Yep...pretty much at the intersection of I75 and I64. Also, a major train runs right through the plant's backyard.

 

To be accurate, the title of the article is “As Auto Prosperity Shifts South, Two Towns Offer a Study in Contrasts”

What you cite as the title of the article is the title of a synopsis as offered by the newsletter that referenced the NY Times story.

It wasn't my intent to be confusing but apparently I was...sorry about that.

 

You of all people should understand the effect of an automaker overtaking a "hole in the earth" because of the evil General Motors and Spring Hill, TN.

Where was Toyota there? How come Spring Hill turned into something more than a cow pasture when the "failure that is GM" began planting auto seeds there instead of Jesus Christ Toyota?

 

I’m not sure what you are trying to say, graham?

The only reason I mentioned Spring Hill was to point out that whether it’s GM or Toyota or any other manufacturer (of anything), a company seeking to relocate and/or build a new facility of some kind is going to look at the wage package they would have to offer as well as hundreds of other details before they decide to commit to an area.

 

The only reason I brought up Spring Hill (I actually missed where you brought them up ) was that you live in the Nashville/ Franklin area aparently. (My sister lives in Franklin).

The main reason everyone is crowing over this article is is specifially alienates domestic automakers, and for no good reason.

ANY automaker can take a hole-in-the-wall town and multiply its overal spectrum from per capita income to population, as you would probably agree.

 

Although I don’t disagree that many here see it that way I do disagree that the article actually does that.

Rather, I would say that the only significant point the article is trying to make is that what it calls “auto prosperity” is shifting from traditional locations (like Michigan) to the Southern U.S. and I think it’s clear that that is happening.

I would suggest that the trend for some time is that any auto manufacturer looking to build a new plant is going to be looking in southern/traditionally non-industrialized locations whether that manufacturer is Toyota, GM, Ford or Honda. That is, of course, assuming they build in the U.S. and not in Canada, Mexico, India or China!

Yes; as would be true for any large business that moves into a new area.

 

Whether you guys like it or not, foreign companies that put up plants in the US are a big help to the economy. If you still believe otherwise.....

 

No one says they aren't a help, at least in some respects (certainly to the LOCAL economy where they set up shop).

 

Let me say something here being that I am from Kentucky, in KY there are 4 auto plants. The Toyota plant has by far the highest volume but both Ford plants, one makes the SD trucks and the other the Explorers et all, in Louisville easily trump the Toyo plants in terms of people employed directly and through suppliers. And the Corvette plant is GMs crown jewel and I think everyone from that region can attest to that small plant employing quite a few people direclty and many more through suppliers. Also in the region is the Toyota truck plant in Southern Indiana. Though it still doesn't compete with the Ford plants in terms of impact.

Triviaoid: Ford's 1st plant outside of Michigan was in Louisville, KY.

 

The thing is not the article Robert.. Its you posting about it. You come in here to post all be it something about the auto industry. No less it IS Toyota, Well the thing is this is a board devoted to the competition GM.
You post it up then what think your not going to get any flak over it? Of course you are. First off your views some dont agree with. the material you present. Again yes it is an automotive topic but again what site is this for?
Its like running into a theater and yelling fire..people here are going to come back at this in a light not to your thinking. Maybe you like to stir the bees nest but the way I see it you just like jabbing the stick into our side any chance you can get.
Your views are your views, I have mine as the rest of them here have their own. All I can say is Yea thats great that this town has a factory thats booming. thats great like it was 80 years ago when Detroit built all these factories back then..cant do it now like Toyota is doing and you know that...so it makes Detroit look bad....what about the ones that were shut down from GM or Ford cus of the sales of the GM "blue car" went south and they had to can the platform ( Again I am not talking about moving outside the country, I am talking about killing a car) Toyota moves into another part of the country and builds its new "blue car" and its a story for the holidays.
Well, what happened to the story of the GM "blue car" and its town that is a ghost town..its constant ebb and flow and I can say it might turn the other way sometime in the future say 2-3..where Detroit restructures and can do what it has done for the last 100 years..make cars.
Someone here is winning and lossing, Toyota is winning and the U.S. as a country is lossing. But again thats my thought that might differ from your own.

 

Caps,

Last time I checked (about four seconds ago) the title of this forum is "Automotive News/Future Vehicle Discussion"...nothing in that title about it being only for "GM" news. In fact, I'd say you'll find far more posts about non-GM cars in this forum than you will GM if you actually researched it.

