Import owners are to blame for the recession

All this stems from your religious beliefs?

 

They might be able to compete if the US had universal healthcare.
Then American companies would not to spend profits providing
healthcare.

 

They will, so they say, if we loan 'em $35 billion.

 

So, only 90% of the money stays here. How much profit do you think
there is in commodities? This is why the big 3 need to be bailed out.
They focused their resources on larger and higher profit margin
vehicles without a clue as to which way the market was turning.

 

Can you say, "Bullshit!"

The car market is an affect of the sour economy, not a cause. Housing is a
cause. Everything is rooted in the housing market. Well, mortgage lending
market really, but mortgage loans are extended to buy houses.

A borrower gets a crappy loan with the intent to refinance in 2 or 3 years.
The guy next door with a crappy loan that was 6 months older could not refi
because the value had not increased enough. He walks. The first borrower I
talked about now sees his value has also not increased, he walks. Now, the
guy across the street wants to refi, no value, he walks. Values plummet.
Nobody buys a new sofa, the sofa store goes under. Workers laid off, can't
pay the crappy mortgage, or the good one for that matter. They walk, housing
values go down even more. People stop going to Home Depot for home
improvement stuff, or Best Buy. Depot and Best Buy slow their purchases from
their vendors. More layoffs, more home owners that can't pay the mortgage.
More declines in home values.

Now, the guy with a good job and a home he's owned for 10 years finds that
he can't sell his house because the value is where it was when he bought it
because there is so much inventory of empty houses. He decides a home equity
loan is the ticket, and he'll remodel. Because of the issues with the value,
he can't get the loan he wants even though he has a good job with a good
wage and good credit. The house value isn't where it needs to be so that he
can get a loan to make it an even better home. And, he can't sell it to move
across town to a bigger and better home. He is stuck, he makes the payment
but does not buy stuff from Depot or Best Buy because he needs more stuff
than he can put in the house he has and he can't make the house better. He
also decides to sit on the same old LazyBoy sofa he's had for 15 years. Home
Depot, Best Buy, and the LazyBoy Showroom all lose sales. Layoffs and more
declining house values.

On top of all of this, nobody buys a new car because they have been laid off
or face a looming layoff.

The car market is a trailing indicator of how crappy things are. Things are
not crappy because we are not buying cars, we are not buying cars because
things are crappy.

Now, consider a Taurus and an Avalon. These are two cars that are after
essentially the same customer. The Avalon is better equipped and lower
priced. It is without a doubt the better car value. You can thank labor for
this.

 

If GM has 50,000 engineers, and that is all they can come up with, then
maybe they just have way too many.

 

Then there is no problem, right? No need for a bailout, right?

 

And ford has been building vehicles in Brazil since 1957.
They have assembled in Argentina since 1919, and manufactured since
1959.
They also manufacture cars in India, Thailand, and Australia.

Ford currently also has plants in the UK, Turkey,Belgium, Spain and
Sweden.

 

And, all of those plants in all of those markets are doing well. Only North
American operations are in the dumper.

 

Mazda, Honda and Toyota - Saw the Mazda 6, Honda Accord and Toyota
Camry and all were built here.

There are good American cars. Ford/Mercury/Lincoln are nice now.
Chrysler has some good stuff. GM has some good styff, but fair play is
fair pay. The US companies are not weak in designs and competitive
spirit - the management and the cost of production are kicking them in
the nuts though.

As for Gas it is about $1.65 a gallon around here now and it is
forecast to drop. Much like the late 1970s - early 1980s bubble, the
late - 2000s oil bubble seems to have burst.

Watch Congress order US companies to produce hybrids which cost
thousands more for one or two more MPGs while Honda and Toyota build
more trucks.

 

Effect!

Cathy

of the sour economy, not a cause. Housing is a

 

So when Chrysler was a German company registered in Germany it wasn't
an American car?

 

If the American cars were worth buying I would instead of buying Toyota.
Probably would buy a Honda without any problem either.
First new car was a 1968 Dodge Swinger 340. Ran ok but front seat cracked
the covering at 20,000 miles. Total loss it at 23,000 when someone ran a
stop sign in front of me. Bought a 1972 Dodge Deamon 340 I ordered and it
came in with a bad spot of paint on the back about 6 inches in diameter. It
ran so much slower than the 68 that I stopped on the side of the road on
the way home to see if they had put in a six cylinder instead of the V8. It
was back to the dealer so many times for not starting and other problems I
traded it at 18,000 miles. Got a 74 Pontiact and every 40,000 I had to
replace a gear on the timing chain. They used a 'paper' gear. Also heater
core at 70,000. Had one other American car and it did no beter. Went to
the Datsun in 1981 and only replaced the break pads and lightbulbs and
battery and normal service scheduled items. Put 100,000 on it and traded.
1991 Camry, 200,000 no problems. Wife had several Toyatos and no problems.
Made a mistake and got a late 90 or eairly 2000 something Ford and it had
many problems. Back to the Toyotas. That is not counting on all the
problems My mom and dad had with the American cars they had. They had been
buying new ones from about 1966 and had problems with most all of them.

