Heh... I saw the comment you quoted and was about to mention something but figured you'd do a better job of it and would be a more credible source since you work at a parts supplier.

 

GM has been trying to turn into a GLOBAL company for quite some time, and they believe to build there cars where they are going to be sold... that is why they are interested in starting buisness with china and India, now of course I dont have any reasearch and i realize its considerably cheaper to get work done in china... but thats the way i see it

 

The big 3 are desperate to cut costs in any way they can to be on the same playing field as the Koreans and Japanese. Remember GM's legacy costs etc etc. The Japanese and the Koreans don't have those problems.

Yes, the Equinox has the tranny and motor imported from China. So what? I'm still sure it has a higher north american content than the average Japanese product.

The Equinox was mostly engineered in Canada and is a success. It may very well be my next vehicle.

Let's stop putting Toyota on a pedestal just because they're building more plants in the US and Canada. I know many workers in japanese plants here in Ontario that are trying to get the CAW in there (while unsuccesful) because of poor job standards and insane overtime hours.

The problems GM and Ford face today may very well happen to Toyota 15-20 years from now when they'll have legacy costs and Chinese automakers will be exporting their crappy cars all over the globe.

 

The work is predominately coming from Japan???? Prove to me that they're closing plants in Japan to bring it to NA! You almost make it sound like just because they like us so much, they wanna give us jobs.

They're building plants in NA because their market share has increased rapidly in NA and it's cheaper for them to build them here.....especially with the Government's help.

 

True.

 

I just wanted our Marine friend to protect himself from contamination. I understand that completely, the Tank Killers sport a roughly 10 pound pure Uranium rod in the center giving off over 300millirams/hour, 4.5 million ellectron volts, @ 10,00counts/minute, screwing up you DNA on a cellular level. And everywhere a tank is blown up these things burn white hot giving off particles from a 0.1 micron to large gravel size, and even Uranium Oxides(gases)easily breathed if down wind. BTW the protective mask and equip don't protect against particles that small. As per the information supplied from the Dept of Energy, and those in combat whose said they could smell it through their masks...too late.Even holding a live round in your hand will contaminate you. And the damage to your body is irreversable.
I am also pretty sure Bagdad was shelled with D.U. in bunker Busters or similar.(I'm doing more research)
Birth defects are also at an all time high in Iraq and other area exposed to D.U. in the Gulf wars.
At any rate the half life of D.U. is roughly 4.5 billion years, pretty much permanent, one pound now, half a pound gone in 4.5billion years...
It's wrong to acuse a country of having weapons of mass destruction and then use weapons of mass destruction against them, D.U., over 350 TONS..!
(BTW, DU is not used uranium, but is low yield Uranium 238..)
An indescriminate killer, killing innocents, and that can tag along back home with you and kill your family.

 

I know for a fact that a local parts supplier is now the sole source for a particular powertrain component on the new Civic. They supply 100% of that component for the worldwide platform volume, and all of it comes from a small town in Michigan. Yep, that includes all the Civics that are built in Japan.

I'm not claiming that anyone likes us well enough to give us jobs. The automakers have to do what's financially responsible, and it's up to us consumers to apply the pressure. I just find it somewhat curious that Honda can source a part at a competitive rate from an American supplier, while other companies feel the need to take their work overseas. Trust me, legacy costs or not, no one is going to pay more for a part than they have to. It's just that some companies that look at more than the short-term price.

I'm not knocking the Equinox, but by the time that the engine, transmission, and a bunch of electronics are coming from somewhere else, explain why it's a domestic vehicle?

Insofar as the claims of "government help" are concerned, just about anyone bringing new business or building a plant this this country can get tax breaks. The key to all of this is actually building new plants. And make no mistake, there's huge tax incentives in place for currently-existing plants. Those just don't make the news, because they've existed for so long. You'll almost never see an automotive company complain about taxes, and there's a very good reason for that. Play the tax game right, and you can actually get a check back from the government (definitely the exception rather than the rule, but still a bit mind-boggling).

BTW - Certain Japanese companies are much more aggressive than others when forcing suppliers towards lower-labor-cost markets. Toyota in particular has made a lot of public noise about such efforts.