Cars: If "Buy American" Were History
Two years ago, while shopping for a new car, my father's conviction to buy American played daily in my head. For him, buying a U.S.-made car is dogma and an incontrovertible matter of principle that even sub-par road performance (which is often unrecognized in a non-car person) or the arrival of zippy foreign cars to our shores could not shake. In my childhood driveways there always sat great hunks of Detroit steel - a Ford LTD station wagon, an Oldsmobile 88, a Chevy Nova, and even a Corvair, pre-Nader, presumably. I learned to drive in a white Chevy Impala, an unwieldy boat of a car that seemed to fishtail even on dry, sunny roads. Today, my father drives a Buick Park Avenue - an ironic name for a car unlikely to be found on the street of the same name. Even with its touching lack of cachet, it has my vote for the most comfortable car in the world, with that smooth upholstered expanse of front seat, a couch on wheels. Nevertheless, I wonder if he and the car rental companies are the only people in the world still buying Buicks and Pontiacs. Name one person you know that drives a red Dodge Neon sedan, like the one I got from Avis the last time I was in Phoenix.
This "Buy American" mantra, familiar to many post-war baby boomers, is why it is almost impossible to comprehend the collapse of the American auto industry. From abandoned car lots still festooned with flag garland, to a Super Bowl denuded of car ads, the effects will be felt literally everywhere. One expert quoted in the Observer (UK) estimates the loss of three million jobs. That means that not only the backbone of what remains of the United States' once-great manufacturing economy will be shattered, but the collateral damage could be boundless. Looking at it not only economically, but symbolically, we can't sit back and watch the biggest car crash in history.
The auto industry suffered from that particular American affliction: optimism. This defining quality makes hope's eternal promise the lens through which we look at our country and its possibilities. There is no Indian Dream, or Icelandic Dream. On this earth there is only the American one, and its power lies in its ability, for one example, to elect Barack Obama for President. But when optimism is a euphemism for arrogant disregard for facts, analysis or research, or for barreling through an agenda without a reality check - as if nothing bad can ever happen - this can be catastrophic. (see: Iraq War) Too many U.S. resources have been put into securing petroleum supply (see again: Iraq War). This gave - optimistic - Americans reason to believe that driving habits don't have to change and that the punchbowl would flow forever. This gave carmakers license to churn out and market the behemoths that trumpet their 16-18 mpg as if this is a good thing. They were derelict, lacked vision. They sued states who wanted to change their emission standards. And if you did not have a visceral reaction to those anthemic Humvee ads still running when gas cost $4.50 a gallon, you must have been dozing.
All of this doesn't mean we deprive the carmakers of a shot in the arm to keep them alive, even if they have themselves to blame for this debacle. To use another great American -ism: Mistakes were made. But millions of people should not have to pay. It would be tragic to bury the car industry. The American landscape is littered with remains of a great manufacturing past. If you drive through Waterbury, Connecticut, abandoned brick buildings - many with For Lease signs posted on them for years - remind us how industry flourishes, changes, and falters inevitably over the years. In Waterbury, still called the Brass City, smokestacks dot the banks of the Naugatuck River, monuments to a thriving industrial hub that is no more. Sad but true, this is how the market and the global economy work. Innovation streamlines the process, production shifts and as industry gravitates towards efficiency and cost-effectiveness, jobs move south and overseas. Or, consumer tastes change and demand dries up.
But this is Ford, GM and Chrysler. Imagine the empty factories and abandoned dealerships that will line highways from coast to coast if they shut down. It will forever be a reminder that we neglected to give them another chance to rethink and restructure and redo the U.S.'s last big industrial bastion. The one which has my father's loyalty because it switched gears during World War II to produce weapons instead of cars, and if the need should ever arise again, it would behoove us to be self-sufficient.
So whither the American car? My father's Buick may be a Smithsonian-bound relic. But the car's mere serviceability and lack of consumer appeal is beside the point. His philosophy was always, "It gets me where I want to be just fine." In his view, every American lawmaker - read Senator and Congressman and woman - should be required to drive an American brand. For those of us raised on "Buy American," it was never about jingoistic claptrap, but about duty - accepting the limits of Detroit's cars to support American manufacturing and jobs. This might not square with sound economic theory (and it might even look protectionist), but the car industry has an exalted place - and one that the carmakers took for granted. Maybe this helped lead unions to believe that they were untouchable, too. And maybe the cars lacked the good sense of a Honda, the flash of a BMW. But for the loyal, American cars were not about snob appeal, or nano-second acceleration, but about optimism.
