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monsoon

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Does's Chrysler actually build anything in the United States anymore? I was at a place today where a Chyrsler 300 - Hemi was on display I decided to look at the tag. After getting over the shock the thing MSRPs for right at $40K, I noticed the following.

  • The Hemi engine which Chrysler likes to wrap in the American flag, is actually manufactured in Mexico.

  • The 5-speed transmission in this vehicle comes from Germany. This most likely means it is the 5-speed transmission that Mercedes used to put in their vehicles. This is a 9 year old though competant design, but it isn't bringing German know how to America as the rather deceptive Dr. Z ads try to put forth.

  • The rest of the car was manufactured in Canada

This is supposed to be their flagship vehicle but its completely foreign.

The Dr. Z ads themselves I think are rather bad attempt at marketing. They are really trying to say that Chrysler is run by Mercedes now, but don't have the kahonas to say it. LOL

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I think most "American" cars are now mostly produced in Mexico/Canada/Elswhere. Look at several Asian brands, and they're mainly produced/assembled in the USA now. Go figure.

I also think most folks recognized pretty quick that the Chrysler/Mercedes merger was not of "equals" that Mercedes was in the driver's seat. I still think that Daimler-Chrysler has ensured the Chrysler nameplates will be around longer than Ford's and maybe most of GM's as they are truly in trouble. IMO.

(and OK, I am biased, I am a huge Mopar fan here)

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Heh there was an article the other day that said the Toyota Camry was the most American-made car.

it's american built. most of the parts come from japan. that and all of the engineering comes from japan.

the chryslers aren't worthy cars anymore. even mercedes has gone downhill. the best german car is the bmw. audi and VW aren't reliable anymore either.

the best cars around are going to be japanese.

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VW, BMW, and Audi beat the hell out of Ford and Chevy...

I get so sick of the blah Chevy Silverados that dominate the roads up here. i'm seeing more and more very small chevys and VWs... which is a good thing.

It seems that between the Ford Focus, a few new Chevys, Toyotas, and VWs, the small car market is really picking up. It's a good sign.

ANother dangerous thing: If Bush goes hardline on Iran and pushes for an embargo from other countries, Iran would likely block huge oil shipments coming from the middle east, which would push oil prices to $100-150/bbl. according to most analysts...

If we try to bring down Iran, they'll take us all down right with them... and no matter how neo-con and pissed off at Iran you are, they have a knife held to our achilles tendon.

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Personally I wouldn't buy any American car (except maybe a 1959 Sedan DeVille:) I've owned Toyotas since 1991, and I can't imagine buying anything else.

I'm surprised seeing all the American cars on the road. Seems like the dismal reputation of American cars would make their sales rare.

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Personally I wouldn't buy any American car (except maybe a 1959 Sedan DeVille:) I've owned Toyotas since 1991, and I can't imagine buying anything else.

I'm surprised seeing all the American cars on the road. Seems like the dismal reputation of American cars would make their sales rare.

i had an 89 camry wagon until a year ago when someone rear ended me on the highway. i loved that car. it rocked and would have gone to 300k if i wanted to so long as i kept up regular maintenance. i'm now a subaru man, but i'll always support toyota and my fiancee may end up with a matrix awd.

i'm not a fan of american cars. they not only aren't reliable, but they just don't look as nice.

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I can't vouge for all American cars, Ford & GM alike but family has stuck with two car companies for the last two decades: Ford and Honda. Let me rephrase, Mustang and Honda. Hondas have a renouned reputation for being reliable, and they are. They have each nearly broken 200k before quitting out.

As much as I've heard people tell stories about Mustangs that weren't reliable, I've looked up repair histories on cars made by Ford and it turns out that they are one of the most reliable Fords ever made, even now. We have had three in our family and not one has had an issue. The first was totaled in an accident involving a Chevy Blazer with 30 inch tires lifted probably two feet off the ground. Needless to say, it didn't stand a chance. The second got driven into the ground after 150k miles and the third is a 98 still running like new after 74k.

I do have to say one thing about Toyota, one of my friends has a 92 Corolla that had 477924 miles (I took a picture) back in May. It obviously has had some work done over the years, but it amazes me that car even moves without crumbling.

I don't really think that there is much to worry about as far as China goes. There are already plenty of sub 10k cars out there. Kia, Daewoo, and Hyundai have been manufacturing cars in that range for a decade (or more.) Adding Chinese made automobiles will only have an impact on the number of cars in the shop.

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I have owned all three American Makes, a Pontiac Bonneville, an Oldsmobile Delta 88, a Ford Taurus, a Chrysler LeBaron, a Plymouth Breeze, and 2 Dodge Durangos. I also have owned 3 Japanese cars, a Mazda RX-7, an Isuzu Trooper, and a Nissan Maxima.

