How many of you actually think that Import cars hurt american workers?
 

I see this subject comming up a lot lately on the net and in conversation with friends. The argument is that by buying a Honda, Toyota or any other import that we are taking food off hard working American's tables.

I find it ironic and I'l tell you why...

Honda and Toyota have plants in the US and Canada. The biggest chunk of the parts used are domesticly made. Even VW has a major chunk of their parts made in USA. But the most used production plant for putting the cars together is in Brazil. Thus the decline in quality.

American automakers, ESPECIALLY Crystler (touted as being the ultimate American car manufacturer) use foreign made parts. For example of that irony.. the Crossfire is 1% american. Yup. 1%. The rest all come from overseas :) Saturn, mostly imported parts and the metal used comes from China. GM, 50% Imported. Ford is less guilty of this as most of their parts are american made but still... they're not 100% American

The american vehicle manufacturers have worldwide investors.

There is really no such thing as an american vehicle anymore except for the lack of quality inherent with american vehicles. Imports are now more American than domestics.


Funny stuff.

Debate....

nothing is made in america....hardly..you may have an american name car, but the parts are from mexico like you said....

i only like japanese and german cars. i drive a 2001 honda prelude myself because it can handle my rough driving and easier to mod. they also look a hella lot better. :2 cents:

i can't wait till bush takes out those fuckin gooks, i'm sick of them coming here and stealing our jobs and our land. :mad:

Food for thought:

Chrysler / Dodge 4 cyl and some 6 cyl engines are imported from Japan. They are Mitsubishi engines.

The American made Honda uses more American parts than the Harley Davidson mortorcycle.

its business, why would companies produce parts here if its cheaper to make them elsewhere

HONDA (Hold On Not Done Accelerating) :1orglaugh

They also last way longer, are more fuel efficiant, have more HP per inch of displacement and are more fun to drive :)

I was readin up info on a new Ford truck that's comming out. 5.7L producing 310HP at roughly 6k rpm.

Then was checking out Honda's new truck's engine specs. 255HP out of 5750rpm. Ok, that's about the same as the Ford motor but the Honda one will last longer, consume less fuel and guess what? Is 1/3 smaller in displacement.

Import 4 Life!

you can't trust a jap

i also love the VTEC!

idoit.

(8 chars)

That's a funny one! haha.

My little civic sedan has excelent acceleration. I tramp it to half throttle from a full stop and in 5 seconds I'm at 120kph :) Not bad for such a small motor. It helps that the car itself is really light and the differential locks after 10kph. That's the only downfall to Honda vehicles is they aren't heavy enough. Handles pretty funny on highway in 70kph winds.

B16... H22... WHAT! :1orglaugh

fucking gook lover
you'll burn too

business knows no borders...

SIR (seriously into racing) :1orglaugh

I don't have the VTEC engine unfortunately :( I could tho for 2k buy a kit from Ebay to upgrade it to a vtec. New sensors, head and various other components. Not worth it tho to mess around with the motor just to gain 50hp.

But for an extra 1k in upgrades above that I could get this beast up to 250hp.

Engine would prolly only last a few years tho doing that

oh man... you're missing a lot w/o the vtec... bbbbbbbbbooooooooonnnnnggggg!! :1orglaugh

my prelude has turbo and 3.5 piping and nos system setup in the trunk.. i love it. scares the shit outta me sometimes thou... :1orglaugh

Yup :) Even the HD newer engine is Porche designed.

What's funny about Chrystler using Japanese engines is they even get crappy ones at that. SUre, lots of power but poor fuel economy and always in the shop.


It's funny, my uncle (who's a shadetree mechanic) chastized me for buying a "jap piece of junk" yet whenever he rents a car he always insists on a Toyota.

What about american products sold in Asia? Trade off

DAMN! That 3.5 must sound deep. Engine really breathes well with that I bet. Any sound dampening tho? I hate when people use straight piping. It sounds nasty.

they just analize it then make it better! :1orglaugh

Perfectly cool :)

I have no qualms about american manufacturers using foreign made parts but I do have qualms about people claiming that me buying a jap car takes food off american's tables. It's rediculous. You usually only hear that from the older crowd tho.