When my loyalty was tested, I found that big practical concerns mattered too much. My car search ended with a Toyota, a few years too soon to have been manufactured in the facility being built in Princeton, Indiana. I love my car, but I loved the Chrysler Pacifica I test drove too - the fine lines and roomy back seat. I avoided the Chrysler dealer's calls for weeks after I had bought the Toyota, chickening out of telling him that I had gone with the Japanese. Finally, he reached me in an unguarded moment and I had to tell him: I needed to go with a hybrid, and a car with side airbags. The new models will have all of the above, he offered. That conversation telegraphed for me the problems with the U.S. auto industry. It was too late.
I hope for all of our sake that it is not too late for the carmakers, and that Washington comes up with a solution which will allow them to fix, listen, create, atone and blow us away with new ideas and innovative products that built the industry in the first place. Then maybe next time, like my father, I'd really rather have a Buick.
Read More:
Should the Government Bail Out the Big Three U.S. Automakers? HuffPost Bloggers Weigh In
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Have you noticed this country becoming more and more divided?
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." This cannot go on if we expect to work ourselves out of this mess.
Does anyone remember the bumper sticker "Be American, Buy American"? Apparently not enough people do. I have driven new American made cars since 1980 and I've never had any major problems and the quality has now risen to the level of most imports. I wish more Americans would be 'American'. The Japanese won't buy our products, not because of the quality, but because of their loyalty to their own brands. It's too bad Americans aren't so loyal. Nothing ticks me off as much as seeing a Kia or Toyota driver with American flag and patriotic bumper stickers plastered all over their cars. I know people make all kinds of excuses for their actions and choices but the bottom line is that if you support other countries over your own, you're not patriotic and don't put our flag on it to make you feel better. You just helped put your fellow American out of work.
"The Japanese won't buy our products, not because of the quality, but because of their loyalty to their own brands."
I'm not sure about that. Could you ever see a Japanese person driving a Buick, a Mustang, Camaro, a Malibu, or Impala?? I sure can't.
Harley Davidson is a highly desired bike in Japan
The Japanese don't buy many BMWs or Mercedes products, either. Is that because those products are inferior, or because Japanese consumers are nationalistic? Or could it be because of the Japanese home market trade barriers that substantially raise the price of vehicles imported into the Japanese market?
Actually ford exports quite a few Mustangs. very popular in europe, and one of the current better sellers domestically
Toyota on the other hand is frequently criticized by the automotive press for bland styling and lackluster performance
"Buy American" philosophy partially caused this mess. For a long time we "bought American", so the Big 3 got weak. When the imports finally got way better than American, we had to switch. If we had never "bought American", but rather always "bought best value", the industry would be strong today.
You are all symbolism, no substance. I have spent over 25 years serving this nation with hard work and I dont need any damn flag or ribbon on my car to prove I care about my country or my felllow veterans. Those stickers arent for THEM, its for YOU ego. If you cared about them you would do away with crappy VA hospitalls and give em proper medical care.
Americans ship toyotas, sell Toyotas, build Toyotas, and maintain Toyotas. They are just as American as any piece of crap Chevy. And good PATRIOTIC AMERICANS drive toyotas you fearmonger.
This nation has been run by a bunch of fools in the White House with the American Flag and Yellow ribbon stickers plastered all over their huge piece of crap American vehicles for years. Sure, everyone else is UNAMERICAN except you Bushies. Everyone else is the problem with America, not you. Here you are saying that people who drive a Japanese vehicle are UNAMERICAN. Well tell me then, why is AMERICA being asked to bail out your crappy American auto industry AGAIN? Oh yeah, its OUR fault, the Honda and Toyota drivers....couldn't possibly be the fault of overpaid, overweight, incompetent Republicans in the auto industry could it? You Republicans have a real problem with blame dont you? Its always someone elses fault, the Unamericans, the terrorists, the liberals. It couldn't possibly just be YOUR fault for making stupid leadeship and management decisons in industry and government could it?
"Americans ship toyotas, sell Toyotas, build Toyotas, and maintain Toyotas. They are just as American as any piece of crap Chevy. And good PATRIOTIC AMERICANS drive toyotas you fearmonger. "
Baloney, Chinese build Toyotas, Japanese assemble them and ship them and americans slap a sticker on in a souther right to starve state and add a few badges so they can say "Assembled in the US".
