Re: R.I.P. General Motors (1931-2006)

mike, Please stop top posting--it makes it hard to follow a thread.

You may not know that GM and Ford does have factories in foreign countries. I don't have a list of those countries in front of me. If anyone does know the couuntries where those factories are located, please post the list. I seem to recall that GM and Ford has factories in Mexico.

Several years ago, I recall reading stories in car magazines indicating that Ford and GM offered special deals for people that purchased Ford and GM cars--they would pay all the interest on car loans. They sold lots of cars but were not making very much money due to millions of dollars they had to pay to fund those interest costs. Honda and Toyota does not need to do these types of things to sell cars so they make more money than Ford or GM on every car that they sell.

Jason

Please provide data to show that Toyota builds most of its parts overseas and ships them here.

Jeff

I agree. Maybe he does top posting because is logic is so bad that he doesn't want anyone to follow it.

DC has factories in Canada, Germany and South America.

Ford and GM have factories in Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden (Volvo and Saab) and other European countries. I think they have factories in South America as well. Ford has a lot more manfactoring overseas and sells a lot more overseas. Ford is a name known around the world. GM sells Vauxhalls, Opels, Holdens and Saabs in Europe or Australia.

I think the big 2 + DC have operations in the far east as well.

Actually, the Japanese brands do do low interest or no interest loans to well qualified costumers. But GM and Ford have to use more of these low interest loans or lower interest loans than the Japanese brands. This doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with GM and Ford cars, only that GM and Ford have a harder time selling them.

Jeff

Yes they do GM, Ford and Chrysler STILL sell more vehicle in the US than do any of the imports. ;)

mike

One only need look at the first digit of the VIN, on the individual vehicle, to see where it is made, and the percentage of American parts. A '1' indicates made in America of more than 70% American parts. A '4' indicates made in America of more than 40 % American parts but less than 70% American parts. A '5' indicates made in America of less than 40% American parts. A '2' indicates made in Canada A '3' indicates made Mexico and a 'J' indicates made in Japan. On Toyotas, except for those made in the GM?Toyota plant in California which have a '1,' will exhibit a '4,' '5,' or 'J.'

mike hunt

Sure they do but the vast majority of the cars, with the Ford brand name on them sold in the US, are made in the US. The rest are made mostly in Canada and the balance in Mexico of north American parts. Ford does not import any of the vehicles, with the Ford brand name, that it builds off shore. The only notable exception would be the Volvo brand.. On other hand, unlike Honda, most of Toyota brands, from the Scion to the Lexus are imports or merely assembled here of mostly imported parts.

mike hunt

It did import the Ford Aspire. And if rebadging a Mazda suits its purpose, it will rebadge imports again as Fords.

You Forgot Mazda, which has some imported cars. Jaguar, LandRover, and Austin Martin are mostly if not exclusively imported.

Toyota has made over 15,000,00 cars in the US, including the Camry, Corolla, Av alon, Tacoma, Tundra, Sienna, Sequola and Samry Solara. In 2005, it made over 1,500,000 vehicles in North America (NA), which is about 60% of its North American Sales. It builds over 1,300,00 engines in NA, and 400,000 transmissions. It buys more than $28B worth of parts, materials, goods and services in NA.

Can you provide evidence that most Toyota parts are made overseas? A stupid character in the VIN does not make tell me the statistics for all the Toyotas. I can't see the VIN as I pass cars on the highway. ANd the Sienna has the highest NA content of any vehicle made in the US.

You can go on and on about the VIN, but you are not demonstrating anything other than you are too lazy to stop top posting.

Jeff

Mike, You seem to know a lot about Ford cars and trucks. Therefore, please answer these questions: Do any of Ford cars have engines made by foreign car companies?

Do Ford cars have parts in them that were made in foreign countries?

I should note that I don't know the answers to either question. I know that I once owned a Dodge Ram 50 pickup that had an engine in it that was made by Mitsubishi.

No, but the do use two engines made by Ford companies off shore, one from Europe and one from Japan as well as some hybrid copmponants and transmissions from partners

Yes a small percange in some models. Mostly from Canada and Mexico

Whether you like it or not the 'evidence' you seek is in the first digit of the VIN, as defined by federal law, and it is as a described.

If your Sienna is indeed, as you suggest, then the first number will be a '1,' as it is on the Toyotas and Vibes made in the GM/Toyota plant in California, the Honda Accord or the Ford F150 all vehicles that are actually built in the US of more than 70% American parts. You will not find a '4' or '5' as is the case with most of the Sienna, Camrys and Tundras that I see on the east coast.

If you have a problem with how I post, don't open my posts, WBMA

mike hunt

I fail to see you point. Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Austin Martin are their own brand and the only ones imported in any numbers are Volvo and Mazda. Mazda is not owned by Ford. I believe you are confusing Japanese vehicles made by a Ford partner, or European companies that are owed by Ford, with the Ford Division. They are not 'Fords' or counted as FMC vehicles, as part its market share, as are Lincoln and Mercury. Scion, Toyota and Lexus are all TMC(SALES) in the US, as part its market share, and the majority are imported from Japan or made in Canada, not assembled in the US of more than 70% American parts, as you seem to believe

The Aspire was built by KIA not Mazda and is no longer sold by Ford, nor is there currently any other rebaged import sold as a Ford.

mike hunt

I fail to see you point. Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Austin Martin are their own brand and the only ones imported in any numbers are Volvo and Mazda. Mazda is not owned by Ford. I believe you are confusing Japanese vehicles made by a Ford partner, or European companies that are owed by Ford, with the Ford Division. They are not 'Fords' or counted as FMC vehicles, as part its market share, as are Lincoln and Mercury. Scion, Toyota and Lexus are all TMC(SALES) in the US, as part its market share, and the majority are imported from Japan or made in Canada, not assembled in the US of more than 70% American parts, as you seem to believe

The Aspire was built by KIA not Mazda and is no longer sold by Ford, nor is there currently any other rebaged import sold as a Ford.

mike hunt

No it isn't. because I don't have the ability to go out and get a representative sample of all the Hondas and Toyotas sold in the US.

The 2004 had over 90% domestic content:

Plus, you are diluting your own message, because it is hard enough to follow your logic even when we can follow the thread.

Jeff

It is incredibly had to follow this thread.

Please stop top posting.

Jeff

Yet Ford owns Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover adn Austin Martin. Volvo and Jaguar are parts of the overall Ford product line. When Ford made the Lincoln LS, they made sure that the Jaguar had a similar car based on the same chasis with a more powerful engine. Mazda is also a partner with Ford. Ford owns over 1/3 of Mazda.

So the point is that Ford imports a lot of cars, even if they don't have the Ford brand name and has recently imported cars with the Ford brand name.

Actually, they have, on average, over 70% domestic content.

I never said the Aspire was build by Mazda.

Actually, last year, more than a 1/5 of the components were built outside the US and Canada. Domestic content includes components built in both the US and Canada. So the Toyota Sienna has 90% domestic content (Canada and US) while the Ford Mustang has 65% domestic content (Canada/US).

So Ford had a lot more than 20% built outside the US.

Jeff

Really? Then why is the first number of the VIN on the Sienna a '4' and first number of the VIN on the Mustang a '1,' as required by federal law? Surely you don't believe Camrys built in Japan are built with American parts, do you. LOL

mike hunt

. Domestic content includes components built in both the US

If you have a problem with how I post, don't open my posts, WBMA

He's simply trying to point out to you in a nice way (as several others have also done) that what you are doing by top posting is seen as rude. However, you don't seem to want to be courteous enough to even consider the polite requests.