No one is required to read anything about non "GM" cars/news if they don't want to; likewise, people are free to not comment if they don't want to.

I would think the trend of automotive (and other) manufacturing moving to the southern U.S. would be of interest to peope; especially those who have depended on auto manufacturing in traditional parts of the country and regardless of whos plant it was that got build.

 

Who reads the New York Times? Any article by them automatically has no credibility.

 

Actually, a lot of people read it…as to whether the Times has creditability or not is up to individuals to decide.

As already mentioned, no one here is being required to read anything they don’t want to bother reading.

 

What is not discussed is the fact that it is the increased sale of imports that has caused the domestic plants to shut down in the first place.
The shame of it is that the people who worked for Ford, GM, and Chrysler who bought Toyotas, Nissans, and Hondas and parked them in the parking lots at Ford, GM, and Chrysler are the ones out of work and don't understand why.

EXAMPLE #1) A Ford employee buys two or three Hondas over a 10 year period because they are cheaper and he likes them better, loses his job because the plant is shut down due to low sales. He now has the option of taking a lesser job for lesser money and living a lesser lifestyle where he is, unless he is somewhat fortunate and can get retrained or has to relocate to another (southern apparently?) state to get an equivalent job. A plant is closed, a city's economy dies, schools suffer, families leave... Ghost-Town, USA.

EXAMPLE #2) A US Citizen buys imported goods over domestic ones because they are cheaper and more available, loses his job because the plant (he works in) is shut down due to offshore competition. He now has the option of taking a lesser job for lesser money and living a lesser lifestyle where he is, unless he is somewhat fortunate and can get retrained or has to relocate to another country (like China) to get an equivalent job. A nation's economy slowly dies, schools suffer, families leave... Ghost-Town, USA.

Why is this (responsible buying to support domestic business) so hard to see? Honestly?
There is ONE TV manufacturer left in the USA.
There are almost NO textile companies manufacturing here.
Electronics manufacture is dried-up in the USA.
Appliances, furniture, clothes, shoes, you name it.
If it keeps going out, what will replace it?

I challenge ANYONE to disprove to me in concrete fact that "the conversion of raw natural resouces into tangible, sellable goods (i.e. "manufacturing") is the generation of wealth for a nation."
It's the first thing hey teach us in Intro to Engineering 101.
Why are the middle-east nations wealthy? OIL.
Why has the USA become wealthy? Steel, Agriculture, and Machinery.
Why is Europe wealthy? Steel, Agriculture, and Machinery.
Those nations with natural resoucres and the means to use/sell them become wealthy.
You can not "maintain" a wealthy status (much less create more) if you are not manufacturing something "consumable" to others that is worth them deciding to give you their money for.
Service-providers only slide money around from party to party, they don't "create" any physical, tangible wealth.

So getting back to the spine of the article... why is it that we applaud foreign companies for coming in and building plants in our country and hiring our people...
* at lower hourly wage levels than they had 20 years ago...
* with less health care benefits...
* with less community service and investment...
* and for finding a loophole to circumvent having to pay a tariff if they had brought their product to the USA on a ship already assembled?
Damifino. I'm not cheering. Or buying their stuff either.

I'm sorry. I think Americans have screwed themselves into this pickle by buying foreign - even back when they were truely imported on ships - because of their "it doesn't matter" attitude. All they did for the last 20-30 years was finance this shift in manufacturing and obsolescence of American labor with every imported peice of sh1+ they bought. NOW, the fat lady is singing, and we fat, dumb Americans are STILL throwing our money into foreign pots as fast as we can with the same "it doesn't matter" attitude. Plants are closing like crazy, debt is at record highs, foreclosures are at record highs, schools are underfunded, our education systems suck, healthcare costs are rediculous, fuel costs are rediculous, 8 million homes sit empty inside the US, roads and highways are falling apart, and we can't even get a raise if we're lucky enough to work at the same place for a few years. Meanwhile, the Chinese economy is on fire, double-digit growth everywhere, Japan has come out of their 15-year recession, and foreign companies and nations own 2/3 of the US national Treasury.
BUT we refuse to say, "Hey, something's wrong."
Instead, we say, "Hey, I just saved $1200 on my new ToyNisHon, so I stopped at Wal-Mart and bought an intertainment center and a new DVD player with the money I saved! Cool, huh!"

I swear... the rooster will come home to roost one day... sooner than many of you think too. Just remember stupid 'ol me that said this day was coming when it gets here.

 

As always, it is nice to see Proud chime in on these topics.