Nobody who drives a Toyota can honestly try and call themselves liberal or progressive. They are the worst kind of anti-union, neocon hypocrites.
Your U.S.-assembled Toyota is designed and engineered in Japan, and the profits from your purchase largely go back to Japan, where the intellectual knowledge of how to create this sophisticated piece of machinery will forever reside. As an American you are free to buy a Toyota, but don't lie to yourself that it doesn't make a difference.
Why do American cars have such low Blue Book and resale value then? Why is it that I have never had a problem with any Japanese car I bought and have driven them well past 100K miles but of the 4 american cars I owned they ALL were in and out of the repair shop and my garage for repairs by 80K miles?
I lived for years in Germany and saying American cars are better than German cars is like saying Bush is smarter than Cheney. Comparing turds is no answer. I spent many hours fixing my many German cars too.
I think that any honda or toyota owner will tell you in no uncertain terms just how silly you sound. I have met DOZENS of people that bought american andnow drive Japanese, smart people. I have never met a single person that said "I'm sick of Japanese, I'm going back to American cars"
So tell me, why is that?
Count me in that category. I have had 2 toyotas. Will never buy another Toyota again after the Prius. Flimsy thin plastic deathtrap that it is.
It's a conspiracy, I tell you.
I owned three Toyota Corollas, buying in December 1975. It was peppy, a of four-on-the-floor zip. Unfortunately, on a winter trip to Florida, it broke down in Warner-Robbins, GA, where I had to spend a weekend until the dealer opened and could replace the exhaust system. Second Corolla was a wagon, took it on great camping trip out West, Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, etc. On the return home, it broke down outside of St. Louis -- the starter just sort of fried. Finally got somebody to jump up and had to drive back East without turning it off, even to refuel. Eventually I owned a Chrysler minivan, some Ford Explorers, a Saab convertible, a Geo Prizm, a PT Cruiser and a Mazda RX-7. Took all of them on trips without incident, except the RX-7, whiose engine flooded out when I was stalled in traffice on the way to Cleveland.
Now, I'm not so narrow minded to say that Toyota and Mazda don't make good cars. The quality surveys prove they do, and I give them credit. But all that said, everyone's quality has improved a huge amount over 30 years. And today the quality surveys show many U.S. cars are equal or better (e.g., Chevy Malibu and Ford Fusion are higher in initial JD Power quality than Toyota Camry and Honda Accord). Yet Toyota owners pretend these third-party surveys don't count because of your bad experiences decades ago.
Why is it that a Toyota Corolla and Geo Prizm, with the same engineering and built on the same line, sold for different prices? Why did the Corolla have a higher resale value? It's because of the brand value, which is what people think about a brand, even though in reality the two are mechanical twins. Perception trumps reality. Detroit marketers often bring customers into focus groups to review the vehicle without telling them what brand it is. People will rave about a car until you tell them it's a Pontiac or a Dodge, then they change their opinion.
I don't know what all the "American cars are crap" tripe is about. Want to know the two most unreliable car brands according to Consumer reports? VW and Mercedes. VW has over 4 times the average serious repair rate after 5 years and Mercedes has 3x the avg rate. Where are the horrid American car companies? Most are in the top half.
On top of that looking at environmentally friendly cars the Ford Focus, Pontiac G5, Chevy Cobalt and many other small, cheap american cars do not only slightly better in terms of pollution, but loads better then their similarly priced japanese competition. If you ever go to a dealer and look at the pollution statistics of Toyotas prepare to be amazed. The Scion xA has a .56 emissions rate, more then twice the avg small car. Contrastingly a Saturn Aura has .08, a cheap non hybrid Saturn at that.
Toyota plays off its environmentally friendly image with the Prius but in reality almost all of their new plants make trucks and SUVs; they also skimp on emissions equipment and countless other things that truly make cars greener. Do you really think the Toyota Landcruiser or Sequoia with their average of 14 MPG is much different from a Hummer H2? It actually gets worse mileage believe it or not then some models of hummers do.
The problems with Volkswagon are often to do with the censors, not the mechanics. What people like about Volkwagon (and other German cars), is that they are much more enjoyable to drive than American cars (or Japanese cars). About being environmentally friendly, only a very small percentage of car buyers base their buying decisions on that, very very small.
