Does it matter where it is built?

QA is the major variable in how well a car is built. I don't care where a car is built, if there is a proper QA policy in place, and it can be controlled, you're going to get a car built as well as it was engineered (engineering mean it was designed to perform well). I have experience with consumer electronics manufacturing, and no matter where the product is made, if we don't have control of the QA process, everything can go to hell.

polkbkk: good point, VW/AUDI magement is obviously terribly lacking otherwise country of origin would not make a difference.

Country of origin makes some differences, even if QA/QC is performed properly... Cost of labor/Quality of labor is a big determination of how the quality of the products are...

I tell you, Latin American Standard of Labor Quality (SLQ) lacks behind many places in the world... (Economist July 14, 05) Look at the indexes, if you could get a hold of the article...

Forgot to add, it goes with many products, not just cars...

in Brazil, they have cars powered by ethanol or a combo of ethanol-petrol, pure crap. I know so, used to own a VW GTI powered by alcohol as they say it.

Workforce is a major issue. Toyota had to resort to pictograms to educate the kentucky workforce, due to the low literacy rate. If you need to eductate via pictures, then what are the chances of that same workforce will know when there is a subtle issue on the assembly line?

You need educated workers to make educated decisions.

The average consumer doesn't know and doesn't care where the car is built or where the parts are from. Car buying has and always will be an emotional decision with cost factored in. Cars are no longer just wheeled passenger vehicles that get you from Point A to Point B - instead they are status symbols for the most part.

So to answer your question - does it matter where the car is built... for the average guy - NO... for the real enthusiast - MAYBE but not as much as you think. Do US-built Z4s, X5s and Mercedes M-Class SUVs make all BMWs and Mercedes American or built worse? Of course not.

the american ml definitely was worse than any mercedes, ever.

My point was whether one country has had a better time at manufacturing versus another country. Lets say Japan. I know it doesn't matter to most of the people and also that companies should strive to have the same build quality everywhere. Maybe I should have worded the question better. What I meant to say was whether it mattered on a quality standpoint. Of course this question has been answered.

It is important to some people. "Made in..." carries a lot of cache for certain products.

You want cigars? They better be made in Cuba.

A BMW better be made in Germany. I am sure most Americans don't even know that the Z3 was / Z4 is made in America. :p

So you're telling me that the BMW Z4 and X5 are more shodily built than the German line-up because they are made in South Carolina? Hell the X3 isn't German - it's Austrian.

What makes a German car a German car? Are the BMW Z4 and X5 American cars? Are they knock-offs of "true" German made BMWs? Hmmm...

It's silly to believe cars made in Germany are better than cars made abroad. Hell, we don't have to stop at the country level - we can debate whether cars made in Sindelfingen are better or worse than cars made in Bremen or Rastatt, Germany. Pretty silly.

.... and how German are German cars anyway?

Does an Audi A3/A4/S4/A6/A8 owner feel more prestigious than say a Q7 or TT owner because the latter two are built in Hungary and Slovakia?

loki, sorry, but european chrysler voyagers are built in austria because "built in america" is pretty bad for DCX.
i don't think it really matters though, the toyota aygo is made in slovakia, the corolla in britain, it doesn't matter really.

I never said that the fact that some BMW's are made abroad is bad. It MIGHT be bad for IMAGE REASONS though.

"Made in Germany" for example is synonymous with a quality product, while a "Made in Mexico" makes you stop and think for a moment. Get my point, Loki?

I never said that the fact that some BMW's are made abroad is bad. It MIGHT be bad for IMAGE REASONS though.

"Made in Germany" for example is synonymous with a quality product, while a "Made in Mexico" makes you stop and think for a moment. Get my point, Loki?

How much bad rep would a car have that is "Made in China"?. How long do you have to stop for this one, maybe forever :).

I haven't driven on bad roads in Latin America, but I have been in the South Pacific a couple of times and the roads are pretty bad there. There I was in Taxis, cars, vans, and busses. Many of the roads are unpaved. However I would like to make a point though I would say about 60-70% (probably and easily more is possible) of the cars there were Toyotas, and they were still running. I would see the ones from the 70s and 80s still running. Also among the public Toyotas were seen as the king of reliability. I also noticed that most of the cars had more than 150,000 miles on them, even the newer ones. (I was told that many cars are used imports from Japan).

Just seems the attitude here is that built in Germany is better. Sounds a little reminiscent of Germany in the early 1940's if you ask me. The fact that only Germans can build good cars is silly. Germany is equally as divisible as the the rest of the world - who is to say one plant in Bremen isn't better than the other plant in Rastatt? To think that the only skilled labour force qualified to build a good automobile is contained within the borders of Germany is ridiculous.

To stereotype Mexican or Slovakian labour as "lazy and poorly built" is pretty racist if you ask me.

I think people are brainwashed that built in Germany means "better".

Diablo you are right people fix the Toyota and do keep it longer, but why is it only with Toyota's. There has to be a reason too right. Toyotas are super reliable and that is what you will hear no matter where you go (All the way from poor countries to rich countries). Also all the ratings, reviews, etc. state the same thing.

Also about the uneducated decisions that you are talking about (and to everyone who also does this) PLEASE do not assume anything about anyone.

Who said that I was only there for a vacation. I was there for more than the 6 months that you are talking about (So according to your claim I should understand about the "realities" of the place right?). I also know a lot of people from that area who actually lived there for more than 30 years (You forget that there is alot of immigrants in California). Also so you don't assume more things I live in California. So with all of these things that I have heard and personally experienced I can say that Toyotas are reliable no matter where you go.

Also try to read more on the internet and magazines and you'll find several occasions where Toyotas are mentioned as reliable. (In places like Africa and Austrailian Outback the Land Cruiser is preferred over the Land Rover because they simply are more reliable, these are places where most of the driving is off-road). One more thing if about 1000 people have experiences with Toyotas and say that it is reliable and one person says that it isn't reliable who are you going to believe?

So in the end I guess you should "refrain from making uneducated conclusions"