excel_xb

what reason is that?

eight08customs

LOL and thats why im a mechanic not not someone that types for a living. to much out sourcing going on in the USA.. for cheap labor in which the poor willl work for less.

HuskerChub

As long as they keep the quality up I would rather buy a US built car. It's just seems that if you put 2 cars side by side, 1 US built and 1 Japanese built the Japanese built car is higher in quality . It's a shame for the American worker.

ScionEyes

OK!
Now that we are all split over Japan Built or American Built..
Can you really tell where it is built at Not given a VIN number to reference it!>????

No you would not!

All the parts have english and japanees writen on them.. so whats the difference>?

there isn't one!

But one thing we have to remember~ TOYOTA is as JAPANESE Company Corprately Incorporated in Japan! We in the USA are just little distributors ie L.A.'s, SET's, GST's, CHI's, CIN's, N.Y.'s to name a few..

Just a note to make you think...

samshaft

Its a mistake to build in america, i guarantee you the sticker price will be higher and question whether quality will be the same.

jamesgang

Heard a "MotorTrend" radio cast yesterday. One of the features dealt with Mitsubishi, their new truck, and their general marketing strategy. They are going full force to make sure the US buyer understands they are the oldest Japanese auto manufacturer. Apparently they've discovered JDM sells.

ballinbox

when the car falls apart after 80, 000 miles then you know that it was built in the U.S

excel_xb

^what nonsense.

EnronCFO

If you understood anything about marginal productivity, you'd know why it makes sense to build Scions in Japan. You've seen how labor unions have destroyed GM and lack of quality and innovation have moved Ford into junk status. It won't be long before the UAW turns it's attention to a profitable company, mainly Toyota or Honda.

Also, I might take you seriously if you learned how to spell.

bB384

Look at the glass, if it says Nippon Safety on the glass it's made in Japan, I think US made cars says PPG or something similar to that. Also Toyota and other Japanese manufacturers like to ship their cars over seas without the bumpers, so if they don't match they're Japanese made. And heres the kicker, after 50,000 Miles, if the car puts the same if not more power to the wheels on the dyno as the day you bought it, it MUST be Japanese made!

jamesgang

Really? That should become part of regularly scheduled, government mandated, testing

bB384

How crazy but true is this. The Honda NSX (Acura NSX in the US) is known to to have a higher power output as it gets older. (More miles = More power) That's most likely why Honda's and toyotas always have high miles and always stay on the road. I own a 1981 Toyota Corolla which has about 450,000 miles on it, its never been rebuilt, on stock suspension and still runs like a champ, the suspension is scary as hell tho, all it ever got was regular tune ups. My Scion got about 50,000 miles on it and it puts out more power bone stock than other Scions that got dynoed at my school. And my sisters Saturn SL1 has about 100,000 miles on it and its already falling apart, and the tranny is about to take a ____ on her.

wibblywobbly

I don't want some fat, lazy American building my car on Monday when he is hungover from watching football.

Toyota keeps their best robotics and production equipment in Japan and out of the US factories because they are afraid of corporate espionage.

The Subaru's built in those factories weren't as well made as the ones made in Japan (look at the Baja), why would the Toyota's be different?

roketsciontist

I am confused by all of the comments of American Assemblers "destroying the quality of the car".
American cars made in america during the eighties were of low quality BY DESIGN. It is engineering and management decisions that can take quality out of a vehicle system.