My neighbor is filing a lemon law suit for his passat.
There are whole websites devoted to how bad VWs suck
I recently had a Jetta for a rental - after hearing how great they supposedly were was really disappointed. It rode and handled OK and was a peppy little car, but it only got 22.5 mpg in combined city and hwy driving
The mazda 6 I recently drove was every bit as peppy and great handling as the Vdub, and got 33 mpg
I would ask for some links to your 'information' but you don't have any.
Do you really think the Toyota Sequoia with their average of 14 MPG is much different from a Hummer H2?
Uhh...Yes. Hummer doesn't post the MPG because it gets less than 10.
It actually gets worse mileage believe it or not then some models of hummers do."
I don't believe it because it isn't true. H3 gets 14/18, Sequioa gets 14/19
Is there anything else you need to learn about American "vehicles"?
"I don't believe it because it isn't true. H3 gets 14/18, Sequioa gets 14/19"
Liar. Sequioa gets 13/16
http://autos.yahoo.com/toyota_sequoia/
I would like to buy American and do so when possible. I refuse to sacrfice quality though so normally I do not. Unions are not soley to blame for the failing of the automotive industry but they do share some of the blame. The labor union saved the American worker from unsafe working conditions and unfair pay and benefits but in return it has resulted in making our industry non-competitive. There are many reasons why but the self-serving nature of unions combined with the incompetence and waste of unqualified American managers are the primary reasons American industry produces overpriced, lower quality uncompetitive trash for products.
American cars are just junk. I started out owning only American cars when I got back to America from overseas and I must say, I spent a lot of time in auto parts stores and in repair shops. That is a fact. My brother graduated top of his class from one of America's best automotive colleges and he spent years driving and repairing only american cars. It was he that told me finally "dont but American, its junk" . So I bought foreign and have ever since. I must say that since that transition I have not been in an automotive supply store in YEARS unless its to get minor acccessories. I haven't bought a car part in years. I would never own another American car and my Honda and Toyota are probably made in America anyway so why would I?
Your myths about the US auto industry are so 1980s
The fact is that US car quality is onpar and in some cases better than the Japanese and clearly ahead of the europeans according to consumer reports and JD Power
Ford just got the Insurance industries highest safety ranking for the most models with 5 star crash test ratings
Crash ratings don't tell you whether the car will disintegrate prior to 100k miles.
I will not buy American, and I hope the bailout does not pass. Let the car companies struggle to come back on their own, and benefit from the lessons learned.
The problem is not the quality of the cars. The problem is not a bad market, the problem is not the american worker. The problem is here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN2534738420080425
Summary: CEO gets $15 million while company loses $39 billion.
I will NOT support that kind of management. I will not invest in the company, and I will not buy their products.
How about this, pay the CEO $5 million, and use the extra $10 million to hire another 300 engineers?
American companies are dictatorships, where the CEO is the dictator. When has absolute power EVER gone over well, through the course of human history? We need to add something where employees can vote a CEO out. ( No, not shareholders, not a board stacked with the CEO's cronies. The Employees. ).
Its a shame, I really loved my last car, a Dodge, that got me to 250,000 miles.
Now I'm enjoying a brand new Honda.
Hiroshi Okuda at Toyota makes well over 10 million a year in compensation. I'd give you the Honda number but they don't report that information. Either way, the idea that somehow the car company CEOs are corrupt and the foreigners are benevolent is just silly.
Do you really think that car companies in Japan and Europe are some kind of worker friendly commune? Seriously? GM also has spent billions in R&D over the past few years (particularly on the Volt), its not like their engineers aren't getting anything.
Oh and as to the workers, foreign automakers almost without fail put their factories in "right to work" states that more or less ban unions. There are no union members working at any foreign auto maker. Toyota, Honda and the rest pay their employees FAR less then GM, Ford and Chrysler. If you want a company that takes care of its workers (even far into retirement) you would be hard pressed to find a company that does that better then GM or Ford.
I mean of all things to bash American car companies about, you pick their relations with labor? Did you not notice how the big sticking point on the bailout talks was the cascade of republicans who thought no auto worker should be making 70 or 80k a year (after all only fat cat bankers should make anywhere near 6 figures in salary!)
I believe what you say, but do they also get big bonuses when the companies are failing as well as succeeding? Maybe they do.
