just my opinion here. i've been a parts guy at a large toyota dealership for about a year now after being at chrysler/jeep/dodge stores for 15 years. what i'm seeing is a difference in the customer. toyota customers realize that there IS value in maintaining their vehicles. they have their oil changed at the dealership, they perform their 30, 60 and 90k services, not because we scare them into it, or force it down their throats, but because they simply understand that a little maintainance will make their car last longer, and have a higher resale value. period.
it is also my opinion that the PERCEPTION by most consumers that japanese built cars are of much better quality is just that-PERCEPTION. i think that the domestics and the imports are pretty close when it comes to technology, assembly and quality. but not to the point where the imports can demand a much higher msrp. PERCEPTION again. Toyotas last longer-know why? because their owners don't piss and moan when they have to spend a little money to fix them! i can't tell you how many times a dodge ram owner went through the roof because he had to buy front axle u-joints or front wheel bearings- meanwhile the idiot is out all night plowing with it, making $$$$$-and then cries that he shoulda bought a chevy and his truck wouldn't need any repairs at all! WRONG. this is just one example. generally speaking, most new dodge owners that i encountered over the years could barely afford the car they bought, much less fix it when it broke, so they blame it on the car company, don't fix it, and it ends up in the junkyard with 100k on it. this is where the PERCEPTION of quality comes from.
as far as buying american, i don't drive an import. i have a pontiac, a ford, and three mopars. and i love my mopars. HOWEVER, as far as americans not buying american? this is a free enterprise system in which there is competition and only the strong survive. from the corner deli, to wal-mart. competition. ok, i go to bob's deli and buy a sub for 8 bucks. i could go to sub-way and buy the same sub for five bucks, but i don't beacause i've been told i have to support the local economy. but aren't i doing that at subway? the poor slob behind the counter lives locally and spends his money locally too, doesn't he? meanwhile afterwork i see mr. bob out on his friggen boat with a brand new yukon denali as a tow vehicle-am i keeping his buisness open or am i padding his ***?
same goes for the car market. i'm sorry, but it is the unions that have gotten us into this mess-not the consumers. you can't tell me that an unskilled laborer who runs an ELECTRIC WRENCH at an assembly plant in michigan deserves to make 35 to 75 dollars an hour! that is horseshit-thanks UAW! what can this guy do when he loses his job? hopefully something else to pay for his big house, boat, jet ski, sled-whatever.
a co-workers' family member works at a ford plant in michigan making 50 bucks an hour bolting seats into new f150's. since they cut production, he gets to go to work everyday and hang out in a room making his full pay on "stand-by", not actually working-just smoking and watching tv. when he and his buddies found out about possible lay-offs, the began to piss and put human **** under the seat covers as they were assembled. not to mention other areas of the vehicles. now thats PRIDE! just my opinion.
