Pure BS (in my humble opinion)

Also, these unions don't seem to care, at all, what their whining does to other people. The UAW did John Deere Co. a lot of damage back in the 80s, causing a parts strike. At the time, the UAW stated it wanted to put on a show - to keep GM in line. Real nice. The place I worked for, a John Deere Farm and Industrial dealership, almost went under since we couldn't get new parts for almost half a year. A few years later, a union rep came to our shop and tried to get a foothold. My boss - a self-made, ex-chicken farmer/businessman - told the guy that . . . if his employees opted to become union workers - he'd close down the businsess. Good for him - I was behind his decision 100%.

Seems you consider supporting the economy paying absolutely rediculous prices for cars and trucks to support overpaid workers. If you have a strong desire to spread your own "wealth" - well go ahead - but nobody should be forced to do it.

My reasoning works a little different than your's. First - I haven't bought a new car or truck since 1972 - and probably never will. The prices are greatly inflated due to the spoiled autoworkers - and government overlegislation for EPA regs and safety. I have a few cars made in 1981 and 1991 that get up to 50 MPG and that's better than anything new on the market. And, for trucks - it's not much different. My 82 Chevy K10 gets up to 24 MPG, and my 92 Dodge W250 gets up to 21 MPG and has all the power - and reliability I'll ever need or want. By the way - what exactly is "U.S." stuff? My 92 Dodge is made in Mexico, and my 94 Ford F250 is made in Canada. Not sure where my Chevy's were made. I do know my wife's two Subarus were both made in the U.S. Second - in regard to Japan - if it wasn't for their competition, the U.S. stuff might still be the same crap that was being turned out in the mid 70s. The incredible reliabilty of the Japanese cars and trucks along with their work-ethic provided a big wake-up call to the U.S. auto industry. I've got several retired Detroit auto engineers in my family, and heard many of the closed-door details and stories - especially with Ford - about trying to come up with a product that could even come close to Toyota and Datsun in reliablitly and quality. It's what started the Ford "Robustness" program back in early 70s. Also remember quite well GM and Ford trying to copy Japanese assembly-line techniques. I will say though, that our U.S. dollars and military support is what enabled post-war Japan to focus on auto engineering while not having to pay for a military - like we do. Three - your comments that make it sound as though, buying a Japanese car is sending money overseas MORE than if buying an American brand car? Well, I'm not how you'd sort that all out. How many overseas holdings does Bill Ford have?
How many auto production plants does Ford and GM have? They are now global companies, not U.S. companies. Ford uses more Chinese parts than Honda or Toyota does - and Toyota uses more U.S. built components than Ford. And, take your U.S. purchase. OK, you pay a huge price - much of which goes to a super-inflated paycheck and benefit package for a relatively unskilled worker. What then does he/she do with all that money? Spend it all on U.S. built products? I doubt it. Japan has us to thank for paying to rebuild it after WWII and protect it as it got better at making stuff. We, in turn, have Japan to thank for lots of engineering innovation. Early on - the U.S. "fix" to good Japan stuff versus bad-quality U.S. stuff was added import duties. This made it more cost-effective for Japanese companies to either build stuff here - or cheat the laws for awhile (like with the Subaru BRAT). So, here they are - and many U.S. resident workers are benefitting from it in many ways.

I can't find a logical reason to agree with you.

I'm not for the union either, but I would rather have the money stay here than send it overseas, it is simple economics.

I can't help it, I grew up with American iron and to me the Japanese stuff is junk.

Yes, I once bought a brand new 85 Toyota Cressida for my wife. It was the most unreliable car I've ever had, was smoking like crazy at 60K and sold it soon after and lost a lot of money on it. I've got 5 American cars with very good reliabilty ranging from 1977 to 2003 and plan on keeping all of them a long time.

I was a Chevy mechanic when the GM junkers started flying around 1973. You want to talk about crap? They were making it. If you want isolated, or specific vehicle stories - I could tell you hundreds - about failed plastic-coated timing gears, bad Parkerization on camshafts, worn out valve guides at 60K miles, bad transmissions, etc. Some of that was due to the race to meet new EPA standards - so it's not all the auto-companies fault - but again, much is. Hey, the Olds 350 diesel was great Detroit engineering? The aluminum cylinder-wall Chevy Vega? Same with Chrysler's Lean Burn engine or Cadillac's 4-6-8 montrosity.

I grew up with American iron - loved it 50 years ago and still do. I've got a 1918 Ford Model T, two Ford Model As, two 49 Ford pickups, a 1965 Chevelle SS, a 1960 Corvair, 1964 Riviera, eighteen Chevrolet diesel trucks, two almost modern Ford diesel trucks (85 and 94), a 69 W200 Power Wagon and a 92 W250 Dodge Cummins - and more - so - I don't exactly shy away from U.S. products. Over a hundred tractors too - mostly U.S. built with a few British, here and there. Our country has a proud heritage of being resourceful - but also a history of lagging behind and getting lazy until pushed into a corner. It happened with WWII - we were totally unprepared - but got up to speed pretty quick with some help from the French. Same with the auto industry in mid-70s. They got fat and lazy and were making some of the worst crap ever - and Jap-competition made them wake up. Right now - much of this country has its collective eyes closed to what happening around us. That applies to protecting our freedom as well as our culture,industry, and environment. That being said, I don't see the connection where overspending on American products with inflated prices has anything to do with supporting, or not supporting our heritage as Americans. There is nothing wrong, nor is there anything un-American about being careful with money and getting the best bang for your buck.

Their quality , while good, is not as high as they would have you believe.

The only thing I"m pointing out is that you are supporting the Japanese economy more than America"s economy and if you can"t see that you need to take an economics course.

In regard to Jap stuff being made out of gold - no, I've never felt that way. In fact, back late 50s, early 60s any merchandise made in Japan used to be generally considered cheap-junk - just as the Chinese stuff is now. But, they made a name for themselves with their cars. For every bad Jap-car story you've got to tell, I could tell you many more good ones, along with U.S. car disaster stories - mostly based on first-hand experience as a mechanic doing warranty work. All the companies will hide problems when possible. Corporations are not altruistic - they exist to maximize profits. That's goes for Japan and the U.S. I'd have a lot more respect for U.S. car companies if they took a stand against the unions, made their operations more cost-efficient, and gave U.S. consumers a better deal for their buck. They haven't done it, since it's been more cost-effective, and easier for the short term, to constantly give-in. Spending, on the average, $80 per hour for unskilled workers is absolutely ludicrous. And, by buying a U.S. car - you support the inefficiency of these U.S. companies. If one of them took such a stand, and paid employees a good wage based on realistic standards and "supply and demand", I'd be behind them 100%.