3.5 down piping with a big ass resonator that makes a nice deep sound. no sound dampening unless you have a broken gasket bro or exhast leak.

2001 Honda Prelude... drop it like its hoootttt...
http://home.nyc.rr.com/xtc/prelude.jpg

oh i also have a full exhast setup.. front to back with headers!

Horsepower is a function of fuel and air. It requires X amount to make Y amount of power period. Modern domestic FI engines are pretty fuel effecient too. My C5 Corvette was 350 HP and still got 29mpg on the highway. You'd be hard pressed to find an import car making similiar power and getting much better gas milage.

Who really cares how much power you get for the displacment. Unless you're buying comuter cars and calling them sportscars (civics), you don't really care. Chevrolet was making 2.2 litre Quad 4 Engines with 185 horsepower back in the early 90's. Honda is not magic.

As for being more fun to drive? I guess that's a matter of choice. Most serious sports car drivers would prefer rear wheel drive. You're never going to have more fun driving a Civic than you are a Z06 Corvette.

Rols Royce Silver Shadow 1968 hurts!!!!

nitrous oxide system in the trunk...
http://home.nyc.rr.com/xtc/nos.jpg

COmparing a Corvette to a Civic is a totally different animal. A Corvette has much more engineering muscle behind it. I'm talking commuter vehicles. That 2.2 that GM produced was junk.

My point was, Import engines are more efficiant and last longer. Much more engineering was put into them. Takes less fuel and less air to produce the HP they deliver than most American counterparts.

I do actually care about how much horsepower I get per inch of displacement. It means I put my money into something that was well thought out, built with reliability and economy in mind. They cared about their customer. American vehicles are parts pits. You';re constantly having to fix the damn things. Ford, GM and Crystler build cars that need constant repair and their business is built upon the service side of things. That's why dealers only make between $200 and $700 profit off a new car at point of sale because they know they'll make their biggest chunk of money back on parts.

Honda is far from magic but they produce much more superior products than the American counterparts. That new truck of theirs is badass. Blow the competition out of the water in performance & use vs $$ on initial purchase and maintenance.


Now if I had a choice between a Vette and a Honda... I'd definately buy the Vette :) They put lots of time and money into thsoe vehicles and are actually built to last.

Now between a Cavelier or a Dodge with a 2.0/2.2 in it or a Civic with a 1.7 in it. Honda dealer here I come. I know my investment will still be purring like a kitten with only general maintenance such as belts, brakes, tires, batteries and other minor parts needed within the 10 years from purchase the date.

"American vehicles are parts pits. You're constantly having to fix the damn things."

AMEN! :thumbsup

imports are built for REAL drivers! :1orglaugh

Yes, and the reason why was when Honda and Datsun first invaded our shores, they came off the docks by the boatload - and they weren't made in America. In other words, if you bought a jap car you were indeed taking something away from the American worker.

When this first happened, the jap cars were cheaper - and better.

I drive Fords. In the past five years I've had five new cars, three of them Mustangs. Not once have any of these five new cars been in for anything other then routine service.

No matter what you will never get me to drive a Honda Civic. I just can't drive a car that every Suzie Homemaker drives on her commute.

... H2 should be fine?! Made in USA. But sure Silver Shadow 1968 hurts so goooooood!

http://www.swarz.com/rr.jpg
RR SH

It's almost a known fact that imports are better, if you factor in a lower price of american cars, it becomes a closer call, but still imports are the way to go in my opinion.

Back inthe mid to late nineties I had an Acura NSX, a Corvette and a Viper rt.

The Viper was complete JUNK it felt like an old dodge Duster and couldn't handle worth shit.

The Vette was a lot better than the viper but not as fast off the line and in straightaways.

The NSX RULED although it wasn't as fast of the line (stock) it was nice to drive (you could actually feel the road) and it blew away the Vette and Viper in handling and accelleration.

...and for all the regular car drivers, there is an independant book (I think its called "The Lemon Guide") it takes an objective look at all cars and is really informative about all cars in general.Some facts from the book clearly point out (with solid evidence) how domestic companies(GM, FORD, CHRYSLER) build shit cars because they focus more on marketing than quality control amongst other factors.

:helpme :helpme :helpme