MY Thoughts.

[Angrybird 12]

These are my thoughts and Opinions.


To All It may concern,

I am an American Citizen, Born and raised in the UNITED STATES of AMERICA.
I am 55 years old and have seen lived long enough to see our industrial capibility go from the best in the world to be close to Third world status.
I have Sworn to uphold all that is truly American in my life. To purchase American products and support American businesses whenever possible. As of today I have own 55 New and Used Cars and Trucks. ALL of them were from AMERICAN companies. No matter how this turns out I will ALWAYS OWN a Car or truck built by an American company. I will NEVER purchase any Car or Truck with ANY foreign Nameplate.

As I have seen for the first time in my life the 3 American companies come together as one in support for one another, Yet I have failed to see one word of support for them from any Foreign auto manufacturer. Why is that? Because they know it is their policies, their ways of doing business that has helped put the American companies in this position, and only they will benefit from a complete collapse of the American car companies.

It absolutely makes me sick at my stomach to listen to the so called leaders of our country berate our own industries saying things like the products they have are junk and the companies do not know what to build what people want. Not one Car or truck that an American car company builds does not have a Foreign counterpart. No car or truck built by an Foreign company does not have a counterpart built by an American company. So how can they say the American car companys do not built the type cars Americans want?

Well I have said enough, and I hope and Pray that for as long as there is an America, we will have an honest choice to buy a REAL American Car.

[Mr. Wyndham]

:flag2:

[NAHURRY]

Great post!.... Im with you 100 %:flag2::flag2:

[diddiyo]

What about me, I'm foreign born but I'm currently located in the US. Am I supposed to buy American or am I supposed to buy Audi, VW and BMW to support my home country?

Keep in mind that foreign companies employ thousands of people in the US, just like GM employs thousands of people at their Opel/Vauxhall plants in Europe. GM would be in an even worse shape if people over there would stop buying those cars.

Besides the Camaro (and mayyyyyyyybe the Mustang), there's currently no other car in my price-range being produced in the US that I like. I'm not buying anything just because it's from a certain brand/country. I say buy whatever you like.

[Hylton]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. In the past, American car manufacturers have dropped the ball in terms of quality and innovation however I truly believe that GM has turned the corner. The challenge is to get Amercans to believe in those changes.

[headpunter]

i kinda agree, my family and i have only bought Domestic vehicles since i have been alive but i have felt that we bought them because they were the best vehicle for the cost. If we blindly buy domestics even though they arent the best vehicle possible we are lowering our own standards and allowing the domestic companies to lower thiers...which ends with the consumer getting screwed.

[zebra]

to the OP, i couldn't agree more (except i don't know of ANY foreign heavy-duty light trucks). i wish the media would stop portraying our businesses in such a bad light. that's a lot of what forms public opinion.

& like 'punter, we've only owned domestics (except a celica mom had for a couple months in '84 & traded for a Z28)

[Inspector 17]

Listen, I am all for America and American produced products, even more so after spending 2-weeks in China last year and experiencing first hand the state of things in that country. However, the wheels of this current situation were set in motion a long time ago and go far beyond automobilies.

For example, we used to make TVs in the US as well as many of the parts that go into them. Now, outside of a few assembly plants, most of the manufacturing and assembly is done elsewhere. Mostly because we want a high quality 42" HD LCD TV for $500. The same goes for steel, clothes, many textiles, automobiles, etc. Much of that is thanks to the drive by Americans to make more money, have more "stuff", buy cheaper products, and overall have more wealth.

How many of us look at where products are made when we go to the store? I look at every package after being in China, but it is hard not to buy something from another country. We are moving more and more rapidly towards a global economy. Like it or not. It is funny because people in China and Japan are worried about losing manufacturing to Thailand, Indonesia and others, just as much as we are worried about China and Japan.

The US automakers need to learn how to become lean and mean. If they do that, they will be able to stay in business and you will be able to buy an "American" car forever. [BTW, what does an American car really mean? Designed here? Manufactured here? Parts from here? Well guess what, our beloved Camaro is none of those.] If they don't, then you will only have the choice of a "foreign car" that may or may not be assembled here.

The positive side of this globalization is that people in 2nd and 3rd world countries are finally able to begin progressing towards a 1st world civilization. Most of us have no idea how great we have it and how bad people in some (many) countries have it. They deserve a chance to live like us and experience what we experience.

So unless we are prepared to close our borders, isolate ourselves from the rest of the world and make the sacrifices that come along with those decisions, then we need to come to terms with globalization. The positive impact that we can have is by demanding that products by foreign companies be assembled or made in the US. And some always will be because of the logistics involved in assembly.

We can also get involved by asking our representatives to offer incentives for Americans buying American products. But careful with that. To foreign countries that looks a lot like tariffs and taxes and could ultimately mean higher prices for our products and lower demand for American products globally.

We are all part of a much larger system here. We need to learn how to innovate, cut costs and ultimately produce products that no one else can for prices that no one else can match. We have gotten comfortable and lazy and we are now starting to pay the price.