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October 15, 2007
A Thirsty Engine
I love my Saturn, but it's probably the last American car I will purchase for awhile. Only 60,000 miles on the thing and the fuel pump died. Even though I purchased the extended warranty, the repair still cost $400, thanks to the jerks at Quirk Auto. Just doing their part to keep their place on the list, I guess.
It's a fact of life that cars break. Anything with that many moving parts is bound to have something go wrong once in awhile. I've personally owned four cars - three domestic, one foreign. Guess which one broke less than the others? I suspect that others have had similar experiences, and that has made many of us immune to the "buy American" rhetoric so often employed by the unions.
This open letter to the union chiefs makes some fair points.
Consider: The domestic automobile industry had a 71 percent share of its home market in 1998. Today, it is struggling to hold onto a 51.3 percent share. You say that decline has come about because of poorly implemented federal policies in international trade. I have no doubts that our government has messed up in that area. Still, my argument is that your argument misses the point.Exactly. Personal self-interest drives most of the economic decisions an individual will make. Adam Smith's invisible hand is slapping the American auto industry because they tend to produce a product that is inferior to that of their rivals.BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota all build cars and trucks in America in solely owned plants. The UAW has failed to organize any of those solely owned, foreign-owned plants, effectively giving the foreign automakers a tremendous production-cost advantage in an America where few consumers, including union members, look for the union label. In the past, that production-cost advantage has translated to higher-quality foreign-sponsored cars and trucks sold at competitive and often lower prices than those of domestic rivals.
Consumers are selfish. They might bemoan the loss of American jobs. Some might even bemoan the decline of the UAW, although I sincerely doubt that. What's certain is that they have bought and continue to buy millions of cars and trucks from those foreign-sponsored plants the UAW has failed to organize.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, this is a trend that extends to politics as well. Although the candidates hope the election will be about the war on terror and other large issues, that is only the case if the pocketbooks of the voters are secure. If there is a recession between now and the election, the Republican message of safety and security could fall on ears that are more worried about paying the bills.
Posted by slublog at October 15, 2007 07:25 PM
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Comments
Slu,
I don't think I will ever buy anything but Toyota, ever. My Corolla is 8 years old, has 130,000 miles, and no problems. I plan to use it for atleast 3-4 more years and 200K miles, whichever comes later. Sure, I have to change brake pads and tires, and a bulb did blow out, but that is about it. Most Toyotas are designed by American engineers in American design studios, and built by American workers in American plants.
Posted by: Tushar D at October 15, 2007 09:39 PM
I agree Toyota is the way to go! Ours is almost 12 years old w/148,000 miles and still going strong! I only buy cars from away :o) My first Toyota I bought w/172,000 miles and drove it 60 miles a day for 2 years with never a problem. Sorry about your trip. Sounds like the rest was good.
Posted by: Jessica at October 16, 2007 07:00 AM