

— theman440 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 3:55:50 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

My opinion will always be that people should buy whatever car they want with their money, no matter the origin, wheter it be Japanese, German, or American. No one should tell someone what to buy with their hard earned money, so buy whatever you want!

— PerformanceGuy (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 4:03:51 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Stupid Aritcle i wonder did he get paid in Dollars or Yen to right it.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 4:04:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

"That is just the point, we need to stop being a nation of consumers"

1UAW - you are right on the money.

— theman440 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 4:21:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

We miss mercedes who is building ML in US as far as I know and other cars.

— Yonder7 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 4:23:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Just to add another deminsion to the argument (and of course cause more arguing).

Many of the countries we buy from are able to produce things for much less.

The US has stringent work rights, programs, high minimum wage; just about every employee here gets paid too much to make things profitable.

Past that we have this idea that we are causing global warming, and need to be nice to the environment. Im not saying we should dump chemicals into water supplies, but i am saying that china/korea have much looser policies on waste.

If we really want to be sell competitive products we need to either lower our standards to theirs(not going to happen), or make them raise theirs up.

— Timzilla (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 4:31:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

People should buy the best product available, in turn it will spur American products to strive to be the best product. Protectionism hurts everyone.

— theoptimisticpessimist (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 4:38:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I'm going to buy what I like, regardless of where it is made.

Also, I don't think enough people realize that when a foreign company produces cars in America and makes a profit, some of the profit still makes it back to America. Research and development centers, new factories, as well as the salaries of all the workers come from somewhere...

— Anthony (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 5:13:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

UAW

In theory you are correct. If we dont make it, then we wont be able to buy it.... but the notion of that is ludicris. Look at what the internet has done; if you are in the market for a watch you go online and you find it for the lowest price.

You can say that you will only buy american but where will you draw the line? If you are shopping for a TV for instance, will you pay $200 more? or $300 more? What about $500 more for an american built TV?

Back into the car world look at both Honda and Toyota, they came into the american markets being the inexpensive, long lasting cars. Now we fight over which one of their "luxury" brands is better....

Point is a lot of people (myself included) look for quality, and purchase quality products, but i shop before i buy, and dont put too much thought into where its manufactured.

— Timzilla (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 5:16:04 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

How can you be against buying American? Pay attention in history class. GM, Ford, and Chrysler built the machines that defended this nation while Mercedes-Benz built limos for Hitler, and BMW built engines for the luftwaffe. Germany and Japan tried to take over and subjugate the world, America included. We need to have the industrial capacity for self defense that American industry provides. Each time you buy foreign, you make your nation a bit weaker. I don't suppose you care about that, because most people these days don't know anything about old-school values, like loyalty and patriotism.
You should put your own nation above all others, or you'll have no one to blame but yourself when you lose it.

— pushrod27 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 5:34:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I agree, and wasn't speaking for myself earlier, but just talking economics, there is the world you are talking about (Pushrod) and there is reality.

I think politics have advanced much much further then anyone in 1942 would have ever thought.... and i think we will all know a war is coming long before its arrival, i think we should be a country that imports the majority of its products, we have a higher standard of life then most other countries, and there aren't too many people that would do those jobs. I am curious as to what profession both you and UAW are in... if you really want to only buy American maybe you should be the guys who tell union employees they are taking pay cuts, working more hours and not getting as good of benefit plans.

— Timzilla (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 5:42:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I am not American but I belive in GOD and I am willing to die or kill for nation that love and promote Freedom, and a mean it. The problem that you are having is going beyond the products. Is part of your values, you are losing those. I do remember when God, Family and Country were your main values, now looks like most of you do not care about. Now you can not punish your chilldrens cause it is bad for their minds...(ja ja) when I was a child ther was a good medicine for hyperactivity: A belt, an unrespecfull outlaw boy was corrected by: belt. And I love my parents cause thanks to that I learn to respect all humans and I know that "sine cruciatu gloria non est". Your are not bad people, you are great nation but definitely you'll have to recover your values if you want to recover your glory. If you do not pay attention to your family and change those laws to allow the parrents to correct the childrens...You'll fail, and yes....China will become the next superpower but for not too long. Most of manufacturers will be there but no body will have money to buy the goods. Globalization was invented to help rich people but at the end that will be against them (and I do not have anything against rich people). This is Forseen. I rememer when I did not like anything but american made. Now I do not have to much american stuf, in fact almost nothing. How can it be posible....The root of your problems is your values GOD, Family, Country. Still I belive in that country and pray to GOD cause if you fall...this world is gona change in a very bad way.

