Time to rethink vehicle origins

[ironglow]

  I notice so many who insist on buying only cars/trucks that are "made in USA".  Fact is there is NO such vehicle!

  Any vehicle you may buy is a combination of parts drawn from all over the world.
 
For instance, many Kias are made in West Point, GA  Hyundais are built in Michigan an California

 Several lines of Mercedes are built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama..while a lion's share of Toyotas, Hondas etc. have long
 been built here.

  This not to condemn the original "US brands", since they still build the bulk of their cars here.. but here are some interesting facts for the die hard US brand guys.

   The popular Buick Envision..built in China   A full 50% of General Motors Chinese owned. Should that give us second thoughts?

  Jeep tried an EV in China, called "Stellantis", but it flopped ..don't know if they have given up yet !

  Chrysler..Fiat...

  OK...so for the guys who want to stick with the vehicles that have the highest US components in their cars, here's the list, according- to Forbes;

   https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2022/06/22/do-you-know-which-are-the-most-american-cars/?sh=7eda9e192681

   Notice for instance how many Hondas rate high on the list..is your US brand car, "more American" and listed above
    those Hondas ?
   

[ironglow]

  Further involvement of former "US brands", with foreign interests...

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company

   https://www.motortrend.com/news/who-owns-chrysler/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIC-GM

[Dixie-Dude]

Many people don't like Elon Musk or Tesla, but Tesla is the most American made car in America. 

Hyundai also has a factory in Montgomery, Ala.  Honda has a factory near Talladega, AL.   Volkswagen has a factory in Chattanoga, TN.   

Toyoda has a factory in Texas and one in Kentucky and in Jackson Miss. 

Most of these factories moved to the south to avoid unions. 

In the 1970's due to rising imported cars, the Carter administration passed a law saying all cars sold in the US had to be at least 50% made in the US.  Then all the foreign owned companies started building factories in the US to avoid the tariffs of about $3500 per car, making them cost more than a lot of US made cars. 

Also, at one time, the Toyoda large truck, the Tundra, had a Cheverolet 350 block with Toyoda heads and got about 18-20% better fuel economy than a typical 350 Cheverolet. 

[ironglow]

  Right DD;

  ..And the south EARNED those factories from the union-bound north and Detroit, and the south duly deserves the credit.
  ..And again, gun makers have followed suit..  Marlin, Ruger and Mossberg of Connecticut, and Remington in New York (
   since 1816, all went south..Even Henry went a few miles south..likely not enough.. perhaps a 'frying pan into fire'
  move..

  Thompson Center may be OK in New Hampshire..the "live free of die" state but* S&W in Massachusetts ?

  In any case, the south drew them away fair & square..

'   BUT BACK TO THE CARS... I don't feel bad buying products from friendly or allied countries, but China obviously
   doesn't qualify for that.
   Will your car/truck shopping change due to this newer information?

[oldandslow]

T/C is moot, dead and gone. Even S&W couldn't keep them alive after purchasing them. Changing attitudes of today's shooters did them in.

US vehicles with foreign parts has been a part of our landscape for over 50 years. In 1970 I purchased a 1 ton Ford truck out of desperation. I needed a new truck in the worse way and had ordered a GMC from the local dealer only to have GM go out on strike. I finally ran down this Ford and bought it. Every thing that broke and had to replaced on it and it was a lot of things, had made in Canada on it. At 84,000 miles I replaced it's engine and that was the straw that broke this camel's back. I replaced it with a GMC at 100,000 miles and have never owned a Ford truck since and have stuck with Jimmies or it's brother, a Chevy. Yes, I have had a few problems with each over the years but nothing major.

In 2017 I purchased  a new GMC SUV and it had a sticker saying , proudly made in someplace in Tennessee. I did some searching and and was pleased to find that it was at the top of the heap with 85 or 87% (don't remember which) US made parts, more than any other vehicle built that year. So far I have only had to replace a battery.

100% US made vehicles have been extinct for many years. Foreign cars made in plants in the US is better for us than being made in another country but the profits return to those countries.

In answer to your question, IG, I believe the above SUV will do me to the end of my driving days. I have never been one to have to trade for the latest model. It is very comfortable, gets great milage for a vehicle of it's size, and still looks new when cleaned up so why spend money when there is no need.

[ironglow]

Thanks for your input O&S..  Yes, total US built vehicles have been rare as a dodo bird for many years now..
  As I talk to folks..unlike myself, many hold strongly to one brand or another.. and likely from experiences just like
   yourself.
  My son seems to go the other direction in the old GMC/Ford debate.. and for the same reasons..experience.

  His present newest is a new Ford Maverick pickup.. while his commercial vehicle, a Ford Transit van , just ticked over 200,000 with a minimum of repairs so far.  ..But at 200,000, he will likely start keeping a repairs vs replacement ratio chart.