Let us compare some of my experiences with American MFG plants...1 ford assy in Chicago area, 1 toy assy in Indiana and 1 sub assy in Indiana.
1.) The majority of assembly workers were middle aged caucasion males at all 3 plants
2.) The Toyota plant had 2 rework bays at the end of an assembly line, the subaru plant had 3 rework bays at the end of an assembly line, and the ford plant had 12+rework bays and a large holding area inside the plant.
3.) Toyota focuses on designing parts so that the largest tolerences can be used at interaction locations, Subaru creates tolerence specifications on parts that push the limit of accepted manufacturing standards, and Ford hires lots of inexperienced and contract "engineers" to try to fix the problems after the fact!!!
4.) Toyota has a problem: they ask me to be there within 24 hours, and I meet with a representative from Manufacturing, Engineering and Management to help solve the problem. Subaru has a problem: they send an engineer to my facility within 24 hours to help solve the problem. Ford has a problem: they demand that I arrive at their plant immediately...and then I wait for about an hour before anyone can meet with me (fortunately we pay a former Ford employee a large salary to be our 'Plant Liason' so that he can escort us around and we can look into the cause of the problem on our own unencombered)...then I have to attend several different meetings with lots of different engineers and managers with large gaps inbetween meetings...then I am escorted by a gaggle of engineers to where the problem is occuring with my parts in their assembly process...I am surrounded by at least eight engineers at any given time and I watch the entire line shut down due to a robot malfunction...not ONE engineer near me knows anything about programming said robot...I step in and fix the problem with robot, engineers stare in amazement at me...one of the many managers that yelled and berated me earlier in one of several meetings calls an engineer on cell phone to ask if I have figured out what the problem is...I have meeting explaining that one issue of problem is Ford dictating our supplier who uses up all tolerence allowed for the assembly we make...we offer alternate supplier who can make better parts at half the price and Ford management declines saying it is MY PROBLEM, NOT THEIRS...I counteroffer about changing sheet metal and offer to pay all engineering costs involved and they say NO...in the end I am forced into handshake with another Ford supplier (to be unnamed seal company) who will get paid lots of money to alter their product to patch up the large tolerence in mine due to forced crappy Ford supplier chain.
5.) Toyota problem solved in 24 hours with cost savings, subaru problem solved in 48 hours without any increase to cost, ford problem compromised on and requires constant renogiation and costs skyrocket over the next two weeks.

R2D2

"Made in Japan"
Vs.
"Made in America"
Just the idea of having a Toyota made in Japan says it'll easily last 10+ years. On the other hand, American made... you'd be lucky if it "survives" 10 years without any major problems/recalls.
I share the same opinions that others have shared (in previous posts) when it comes to the reliability factor of a Japanese made vehicles. Autos made by Japanese manufacturers in America just don't have the credibility that "Made in Japan" has.
Tons of Japanese automakers are starting to seriously compete with the big doggs (Toyota & Honda) of the industry (primarily Nissan and Mitsu) with their styling already up to par.. ...
The best thing Toyota has going is their QUALITY of Reliability and to dilute any aspect of that would drastically change the peoples perception of Toyota.
Question for you ~ Toyota: Do you want to Lead or do u want to follow? Will you be defining the standards or will u simply comply to them? Are vehicles going to be made to exceed expectations or simply meet them?
The Ball is in your court Toyota.

EnronCFO

Great article in the Wall St. Journal today about Delphi and GM. GM's average laborer is paid on a total compensation basis (health insurance, pension and wage) $65/hour. In order for GM to stay afloat, that's going to have be cut to $20/hour total. Now tell me again how labor is cheaper in the US?

bear454

I'm with roketsciontist... it's not where it's made but how. Toyota philosophy & culture won't allow a crappy product.

So make it here, make it there, as long as the price stays right and the style stays cool, I really don't care.

Amnesiac_06

As a manufacturing engineering major, I am really appreciating the frankness and honesty of the views expressed on this thread. If this isn't lighting a fire up under American manufacturers' @$$es, I don't know what will.

I've owned my Scion for a little over a month now, and let me tell you: American auto manufacturers will have to try very, very hard to get me to buy American again.

In engineering schools right now, students are being taught quality engineering principles and techniques that have been around since the 1950s. This isn't new stuff, but what is troubling is that the Japanese learned these principles quickly and in 20 years they've become a threat to the American auto industry. Only now are the Americans catching on, and so are our engineering students.

The problem therefore is that of a cultural difference between American and Japanese industries. Americans, for the most part, are very hard-working, but are bogged down by management. The workers then form unions, but it ultimately becomes a detriment to the company.

In a Japanese firm, however, all workers have a stake, or a say, in the direction of the company. There is no visible division between management and the assembly line, and the emphasis of automotive design is to put your priorities on the design of the product. If the design is a success, manufacturing will be cheaper and your end product will have high quality and reliability.

As long as American corporations continue to hold down workers and unions keep firing back with threats, we will never produce a single automobile that will rival a Japanese one in terms of long-term quality and reliability.

wibblywobbly

The differences between Japanese (group centered) and American (individual first) culture play a part in the success of the Japanese auto industry, but don't forget that the Japanese government helps them out a lot more than our government does, not only tax breaks and typical government incentives, but by manipulating the yen.

Rocketsciontist is on point also....the corporate culture at GM and Ford is just broken beyond repair.

I would rather have a car made in Japan because I don't trust my fellow Americans. Look at the incomptence you encouter every day - on the road, at the supermarket, at work, on TV, in the news......we're a lazy socitey and it shows in our products. We have no pride.

Sciond

The US Auto company's and its suppliers need to change their culture and apply Six Sigma..... it has to be a grass roots movement..Toyota uses these process's