I loved the Japanese cars and really miss the Maxima, but I have gotten good service out of all of my cars. I have drove most of them to at least 100K before trading with no major problems out of any of them. The reason I like my Chrysler products is how well the dealership treats me. I get treated like gold by all departments and I have not been treated like that elsewhere. That's what has won me over to Chrysler, I know not everyone can say that, I've read the opinions in Consumer Reports and elsewhere but that's my personal experience. As long as the Chrysler dealership here treats me well and the cars treat me well I'll be stickin' with them.

:thumbsup:

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I can't vouge for all American cars, Ford & GM alike but family has stuck with two car companies for the last two decades: Ford and Honda. Let me rephrase, Mustang and Honda. Hondas have a renouned reputation for being reliable, and they are. They have each nearly broken 200k before quitting out.

As much as I've heard people tell stories about Mustangs that weren't reliable, I've looked up repair histories on cars made by Ford and it turns out that they are one of the most reliable Fords ever made, even now. We have had three in our family and not one has had an issue. The first was totaled in an accident involving a Chevy Blazer with 30 inch tires lifted probably two feet off the ground. Needless to say, it didn't stand a chance. The second got driven into the ground after 150k miles and the third is a 98 still running like new after 74k.

I do have to say one thing about Toyota, one of my friends has a 92 Corolla that had 477924 miles (I took a picture) back in May. It obviously has had some work done over the years, but it amazes me that car even moves without crumbling.

I don't really think that there is much to worry about as far as China goes. There are already plenty of sub 10k cars out there. Kia, Daewoo, and Hyundai have been manufacturing cars in that range for a decade (or more.) Adding Chinese made automobiles will only have an impact on the number of cars in the shop.

My family had a 1991 Ford Escort from 1990 to 2003... it finally gave out with 250,000 miles on it. It was also the only car that would reliably get up the hill to our house in the winter (It was a hill through the woods with curves. You literally had to gun it to get up the hill, which is a bit unnerving with trees on both sides of the road.. but this car always made it.

As far as Ford trucks go: Horrible.

Ford used to rent out our entire resort in early February of each year for cold weather testing... one time in early February 1996, it was at least -40*F. My dad would give us a ride to the end of the driveway every morning for school (the driveway was 1/2 mile long).. anyway, this morning, the Ford guys were getting ready to head out driving and one of them got stuck at the top of the hill I was talking about. They got into the deep snow (it was about 3.5 feet deep that winter) and each time they tried to move, they went closer to the steep hill that ran down to the lake. So, another Ford tried to pull them out. Keep in mind these were 1998 Fords in early 1996.. and they just couldn't do it.. that guy got stuck too.

So, my dad, being the nice guy that he is, pulled them both out in about 10 minutes... with a 1991 Chevy truck :):):P

Needless to say, the Ford guys had to give me and my sister a ride to the end of the road with no heat in the truck because it wasn't allowed. But I got to brag to all my friends that I got to ride in a 1998 truck in 1996.

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I don't want to hear about how unions have destroyed our country. What large corporations are doing is inhumane and unacceptable.

I'm sorry if you think that a CEO and his board know what's better for American workers than workers themselves. And as far as environmental regulations being too tough... I invite you to take a tour around China and see for yourself what wonders lax environmental regulations does for a population.

Don't spew out right-winged claptrap without backing up your facts first.

Edit:

Recent polls show that 58% of Americans think unions are good for the country, compared to 29% who think they are bad... this has remained largely the same since the 1960s.

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I doubt if they are making much here. The Environmental regulations and wage scales set by the unions have pushed out most of the manufacturing here. Now we're screaming our heads off that companies are outsourcing jobs, but is it any wonder? I don't think so.

Indeed.

I would like to add that unions add another layer of bureaucracy and make a company that less efficient. They can't discontinue product lines or remove ineffective workers because the unions are there, 'protecting' their workers. In the end though, the only people that gain are the union fat cats, the host that the parasites (union bosses, not workers) have been feasting on eventually goes under. And the workers are the one's left holding the bag.

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As much as I've heard people tell stories about Mustangs that weren't reliable,

Depends upon the engine in it. The base engine of the late 90s mustang was the 3.8L 6 cyl which was almost guaranteed to end up with blown head gaskets. This is about a $2000 failure. It was caused by a design flaw that Ford knew about and refused to fix for a lot of people given the failure would normally occur outside the warranty period. What's worse, they produced this engine with the design flaw for years and it was widely used found in such vehicles as the Windstar mini-van, the Taurus LX, and even the Crown Vic. Once you spent your money to replace the gaskets it would happen again because Ford used dissimilar metals on the heads and the covers and the thermal difference would grind up the gaskets.