 

Well, I've owned jap, Euro, and American iron over the years. I
currently own 2 "american" cars, while my daughter owns an "import"

I Live in Canada.

My Mercury Mystique was built in Kansas City (as was my previous
Aerostar). My Chrysler PT Cruiser is built in Auburn Hills, but the
vast majority are built in Toluca, Mexico.

My daughter's new Honda is built just down the road in Alliston,
Ontario. Her former Neon was built in Belvedere Indiana?, but again
the vast majority were built in Mexico. (as are a HUGE number of
so-called AMERICAN cars. Even back in 1998, there were chinese built
parts in that American assembled Neon.

My 1998 Chrysler had a Jap engine - from one of the poorer Japanese
manufacturers (Mitsubishi). So did my 1995 Chrysler.

I've had BMC, Vauxhaul(GM GB), Totota, VW, Chrysler, AMC, Ford,
Toyota, GM,Peugot, Fiat, and Mitsubishi, over the years.

If the Toyota's didn't hold their value so well (and I only buy used)
I'd likely be driving one now. My 2 Toyotas were the best 2 cars I've
owned, mechanically. The 1981 Tercel body rusted like a bloody FORD -
but other than that it was fantastic. The Corolla was also an
excellent car, but got too small for the family and at 13 years old,
or whatever, it was time to replace it.

I had 2 Aerostars, and a Granada from Ford - all had pretty serious
rust issues and engine and transmission failures.

I've had a PILE of chryslers over the years - and the pre-80s
Chrysters were pretty good. The quality hit the crapper about then.
The quality has come back significantly - but they still have their
share of issues - but I can buy a used one with 60,000 miles, 6 years
old, for 6 grand - so that's what I'm driving now. Equivalent Toyota
would be double the price - minimum, in this market.

The BMC was crap, but when I bought it I knew what I was getting.
The vauxhaull I expected to be crap, and it surprised me to no end.
Perhaps the most dependable car, overall, Inhave ever owned. OK, so
it was rough as a cob. It let me down a few times, but I was ALWAYS
able to fix it on the road, and the parts were cheap while they were
available. I sold it to a friend who eventually scrapped it when parts
got too difficult to get over here. (it was over 20 years old)

The peugot was junk - as was the Fiat, and both VWs were a handfull.
One was an antique, and the other (a VW Rabbit) needed a lot of work
in the very short time I owned it.
The AMCs I owned served me very well.

Then there was GM.
Can't base much on the 1928 and 1935 Chevies, or even the '67 Chevy 2
or the '57 210 I owned - but the 1995 3.8L TransSport was perhaps the
most dissapointing vehicle I ever owned. The plastic body didn't rust
- but it could not pull the trailer I dragged all over north america
with the 3.0 Aerostar. It was harder on gas than the bigger-bodied
aerostar -and gave a lot more trouble. One vehicle I've owned that I
have not missed ONCE since getting rid of - and the ONLY vehicle I
have ever owned that went straight to the scrappies when I was
finished with it!!!!!

I spent 25 years as a mechanic - about half of those years (at both
ends of my career) with Toyota - and I saw them improve markedly from
the late sixties on.

 

I was thinking of you ...

 

Gee, mabee if there was "major profits" to be made by the American
manufacturers they couls make something Americans are EAGER to
buy??????

 

Canada hs "universal health care"
But believe me, it's not "free".
Building cars in Canada is as expensive (at least) as in the USA.

 

Did you type "affect" on purpose?! ;-)

Cathy

 

Yes. I knew you would spank me for it. Maybe hit me with a ruler or keep me
after class.

 

yeahhhh....

Bush says he is sorry for the 9/11 ... the Katrina ... the Depression we are
in ... big recession with 700 Billion of insurance fraud Bush is paying the
Fat Cats in the Red States with.

Bush says he is sorry for NOT CATCHING CLINTON's mistakes ... Clinton did it
all .. he says.

This is not the Bush Recession Depression ... oh no .. it is the Clinton
one.

Bush is sorry he did not fix it in time ... and catch it before it blew up
like it was Building 7.

Foxed Up Ditto Heads stuck in their toddler tantrum know of such things.

All Hail Moses's Serpent Staff from the Jealous God of FIRE who makes babies
with His daughters.

We will be saved by Floods ... whoops already did that you know the rainbow
sorry thingy ... so saved by FIRE it is !!!

Maybe God will give us dustbowls for rememberance of never again !!!

sumbuddie wear blind sea