  I no longer hold great loyalty toward any brand. I presently drive a 2015 Jeep Patriot, which I bought in 2017, with
  25K on it.  Five years later and now 57k on it, with only routine maintenance..so it may be my last.

 Immediately before that- a 2014 Kia served very well and very economically. Before that a series of Ford Rangers..no
  unusual repairs with any listed. ..But I am a very gentle user of my vehicles.

[Casull]

T/C is moot, dead and gone. Even S&W couldn't keep them alive after purchasing them. Changing attitudes of today's shooters did them in.

US vehicles with foreign parts has been a part of our landscape for over 50 years. In 1970 I purchased a 1 ton Ford truck out of desperation. I needed a new truck in the worse way and had ordered a GMC from the local dealer only to have GM go out on strike. I finally ran down this Ford and bought it. Every thing that broke and had to replaced on it and it was a lot of things, had made in Canada on it. At 84,000 miles I replaced it's engine and that was the straw that broke this camel's back. I replaced it with a GMC at 100,000 miles and have never owned a Ford truck since and have stuck with Jimmies or it's brother, a Chevy. Yes, I have had a few problems with each over the years but nothing major.

In 2017 I purchased  a new GMC SUV and it had a sticker saying , proudly made in someplace in Tennessee. I did some searching and and was pleased to find that it was at the top of the heap with 85 or 87% (don't remember which) US made parts, more than any other vehicle built that year. So far I have only had to replace a battery.

100% US made vehicles have been extinct for many years. Foreign cars made in plants in the US is better for us than being made in another country but the profits return to those countries.

In answer to your question, IG, I believe the above SUV will do me to the end of my driving days. I have never been one to have to trade for the latest model. It is very comfortable, gets great milage for a vehicle of it's size, and still looks new when cleaned up so why spend money when there is no need.

Don't really care where the profits go, since they aren't going to me.  But, the salaries of the workers and the local service providers and others are here.  And the taxes paid by those go  to this country, not somewhere else.

[Bob Riebe]

I remember reading, at least thirty or so years ago  (it may have changed now) Toyota does not make cars, it assembles street cars from parts it contracts out to have manufactured for it.  (At that, Chevy high-performance alloy big-block heads in the seventies, were contracted to an independent firm also)
At that time they had no factory, they built,  making parts.

Nothing is new under the the Sun.

[Graybeard]

When Mercedes-Benz announced plans to open its only U.S. assembly plant in Alabama in 1993, an industry was launched. Since then, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, as well as an expanding network of automotive suppliers, have joined Alabama’s vehicle manufacturing industry. A new dimension was added to this industry when Autocar, a maker of heavy-duty work trucks, launched production in the state.

In a generation, accelerating growth in this critical sector of Alabama’s economy has turned the state into an important production hub for the industry.

Together, assembly plants operated by Mercedes, Honda and Hyundai have propelled Alabama to a Top 5 ranking among the states for the production of cars and light trucks. These Alabama automakers have a combined capacity topping 1 million cars and light trucks each year, rising to 1.3 million vehicles once the new Mazda Toyota Manufacturing assembly plant reaches full production.

Toyota, Honda and Hyundai also produce over 1.5 million engines annually, another sign of the sector’s strength in the state. Capacity upgrades will soon take that figure close to 2 million engines per year.

Employment in Alabama’s automotive manufacturing sector today approaches 40,000, surging from just a few thousand in the days before Mercedes. Around 24,000 of these jobs are in Alabama’s growing automotive supplier network, which now counts 150 major companies.

Both employment and production are receiving a massive boost from the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing joint venture assembly plant in Huntsville, where production began in 2021. The Huntsville facility will employ up to 4,000 workers after production fully ramps up at the $2.3 billion facility.

The output of Alabama’s auto industry is a powerful driver of economic growth for the state. Vehicles have become Alabama’s No. 1 export, with shipments to over 70 nations around the world every year. In 2021, exports of Alabama-made vehicles and parts topped $8.5 billion, led by shipments to Germany, China and Canada.

Thanks in part to training programs from AIDT and others preparing a skilled workforce, growth beneath the hood of Alabama’s auto industry will continue to pick up pace. Partners in the state’s automotive training program include the Alabama Community College System and the Alabama Robotics Technology Park in Decatur, where technicians learn how to operate advanced robots and automation processes in a one-of-a-kind facility.