I can understand design flaws. I can't understand why they continued to produce it once the fact was known and worse, would not compensate people for their loss.

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I don't want to hear about how unions have destroyed our country. What large corporations are doing is inhumane and unacceptable.

I'm sorry if you think that a CEO and his board know what's better for American workers than workers themselves. And as far as environmental regulations being too tough... I invite you to take a tour around China and see for yourself what wonders lax environmental regulations does for a population.

Don't spew out right-winged claptrap without backing up your facts first.

Edit:

Recent polls show that 58% of Americans think unions are good for the country, compared to 29% who think they are bad... this has remained largely the same since the 1960s.

Sorry. I was in a bad mood when I wrote that (and I'm not going to lie...I still am...very bad day). I'm not sure what inhumane and unacceptable stuff that "large corporations" are doing? Murder? Plotting to take over the whole world? Maybe, but I'd say that's highly, highly doubtful to say the least. Granted there are things about which we should all have misgivings, but IMHO there are far more worse things going on here and abroad that should warrant more attention than what a corporation does to its workers, etc. I'll also grant that unions have done some good things for workers, but in the long term the costs have resulted in companies outsourcing the jobs. Look around, why else would they build something in China or Mexico vs. right here where they could maintain good communications with the factory, don't have a language and culture barrier, don't have a second government bureaucracy to have to work through, and reduce or eliminate lag time for shipping their products? If it were economically more feasible to today still be competitive by producing items on a large scale in this country, I think that the vast, vast majority of American companies who outsource would rather build their stuff here than abroad. Now ask yourself why is it becoming less and less economically feasible to do so here?

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There is a big glass tower here in Michigan(in suburban Detroit) with Doctor Z painted on it. Its the chrysler hedquarters.

I wont ever buy foriegn cars for several reasons.

- My dad works for General Motors

-I live in the Flint, MI area, which is dominated by GM cars, mostly because it (1) was the city in which Buick was founded, although sadly it no longer operates here, and (2) it has alot of manufacturing facilities that make parts for GM, and a large plant that makes heavy duty Chevy/GMC trucks and Chevy Kodiak and GMC topkick trucks(which are kinda like semis).

That, of course is why Flint is called the "Vehicle City"

-I can get the GM employee discount.

-I dont like the looks of most forign compact cars.

-I like the way the new chevys look.

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Those Dr. Z ads are condescending and annoying. Apparently they're in response to the marketing studies conducted by DaimlerChrysler that show that a VAST majority of Americans still don't know that Daimler Benz owns Chrysler. It may be partially due to the fact that the company names is DaimlerChrysler, and many people don't know who Daimler is and that it owns the Mercedes brand.

I don't think it matters though. Ford owns Jaguar and Land Rover (although I guess not for much longer).

That crash picture is interesting monsoon. Both vehicles' crumple zones are obliterated, and yet the passenger compartment on the Dodge (?) pickup looks to be in better shape. Notice the stress fracture across the front roof of the Hummer, indicating probable passenger compartment breach (I used to work in automotive in a past life). :D I can't stand Hummers.

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I don't think it matters though. Ford owns Jaguar and Land Rover (although I guess not for much longer).

Ford, IMO, is in the most trouble of any American automaker. I know some major changes have been made to high level personel, but I question if they'll be able to pull it out.

That crash picture is interesting monsoon. Both vehicles' crumple zones are obliterated, and yet the passenger compartment on the Dodge (?) pickup looks to be in better shape. Notice the stress fracture across the front roof of the Hummer, indicating probable passenger compartment breach (I used to work in automotive in a past life). :D I can't stand Hummers.

Most manufacturers have watched their crash test results improve, but GM (maker of HUMMER) still seems to have issues outside of full size cars. I drive an '05 Astro for work. Just had a co-worker who drives one identical to mine have a wreck where he hit a farm tractor and flipped. The passenger compartment completely collapsed. If he'd been sitting on the passenger side, he'd be at least severly injured if not dead. GM always claims that crash tests aren't indicative of real world performance. Bull!

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Ford, IMO, is in the most trouble of any American automaker. I know some major changes have been made to high level personel, but I question if they'll be able to pull it out.

i always thought GM was in worse shape. ford has some decent cars in the milan, fusion, 500, etc. GM obviously has better trucks, but their cars are terrible. in addition to ford owning jaguar and land rover, they also own volvo's auto line (volvo trucks are still volvo), mazda, and aston martin (as well as lincoln and mercury).

GM owns saab and used to have some shares in fuji heavy industries (they own subaru), which is why the saab 9-2x (aka saabaru) was made. they sold off their fuji shares, or at least most of them (which hopefully means better subarus in teh future).

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