But the argument, "everyone is doing it!" has run very thin for me.
So they're all scumbags. I still need a car. If they are all bad at the top, why force myself to buy American? If I thought my purchase would help the little guy, I'd make that sacrifice. I do not believe that it would.
None of the big 3 CEOs make any of the top paid CEO lists i have seen
Bill Ford hasn't taken a salary in almost 5 years
Don't forget that Toytoa lobbies congress just as hard against the cafe stds as detroit does
So today I drove to work in my Pontiac Vibe, which is actually a Toyota Matrix with a different front grill. They are both made in the same plant in Fremont, CA. So, no matter which one I buy it is an American made car.
Personally I think if GM would merge all of their lines into just one, they could save a fortune on advertising. Why advertise the Pontiac and Chevy versions of the same car with different grills? Smae for the other companies. Fewer things that compete against
If only these car manufacturers had produced "financial products" like 402(5)e's and deferred annuable bonds and derivative retroactive reinvestment divertisements, instead of stupid old cars, then we'd have no problem bailing them out!
Just like Jack Welch did at GE, lets convert a wealth producing and technology driving manufacturing company into a wealth shifting finacial services company
Toyotas and Nissans product mixes too rely heavily on trucks SUVs and larger cars, that don't get better mpg than their US counterparts
Its well past time we start being american and buying american again.
too much of our innovation and technology has been shipped offshore as it is in this misguided race to the bottom
Being out-competed by the Japanese in no way is a race to the bottom.
How are we being out competed by the japanese?
Toyota had its worst sales year since 1969 and their sales have been dropping at faster rates than detroit Toyota has idled several facilities and scrapped plans for any new US plants in the foreseable future. Toyota and Niissan like detroit relies heavily on trucks, SUVs and larger cars in their product mix, that do not get better mpg than their US competitiors i might add
Nissan was rescued from potential bankrupcy by merging with Renault
Ford resuced Mazda from pending bankrupcy 20 years ago
Isuzu has already gotten out of the passenger car business and Mitsubishi is seriously considering it
The Ford escape is a more technologically advanced hybrid on the market, the prius design hasn't changed much since 94
GM has the most models that get over 30 mpg.
Ford has the highest quality and safety ratings of all the US brands as well as the foreign brands
GM still sells more than Toyota
Ford more than Honda
Chrysler more than Nissan and Hyundai put together
US brands still have over 50% of the market
Even if the "American" car companies go under, buying American won't be history. Look at the money spent on many vehicles and you'll see that a higher percentage of money spent on many "foreign" cars goes to Americans than if it were spent on "American" cars. That's because the parts for all the "American" cars are all made over sea and maybe assembled here, while more of the "Foreign" parts are made and put together in America, so they can count as "american" for tax purposes. It's sad when the "foreign" cars are more American than the American cars. With that kind of loyalty to America from the Auto companies, I certainly don't feel required to buy their pieces of crap just because they were designed here. And I live in Detroit!
I say that one requirement of any bailout is that if there is ever a choice of closing an over seas/foreign plant vs. and American plant, tehy must choose to keep the American plant. I'm afraid the "American" car companies will close all their American operations as part of their restructuring, thus shipping even more of our manufacturing over seas. What a crock. Plus, they should try to design a car with the idea of making it last more than 3 years. They design them with the idea of disposing of them at 5 years; compared to foreign cars lastin easily 8 before having problems. It makes the so-called American cars look like crap.
I have a 1998 Saturn Station Wagon and so far all that I have replaced is the alternator. I'm quite happy with my 11 year old American car. I have owned both American and Foreign small cars and I really think my American cars were a better bang for the buck.
Wow, you are really one experienced driver?
How many miles have you logged in other cars in the last 10 years? How many in the last 30 years? Do you have any idea what the hundreds of foreign models drive like?
Even with the govt bride loans, many workers in the auto industry will lose jobs anyway because people aren't buying enough cars to justify current employment levels. Second, if the auto makers don't get the bridge loans and have to file chapter 11, that doesn't mean everybody will lose their jobs - and the estimate of 3 million jobs lost is laughable -, as the companies can still manufacture and sell cars under bankruptcy protection. With a bankruptcy filing, we're talking about a maximum job loss of an additional couple hundred thousands workers above those that would have lost their jobs anyway. Last, even if the auto makers get the loans, GM and Chrysler will be coming back for more money in a few months, and again a few months later, and in the end likely end of filing for bankruptcy anyway because their business models simply aren't sustainable.