— Yonder7 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 5:55:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

Well I don't really care about the whole "Buy American" thing, since other countries buy American cars and many other goods.

Also it should be "Buy United States" btw, since America are two continents made up of many countries, so I can buy a car that is made in Mexico but still be considered American. Just thought I throw that out.

— guambombboy (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 6:23:14 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

The people who say "buy American" are probably the same people who do most of their shopping at the trashiest store on earth - WALMART! Everything in that god forsaken hole was made in China, in sweat shops.

— FitzLA (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 8:30:58 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

1UAW.. The last time I checked, GM and Ford have been gaining traction in sales everywhere in the world but the US. Suppose those people started their own little "Buy European", Buy Chinese", "Buy Japanese" campaign, how would that affect your precious American auto companies?

— Lemonade (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 8:32:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

1. I buy Foreign becuase the profits go to people of color to make their lives better, as opposed to supporting old White guys born with silver spoons in their mouthes.

2. Becuase they make better looking cars, inside and out.

3. Their cars are more reliable.

4. They see me as a customer and not a statistic they can take for granted for the sake of PATRIOTISM!!!!

5. Their cars make more sense for the world we live in today.

6. American cars just feel trashy, like some Chinese or Mexican Walmart supplier made them. Then again, oopps did I get the cat out of the bag?

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 8:41:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -7   

pushrod27, I dont know man I see planty of Confederate flags up here in the North too. I burn em as I see em though.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 8:43:15 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -5   

GM and Ford Europe cars look better than their American Counterparts, but are they more reliable?

I think the answer to that question is FU-K NO!!!! Then again Europeans dont have a need to care about reliablity, as Americans drive thousands of miles a year more than they do. Build quality is more important to Europeans than reliablity is, then again they dont have deserts, vast tracts of grasslands, hills, and mountains that get up to 130 degrees F and can be as cold as -50 F with 200 miles between the next piece of civilization either. With the road as the only thing that shows people even exist as well.

*Note: The US has 80 persons per sq mile, while Europe has 181 Persons per sq Mile.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 8:57:52 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -5   

The UAW can go to hell.

I will never buy a car built by an American union worker.

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/28/2009 11:09:42 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

In the past, over the years, every time I've bought an American made vehicle, I hated it. The ride, the build quality, everything feels unsafe! My entire family used to buy American, mostly Mercury. BUT they would not last or they broke down. When we bought our first Isuzu Rodeo in 1995, it was nothing special BUT it just ran perfectly without any mechanical problems. We bough another in 1996. Unfortunately for us we didn't keep either one past 1998 when we turned to Volvo vehicles from there on in. I say unfortunately because I've met a few mechanics who claimed that when they worked at Isuzu dealerships, they had NOTHING to fix because the products never broke down. They said Isuzu's were just built in a simple straight forward way and they just lasted forever. No major problems. Notice that Isuzu vehicle are no longer made because the dealerships complained that there was NO money to be made in service! I wish I had my 1995 Rodeo now!

The point is: many people in this country had similar experiences of owning American made vehicles in the eighties and nineties with disappointment and dissatisfaction THEREFORE turning to foreign made vehicles and then only shopping other foreign made vehicles.

HOWEVER, as the years progressed, so have American made vehicles. Unfortunately though the foreign manufacturers have stayed ahead of the game when it comes to design aesthetics and interior build quality. So even though I'd like to but American, based on my past experiences and even the product availability up to this point, I just can't do it.

ALTHOUGH, the new Ford Taurus and the upcoming 2010 Buick Lacrosse are actually making a mark and may give the foreign sedans a run for the money.

— mac075 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 12:14:29 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

"Hyundia i a petty shure you know GM tied Toyota in quality last year."

Thats Cadillac and Lexus buddy, and then it was Porsche and Hyundai. After that it was Honda and Toyota.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 12:33:36 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -7   

Hyundaismoke,
Initial quality is one thing (I'm sure Hyundai doens't build cars specifically for testing), how about reliability?

