[NSRCA-discussion] New Vehicle

Sat Aug 15 10:13:35 AKDT 2009

matt, 

5 or 10 years ago I would have agreed with you. Who knows now. like I said before, all the automakers use the same supply base for components and I've been to enough suppliers to know, they set up their processes for their most demanding customer and give the same quality to their least demanding customer, cause it's too confusing for them to have multi levels of quality systems. One of the downsides of globalization (or upside) is the homogenization of product. It gets harder and harder to differentiate products when all the auto companies are buying product from the same suppliers. When car companies were vertically integrated you saw engineering and quality differences as they came up with their own ideas. Now if  Eaton (for example) comes up with a new valve steel, they are selling it to anybody who'll buy.   

 Nothing wrong with Toyotas, they make nice products. but anymore, I really don't see the difference. I've got a 99 ford ranger that since new I've only changed the oil, 2 batteries and  2 sets of tires (125,000 miles). . Still looks new (and it's not garaged) and everything works. Never been tuned  up or in the shop for any reason. I actually feel a little guilty that I don't change the transmission fluid or coolant or something. 

 Though to support your claim, we have a joint venture with Komatsu, and those Japanese Engineers can beat a quality issue  to death sometimes. W hich probably explains the  following of their pattern planes . But they also have a bad habit of not owning up to problems  if it's an internal problem. 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: rcmaster199 at aol.com 
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org 
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:54:06 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] New Vehicle 

Global economy and Global marketplace have pretty much come of age. 

The reason I prefer Toyotas is because of their execution....attention to detail during manufacturing. Engineering is very good at pretty much all top auto makers. Execution and supply chain quality control are the main areas of difference FWIW2U 

MattK 

-----Original Message----- 
From: mike mueller <mups1953 at yahoo.com> 
To: General pattern discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> 
Sent: Sat, Aug 15, 2009 12:01 pm 
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] New Vehicle 

OK so how do we know that buying Fords and GM's helps the US economy anymore   than a Honda, Nissan or a Toyota really? It's more complicated than just   associating a Name brand to a particular country anymore.   Probably best to look at that american content list and see how it benefits the   US workers the best.    Thanks Jeff that;s good info. Mike    --- On Sat, 8/15/09, jeffghughes at comcast.net < jeffghughes at comcast.net > wrote:    > From: jeffghughes at comcast.net < jeffghughes at comcast.net >  > Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] New Vehicle  > T
 o: "General pattern discussion" < nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org >  > Date: Saturday, August 15, 2009, 10:12 AM  > #yiv1168904956 p  > {margin:0;}An  > automotive assembly plant does not add much content to a  > car, all the money is in the components and all the car  > manufacturers chase the components to the lowest cost  > producer, which right now is places like china, india and  > brazil. We get our blocks from brazil, cranks from India and  > push rods and valves from China. I started at GM in  > '73 and watched them go from the southern strategy where  > they built components down south (non union) and then things  > got cheaper in Mexico so we shut down plants in SC to move  > to mexico. THen it became even more global with Brazil  > getting into the act, then finally india and china. I  > currently work for a diesel engine mfg and we get 19Liter  > blocks
  from brazil and 30L blocks from Germany to be  > machined here i

nthe US. THe Japanese car  > companies brought their supply base over  here  > (NTN, Aisen, etc) when they set up assembly plants, so it  > wouldn't surprise me that they have cars with more US  > content than GM or Ford.   >   > ----- Original Message -----  > From: "Jay Marshall" < lightfoot at sc.rr.com >  > To: "General pattern discussion"  > < nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org >  > Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:25:19 AM GMT -05:00  > US/Canada Eastern  > Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] New Vehicle  >   >   >   >   >   >   >   > There  > was an article published recently concerning the top 10  > USA  >  content automobiles. Toyota was  > three of them as I recall.  >    >   > Jay Marshall  >   > -----Original  > Message-----  > From:  > nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org > [ mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org ] On Behalf Of Bob  > Richards  > Sent: Friday,  > August 14,  > 2009  > 8:35  > PM  > To:  > General pattern  > discussion  > Subject: Re:  > [NSRCA-discussion] New Vehicle  >    >   >   >   >   >   > My wife and I bought  > a Honda Element a few years ago (2004) and I remember  > looking at the information about where it was built. It was  > something like 65% components from North America. The CRV,  > which had the same drive train and engine, was 65% Asia or  > Japan (don't remember).  >   >    >   > I did some EMC  > testing for a manufacturer that made components for Ford.  > Some of their stuff was made here, some in China, some in  > Europe. They design a component that m
 ay be used in several,  > if not all, models, and might be made a

nywhere in the  > world.  >   >    >   > It wasn't too  > long ago that the ONLY manufacturer that could legally say  > their cars were 100% made in the USA was Saturn, but  > I'll bet that has changed, too.  >   >    >   > Bob  > R.  >   >   >   > --- On Fri, 8/14/09,  > mike mueller < mups1953 at yahoo.com >  > wrote:  >   >    >   > Phil don't you think that the  > nations attached to most cars is kind of muddled? I mean  > Honda, Nissan and Toyota make a lot of cars here in the US  > employing a lot of Americans. Ford makes a lot of their cars  > in Mexico and Canada and South America. Stock holders own  > car company's up until recently with the Chrysler/ GM  > debacle. Stock holders from Asia own stock in American  > companies and American's own stock in Toyota and Honda.  > Chrysler is now owned by Fiat an Italian company.
  Mazda is  > 40% owned by Ford and the list goes on and on. I'm not  > usre what makes sense anymore.  > Mike  >    > _______________________________________________  > NSRCA-discussion mailing list  > NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org > http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion > -----Inline Attachment Follows-----  >   > _______________________________________________  > NSRCA-discussion mailing list  > NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org > http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion _______________________________________________  NSRCA-discussion mailing list NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion 

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