Quick Facts
Annual production capacity topping 1.3 million cars and light trucks
Around 40,000 automotive manufacturing jobs
More than 150 Tier 1 and 2 automotive suppliers in the state
Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai produce over 1.5 million automotive engines annually
Exports of Alabama-made vehicles and parts exceeded $8.5 billion in 2021
Alabama produces 15 different passenger vehicle models
Transportation equipment is Alabama’s No. 1 export category
Alabama is the No. 4 auto exporting state
Vehicle Manufacturers
Hyundai
Honda
Toyota
Mercedes-Benz
Autocar
New Flyer
Automotive Supplier Companies
Kamtek
SMP
Lear
Johnson Controls
Eissmannn
Yoruzu
BOCAR
Nemak
Hwashin
Hanwha
MOBIS
Newman Technology
DAS
Grupo Antolin
GuyoungTech
Truck & Wheel Group
Brose
Boysen
AJIN
Borbet
Topre
LeeHan
SAS
North American Lighting
Adient
Yutaka Technologies
BoltaWerke
Bermco Aluminum
Donghee
Dongwon
Halla
Honda Lock
HS Automotive
Inteva
Kemmerich
KTH Leesburg
M-Tek
Nitto Denko
HTNA
REHAU
Rainsville Technology
SMART of Alabama
TS Tech
WKW Erbsloeh
ZF Chassis Systems

[ironglow]

Wow!  So, Autocar is making trucks again!  Autocar made some really good trucks up until 1953, I guess after which
 it went over to White.  ..Didn't realize they were building under the Autocar name again.

[Bob Riebe]

The Autocar Company is an American specialist manufacturer of severe-duty, Class 7 and Class 8 vocational trucks, with its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Started in 1897[1] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles, and trucks from 1899, Autocar is the oldest surviving motor vehicle brand in the Western Hemisphere.[2][circular reference]

Their last cars were produced in 1911; after that the company continued as a maker of severe-duty trucks. In 1953, Autocar was taken over by the White Motor Company, which made Autocar their top-of-the-line brand. White was taken over in turn by Volvo Trucks in 1981 with Autocar continuing as a division. In 2001, Autocar was acquired by GVW Group, LLC, which revived Autocar as an independent company. Autocar now builds four models of custom-engineered heavy-duty trucks and has regained leading positions in several vocational segments.

[ironglow]

I'm not usually one to get very hung up on 'style' of vehicles, particularly on OTR trucks? However, one late model truck leaves me a bit baffled.
  Most of them today seem to have grilles which are generally square, with gentled corners...which IMO, leaves them neat & trimmed.

  However those new International tractors leave me wondering. It seems when one is coming down the road toward me, I can't help but see that Superman fellow .."The Joker" coming down the highway , directly at me !

  Seems like too long, before I can get past that impish grin!....Just me , I guess.

[Bob Riebe]

All Internationals

[ironglow]

A fine, hard working man  My father-in-law, until his passing in the 1990s, had a small excavating, gravel pit business.  He started it immediately after WW2, as soon as some trucks were again available. Using veteran preference, he was able to buy a Studebaker truck... but he had to accept canvas fenders temporarily. I guess they were saving steel wherever they could.

  He drove that truck a few years, then switched to his first International Harvester truck..probably a new KB model.

 Around here International Harvest-er trucks were affectionately called "Corn Binders"...

   A fine, hard working Christian man, he died working on one of his trucks.  He had the box raised, and was greasing
  the bottom pivot pin.  Sadly though, he had his head lying on the bed rail, when the box slowly came down... he was hard of hearing.
  He was found somewhat later..
 
 

 

[oldandslow]

I have only heard International trucks referred to as "binder". Of course corn wasn't grown in this area then and not a lot today and only for the few dairies that use it for silage. Cotton is king and always has been with milo a back up for late rains on dryland.

[ironglow]

  Even as a pickup truck, the old Diamond T trucks looked really rugged.

[ulav8r]

There was a Diamond Reo pickup in the car museum in Murdo, SD.  It had 20 inch wheels and running boards, I think it was a 1938 model but not sure.  Saw it about 30 years ago, so the memory has dimmed a bit.

[ironglow]

There was a Diamond Reo pickup in the car museum in Murdo, SD.  It had 20 inch wheels and running boards, I think it was a 1938 model but not sure.  Saw it about 30 years ago, so the memory has dimmed a bit.

 
  I think that Diamond Reo must be newer than 1938, despite it's appearance.  the two united in 1967..

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Reo_Trucks#:~:text=In%201967%2C%20Diamond%20T%20and,C.A.%20Tilt%20began%20building%20vehicles.

   Just a reminder.. REO trucks were originally .designed by Ransom E. Olds..the originator of the Oldsmobile car.

  During my high school years, i rode a REO school bus..

  Below, see 1903 "curved dash" Oldsmobile.    .....Come with me Lucille....
    .....
   

[Bob Riebe]

All pick-up sized truck were Diamond-T, the Diamnond Reo name was a creation of White when they bought both.
Reo did make its own pick up style trucks and  built some in cahoots with/for Mack.

[ironglow]

I thought I detected some relationship between certain REO and Mack trucks..

[Dixie-Dude]

Alabama has attracted a lot of automotive jobs, but within 50 miles of where I live, we lost over 40,000 textile jobs with the free trade agreements.  All of them had BC/BS medical insurance for their employees.  So there is that.  A high school dropout could get a textile job and be in the lower middle class.  Not anymore.