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| Yes | 35% | 78 votes | Total: 226 votes | |
| No | 65% | 148 votes |
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Add to FavoritesYes, when it comes to cars, "Made in America" still means something. But it doesn't mean what people think. First, let's dispense with the notion that Made in America is an insult. It's simply not accurate to allege that American cars are inferior in quality, styling, efficiency, or anything else. You want quality? Quality ratings prove the point about how the cars are built and how long they last. You want styles? The range of American car models is such that you can find anything you want, from an ultra-efficient hybrid to a luxury land cruiser. The greatest hallmark of American cars of the last 50 years remains true today: There are an almost-limitless range of choices for the consumer.
So, with that out of the way, what does Made in America mean today? Well, it doesn't merely represent a car with a GM, Chrysler or Ford nameplate. Indeed, most of the leading carmakers in the world now have manufacturing plants in the U.S. Truly, a Honda or a Toyota is actually made in America. Some of its parts are manufactured here, and some are manufactured elsewhere, and imported. Then the cars are assembled in Tennessee, Kentucky, etc. In fact, both U.S. brands and foreign brands operate under the same model of obtaining parts from multiple suppliers, some in the U.S. and some outside, and then putting the pieces together here. In other words, no matter what brand of car, Made in America today actually means: Assembled in America with parts from around the world.
Now, what's so important about those Assembled in America cars? Well, first of all, they comply with U.S. regulations for safety, emissions, fuel economy, etc. They are built to specifications that our legislators demand. These cars also are built with the features that our society demands - styling, size, power, advanced features etc. This isn't a small matter, as anyone who has driven a car in Europe or Asia can attest. U.S. cars feel different because they are different. And for Americans, that difference translates into "better."
The other thing about cars made in America is that they have been designed in America, and they are marketed and sold in America. Those jobs are at least as important as the manufacturing and assembly jobs. Frankly, it doesn't take a lot of workers to build a car these days; automation has made extraordinary gains. But it does take a tremendous amount of work to design the car, set up the manufacturing tools and operations for each individual part, coordinate where each part is going to be made, get those parts to the plant on time, then move out the finished car to the right location, and promote those cars (as well as finance them when they are sold). It takes about 10 times as many people to do all the stuff related to building and selling a car than it does to "manufacture" it. And by the way, those jobs look a lot like other jobs in our economy. They are white-collar jobs in engineering, marketing, sales, and finance. They are not blue-collar, union jobs.
So, the point is that Made in America represents a state of affairs that is far more broad than it was 50 years ago, when General Motors ruled the world. In the old days, Made in America meant literally that - but it didn't mean a whole lot more. In the 1950s, design and engineering staffs were modest, and consumer marketing was in its infancy compared to what it is today. Made in America in the old days meant the people at GM, Ford and Chrysler who built the parts for the car and put them together. Today, the same phrase means a whole interlocking web of production workers and knowledge workers who keep things moving in an industrial symphony.
Learn more about this author, B. B. James.
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No
Made in US America never meant much when it came to cars. People talk about the current demise of the US American auto industry as if it is a surprise. How can it be when they, the auto makers, have been insulting the car buying public as long as we can remember?
Some people say that the trouble is that the unions jack up the price of the car so it can't afford to be made and sold. They say if wages were half of what they are now we could sell. They say if workers give up benefits, especially retirement packages which can go on forever, we can sell. This is the same old hogwash the auto makers have tried to sell us all of our lives.
The main problem is how the auto makers approach the public. It is very insulting. They make us think we are very stupid. This approach will work only for so long. People will buy US American only so long if they are only insulted by the whole process.
There are only two extremes used to market cars. There have only always been these two. One is to promote a pretty car. In the 1950s the car had chrome. Today there are still the shiny bodies and attractive curves which are being promoted. This is a gross insult to the buying public. And it is one of the two extremes used. Sometimes it is glibly called bells and whistles.
The second extreme is the so called performance. Who needs (his or her) car to behave like it's on a racetrack? Yet this muscle car approach is the second extreme promoted.
Most of the buying public does not lie in the two extremes. But the auto maker thought process goes that if they promote their two extremes they will catch all the other fish. Most people are not attracted by the extremes, and they don't like being treated like fish.
People want a car to commute with. People want a car to run errands with. Maybe they will take their children camping. If it lasted 30 years it would be nice.
What would we see marketed? An all roads, all weather vehicle that can climb a mountain of rocks, and find its way home by itself in total darkness.
Is it any wonder US Americans don't buy Made in US America cars when the only thing the auto makers do is insult them?
The insult runs deep. Cars got 20 miles per gallon all along. We had the first oil shock in the early 1970s. We have known since then the fact that world oil will run out by 2050. All we see is an urge to build larger cars and guzzle gas and protest the 55 mph limit ever since. How can the auto companies think the public is so stupid? We should have 100 mpg gas engines by now! How hard is it to engineer something so simple?
After 40 years of lying on the gas Armageddon philosophy, how can US American auto makers expect people to buy their cars?
Just as a side note: The average US American used to like to tinker with joh (his or her) car. This is no longer possible with all the computerization that goes into a car. Was the cost of all that computerizing worth losing the support base? Sometimes cheer leading helps.
Even when the average US American sees something about US American auto making (he or she) likes, it vanishes like it was another marketing trick. The experiment done by Saturn to have employees build whole cars instead of standing with robots on production lines was supposed to generate positive identity among the car buying public. I guess the auto makers decided they didn't want something good. They didn't try very hard for it. It fizzled out like they let themselves fizzle.
Learn more about this author, Charles Peterson.
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