Why I bought a Ford after owning Chevy's for 30 years

[pbharvey]

This guy said what I was thinking http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=b_mwjaEI_hM

[doc havoc]

Just hope you didn't get one that was built in Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam, Argentina or England, which are all F-Series manufacturing countries.

I agree with your sentiments on supporting the one auto-maker that refused the bailout money, but I question some of the means by which they were able to rebound.

The Ford plant in Minneapolis was shut down (has since re-opened) and led to the loss of who knows how many jobs.

Now, after re-hiring many of those previously laid off, they are slated to close the plant for good this December. To all you loyal Ford employees, "Merry Christmas".

[BaldLoonie]

My Ford is Mexican

So that begs the question: is it better to have bought a Mexican car from an American company or should I have bought a car made in America where the profits go overseas? Should have bought an American made car from an American name. Guess that rules out Chrysler! And if I followed this guy's view, wouldn't have bought the Malibu I was considering too.

[doc havoc]

I think the lesser of the evils is buying one built in America where an American worker received compensation.

I mean, buy one built elsewhere, but the profits benefited America.

I mean... oh he11, I don't know.

[chrldwlf]

Our company is going to the Ford Transit, which is imported from India and can carry everything but your dignity....Personally, both my wife and I made our auto purchases based on both being an American automobile and which state it was built in. Both my '08 F150 and Princess's Focus were built in Michigan, keeping as much economic impact as close to home as possible. I know that is not possible for everybody but that was our parameters....

[pbharvey]

...believe me I get it. My last Chevy was made in either Mexico or Canada I forget which. At that time I was like, "really?" Here I am trying to buy American and it seems like I care more than the car makers do. The whole bailout thing though, is another matter. I don't wish any of them harm but at some point the government has to step aside and let nature take its course. Ford found a niche with the Transit Connects. They're made overseas, but Ford as a company is doing what it needs to do to deliver a product that people want.

For what its worth, the new Ford Ecoboost motor is an absolute beast. Yankee ingenuity at its finest.

[timebuilder]

Not a lot of folks know that the Camaro and Firebird were made in Canada.

I'd rather by a car from a Co that was not given money to bail out the UAW. Those contracts would have been voided by a normal bankruptcy, but this was not "normal." Plus all of the retirees that lost all their money when GM stock became worthless. They thought they were buying stock in a "blue chip" company. Now that they are profitable, are those folks being paid back? Nope.

I will never buy another GM car.

[ammoniadog]

It used to really bother me every time I would see a big USA flag sticker on the back of a foreign car. I mean, don't drive around in your Nissan or Hundai and then try to show me how patriotic you are with your stupid flag sticker (that was made in China). Then I realized that many of the foreign cars are made in USA and many of the "American" vehicles weren't.... I forgot where I was trying to go with this story. It still pisses me off.

[ammoniadog]

On a side note... I was reading a story a few months ago about how all of the police departments and taxi companies are sad to see that Ford is stopping production of their Crown Vics. Most taxi companies and some police departments are now looking at foreign companies for a replacement. Then I learned that even the Crown Vics were made in Canada

[jackintheboxtec]

All I know is I should have bought ford stock when it was $1.00 a share.

[Control Man]

They were "ASSEMBLED IN CANADA" from components made in plants all over the WORLD.

GM plant in Quebec that made the Camaro / Firebirds is not a GIANT shopping centre , it was an assembly plant for GM nothing was made there as far as components for the finished cars.

[CraziFuzzy]

The auto industry is a world wide thing. No matter what company you buy from, it will have parts from at least 5 countries in it. That's just the nature of the industry, and I don't feel it is a bad thing. The govn't bailing out GM, on the other hand, IS a bad thing, and I will not be buying a GM vehicle because of it. GM should have failed, for agreeing to such ridiculous union contracts. That was just bad business, no matter HOW you look at it.
Chrysler falling apart and being purchased by Fiat was probably the best thing that could have happened to their brands. At this point, I would MUCH rather buy an Italian owned Chrysler than any GM vehicle.

[BaldLoonie]

Suppose they hadn't?

How many people would have been affected? If a company the size of GM folded, the effect would have trickled down as close as people on here. It wouldn't be just GM employees out of work. It would have been suppliers to GM, which may not be highly paid union workers. It would be many people in the towns they live/work in. Stores, restaurants, etc. With considerable unemployment in these towns, HVAC contractors would feel the effect. Would some of them close? Then there's the tax implications. All these people no longer working. They are no longer paying taxes. What does that do to the deficit? What does that do to the economy in general?

Yes, many were hurt. Many more would have been had GM not been saved.