I have mixed emotions about the auto industry bailout. I don't like the idea of the government propping up an industry but I like the idea of the financial shockwave the failure of the American auto industry would produce even less.
The big 3 find themselves in the position they're in as a result of their own greed and arrogance. For at least 30 years they deliberately designed cars so that they would fall apart sooner (presumably because they wanted to profit just as much from selling replacement parts and labor as they did from the initial sale of the car). You can't blame the consumer for spotting that behavior and taking their business elsewhere. Planned obsolescence is not a business model and I don't think that corporations that tried to use it as one should be rewarded for being stupid.
As for quality the Japanese makes HAVE to be good there are stringent laws in Japan for vehicles they must be kept in good shape right down to the condition of the seats, that's why there is a built in market for new cars and no one there has a jalopy clunker.
They haven't made Dodge Neons for several years. Thats why you don't see them. If you rental agency has them you might want to ask them to update their fleet. Today it is the Caliber (34mpg). Also Toyotas are manufactured in the USA, they are assembled in the USA. The major components are made overseas and shipped here for assembly.
That is not true, only some Toyotas are made here (usually the beastly SUVs that only sell in America). The Prius and all their other green cars are made in Japan AND assembled in Japan.
Also Toyota is fervently anti labor and fires any union organizers (which is easy since they only put factories in "right to work" states that make unions nearly impossible). This idea that Toyota is some benevolent company is just totally false.
Even for the cars that are assembled here, that's what? A few hundred jobs per car model for assembly and another few hundred for shipping and purchasing? On the other hand if you have a GM car where the parts, tech development and manufacturing are all done here that's easily 10,000 jobs per car line. Just saying both are assembled here is not enough, there is still a HUGE difference.
Your right. I missed a "not" in my sentence. I meant to write "Toyotas are not manufactured here" There are no engine plants, no stamping plants, no glass plants here for any of the foriegn car companies. They are simply assemblers. That is why they can tout being "green" with their factories. It's easy when you do not smelt, or refine raw materials. Back in ther respective companies all have faced massive fines for enviromental problems at their plants.
We all talk about buying American to help the American economy. How about we start to push EMPLOY American? As a software developer I have seen my job go overseas an untold number of times. The b.s. that companies can't find qualified workers is just that. Bull$hit. If we had a stronger push towards educating our people we WOULD have qualified workers.
I got laid off two months ago. I was planning on buying a house and a car, a DODGE, an AMERICAN CAR, but that's not likely to happen. Especially since I don't know if I'll be able to find work in the next year and my meager savings will have to carry me through since employment barely covers living expenses.
EMPLOY AMERICAN. EDUCATE AMERICANS. Maybe Americans will start to have some loyalty TO America if they didn't see their jobs being outsourced thereby forcing them to buy cheap imported goods. We can't BUY American, if Americans aren't employed! And Americans have a better chance of employment if they are EDUCATED.
Further, part of helping Americans buy American and to help EDUCATE them, make education not just a priority, but free. You can begin by forgiving some of our educational debt so our money that is going to student loans can be FREED UP so that we have extra cash to spend.
EDUCATE AMERICAN
EMPLOY AMERICAN
and then BUY AMERICAN
Unemployment in the field of software development is almost zero. If you find yourself without a job in a field, it's likely because your area of expertise has become obsolete and you need to be retrained and brought up to date.
Or your job has been offshored or inshored buy lower cost h1b workers
What annoys me most about the Big Three apologists is their reflexive whining that "we made what the people wanted", juxtaposed with their new refrain that "it's labor costs (and particularly, health care costs) that make our cars so expensive".
Considering that the Big Three spent more per car on advertising than on employee health care, I would dispute both those claims.
Most of the so called "apologists" are not talking about the labor costs .
Japanese auto workers make similar wages to US workers
And European auto workers make more.
It does put US automakers at a competitive disadvantage when about 2000 bucks are tacked on to the cost to cover health care and retirements, costs that Japanese and European auto makers do not have because their respective govts cover those costs
From what I've read, US auto makers spend about $3000 per car on advertising, while the Japanese spend about $1000.
I certainly agree about the need for universal health care, though not just in order to make US industry more competitive.
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