2008 Consumer reports
1.Scion, 2.Acura, 3.Honda, 4.Toyota, 5.Lexus, 6.Infiniti, 7.Subaru, then 8.Hyundai. For avg scores, Toyota and Honda are in a league of their own, nobody else even comes close.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-10-23-cr-reliability-ranking_N.htm

2009 JD Powers. Hyundai isn't even on the radar (14th) while Lexus is 3rd and Toyota 4th.
http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2009043

Then there's a dependability survey in which Hyundai (10pts) looks rather week compared to Toyota (14pts) and Lexus (13pts) out of a possible 15pt ranking.
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/dependability-ratings-by-brand

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 1:39:11 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Buy American, Buy Walmart, ensure exploitation thrives!

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 1:40:42 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Something has to give - Americans have a very high standard of living (and rightfully so) compared to most countries in this world. It stands to reason that ANYTHING built or manufactured in the USA by well the paid american worker will cost you more than an equal quality foreign built/mfg. product. If you don't believe that you are a fool. This issue goes well beyond just the Automotive industry people. If we americans keep buying the "least expensive" products we can find, NONE of those products will be american made and eventually America will become solely a "consumer" and not a Manufacturer - and that's not good. I say support America, the American way of life and the American people - buy American whenever you can.

— theman440 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 1:56:50 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

I've owned GM cars in the past. Now that Obama has handed over partial ownership of the company to the UAW—the group responsible, in large part, for GM's demise—I will never buy GM again. If I'm going to buy American it will be Ford.

— MBCLS07 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 2:54:55 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I do not reward failure. I also do not buy failure. GM should have been gone by now but, no the govt had to bail them out. I also would never pay a premium for the same product if it was all constructed in America. Every thing I own except the food I eat is made or created over seas. Also the most American vehicle made today is made by Honda. Yea a Japanese company.

— veyron1001 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 9:31:41 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

The articles best argument was about the money we send overseas for oil. Which is worse?
- Sending money overseas to Germany or Japan or Swedan for a car
- Sending money to our enemies in the Middle East for the oil to run them.

The real hypocricy may be the guy in his gas guzzling F150 Supercrew driving around town with a bumper sticker "Buy American", or even the guy opting for that V8 option in a car instead of taking the 6cyl.

But they again, we're all hypocrites. The distintion is only in the degrees at which we are hypocrites (and what subject). That's why I don't have as much a problem with the guy driving a car that gets 15mpg as I do with the guy who has the bumper sticker

— SpicyMikey (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 9:46:19 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

If you want to see a protected market, go to Korea.

As for making things at home. Most Americans and Canadians are too stupid to see beyond the dollar store entrance.
$1 can opener or $5 can opener? $5 one lasts 5x as long because its made of proper quality metal (which doesn't warp after 1 use). Corp.America makes $1 off the $5 product but makes $0.40 on the $1 product. If you have to buy 5 can openers, they make more money by forcing you to buy garbage eventhough it requies 5x the resources. In the end, you pay the same but some CEO gets a bigger bonus cheque because he was able to finesse a bailout from President Jesus.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 11:39:52 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

upwards,
Toyota is playing by local, state and federal law. If they are able to do what you say, thats because the gov't allows it. Come up to Canada and see the standards at our Toyota/Honda plants, our gov't must work a bit harder.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 11:41:20 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

"GM needed a gov't bailout, but VW, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai have been subsidized and partially owned by their respective governments the entire time. schmuck."

Yeah we're competing with Socialists with 1910s style Laisez Faire style Capitalist tactics, and we actually that ignorant enough to ask questions such as:

Why we cant compete?

Why is it that just having good Product is still almost not enough for Ford to survive the long haul?



You hit the Krux of the arguement pushrod27.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/29/2009 3:53:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Whoever deboosted me is in denial, and is only a problem facilitator.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/30/2009 3:19:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

"LMAO!!!!! What you DON'T know can fill a book! Still LMAO!!!!!"

Yeah but you drive an overpriced Toyota, so go figure. Smart ass!!!

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/30/2009 5:50:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

If America built an AWD 4 door,rally insired vehicle that performs like an Evo or an STI then I would buy American. Until then i'll just have to make due with my Evo

— LexSucks (View Profile)

Posted on 8/31/2009 5:18:09 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

If America built an AWD 4 door,rally insired vehicle that performs like an Evo or an STI then I would buy American. Until then i'll just have to make due with my Evo

— LexSucks (View Profile)

Posted on 8/31/2009 5:18:09 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Gross National Product- people.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 8/31/2009 5:22:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1