[alfie43]

I recently posted in a couple of threads that turned into discussions about our domestic cars (GM, Ford, Chrysler) vs foreign cars.

In one thread, the OP posted that he bought a Hyundai Genesis. He also stated that was struggling in the job market. I chided him about the irony of buying a car that is 100% Korean assembled with a 95% foreign made content. I said perhaps his employment picture, and for many other Americans, would be much improved if people like him bought less foreign cars. Of course, I got toasted for that. I was on vacation and couldn't access a computer to fully complete my position.

Before some of you jump in to remind me that the Camaro is made in Canada, read this entire post. Also, I'm not talking about patriotism. I'm not talking about restricting our free market choices. I am not anti-Asian; my father immigrated to this country from the Far-East. The quality gap is history, so that it is no longer part of the discussion. Again, my point is: It's about US JOBS.

As for our Canadian built Camaros; There is more to this story than where a car is assembled. It's about the US jobs that are created and maintained to produced a car regardless of where the final assembly takes place. It's about employment in the parts and components industry; the research, design, engineering, manufacturing and assembly of vehicle content.

GM, Ford and Chrysler employ far more Americans per car than the foreign companies, including the foreign implants that are assembled here. The numbers aren't even close. Here are some figures from the Levelfield Institute. They express their findings as number of jobs created per every 2500 cars produced.

"The JPC Rating (jobs per car) is calculated by dividing the total number of cars sold by an automaker in the U.S. by the company's U.S. workforce. It measures an automaker's contribution to job creation in all areas—research, design, engineering and management—not just assembly jobs. From a simple mathematical perspective, the rating tells you how many U.S. workers a company employs for every 2,500 cars they sell.

For example, Ford employs 89 Americans for every 2,500 cars sold, followed by GM and Chrysler at 78 and 92 respectively. Honda ranks first among the major foreign automakers, but only with a score of 54 followed by Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai/Kia at 51, 38, and 26 respectively.

Why do we count jobs per 2,500 cards sold, rather than for each car sold? Doing so produces whole numbers, which are easier to compare. For example, each Hyundai car supports .01 jobs, while every 2500 cars support 26.

Because Ford, GM and Chrysler conduct far more of their research, design, engineering, manufacturing and assembly work in the U.S. than foreign automakers do, buying a Ford, GM, or Chrysler supports almost three times as many jobs as buying the average foreign automobile. Some comparisons are even more striking. Buying a Ford supports 3.5 times more jobs than buying a Hyundai."

Alfie