U.S. automakers still employ way more Americans than imports
While more and more import brands have opened up producton facilities in the U.S., a study performed by The Level Field Institute, a domestic industry promotion group (that's an important point, right there), found that domestic automakers (which includes General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group) support 2.5 more jobs for each vehicle they build in the U.S. than their import competitors. The study projects the number of jobs both groups will support in 2007, which include both blue- and white-collar jobs, and while domestic automakers will likely shed around 42,750 jobs this year, they will still be responsible for the paychecks of 378,250 workers. While import brands will add around 3,000 jobs to their payrolls in 2007, in total they will only be supporting 106,000 workers. One of the main reasons for this disparity is that while more and more import brands are building their vehicles in the U.S., much if not all of the development work takes place in their lands of origin.
The Level Field Institute is an orginization founded by retirees of GM, Ford and Chrysler and their suppliers. While one may question the report's outcome based on LFI's apparent loyalties, the group is open about its methadology and sources, which they reveal in detail here. You can check out the report in full by viewing the PDF file.
Thanks for the tip, Don!
[Source: The Level Field Institute via the Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Mark 8:13PM (1/18/2007)
Well thats great that means that they are more looked over for attention to detail and i believe that 100 percent because i just purchased a 07 Mercury Milan and it is by far the best car quality ride and everything else as well that i have ever owned and i traded a 99 Accord on the Milan smart choice the Mercury is much better .. Now i am not downing the imports because i got over 122,000 miles on my 99 Accord but the Mercury is much more better to me and i feel better knowing i am driving an AMERICAN automobile
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SOhp101 8:36PM (1/18/2007)
Funny thing about this is that all the domestic companies are scrambling to downsize so that they can become/remain profitable while the 'import' companies are all trying to open more factories and hire more people.
Just because a company employs a lot of people doesn't mean it's a good company. Just like the author said, the report is questionable in the first place since it's created by people who are obviously pro-domestic.
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Ryan34 8:39PM (1/18/2007)
#1
if you are not bullshitting and really did purchase a Mercury Milan, please open you drivers side door.
Your car is made in Mexico. Your car was designed using japanese technology from mazda.
Your 99 Accord was made in Ohio. It was desinged in California.
Take care!
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Jayson 8:41PM (1/18/2007)
LMAO at number 3.
You forgot to mention all HEMIs come from Mexico as well. Including the RAM pickups. I want to support my country therefore I would only buy an F-150 or Tundra.
The other two trucks draw very heavily from Mexico.
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Mark 8:42PM (1/18/2007)
I am not bullshiting you i really did purchase a Mercury Milan ...
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Tim UF 8:42PM (1/18/2007)
Yeah, how much inventory do the big 2.5 have sitting on back lots?
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mark 8:44PM (1/18/2007)
Who cares if your vehicle purchase supports workers in the United States or some other country? Do you buy your DVD player, TV, laptop, wine, clothes, etc. etc. based on their American content/jobs in America they support?
I don't mean to sound callous or discount supporting the American economy, but using 'country of origin' as the single most important purchase decision seems arbitrary, limiting, and most likely hypocritical.
(BTW, your Milan was assembled in Hermosillo, Mexico, so you in addition to supporting America, you also supported the Mexican economy with your purchase, if that makes you feel any better than supporting Honda & Japan).
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Geroge1980 8:54PM (1/18/2007)
#1
your comment was fine till the end. It was still fine even after i finished reading it. Then I saw that you CAPITALIZED the AMERICAN part. That got me laughing as you sincerely dont know what you are talking about.
your Mercury Milan, AKA, Lincoln Zephyr, AKA, Ford Fusion, AKA, Mazda 6 is not very AMERICAN.
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Mark 8:47PM (1/18/2007)
I know my Mercury Milan was made in Mexico i dont know if its going to make any sense to you but i just feel better knowing my car has AMERICAN Engeneering and Design and has the Waterfall Mercury Logo rather than a Japanese Engeneered One with a Toyota T or a Honda H.
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Craig N Cote 7:44PM (1/19/2007)
Hey Ryan34. So great to see someone who knows what's going on out there. You've heard Chevy as described as "An American Revolution"? It's absolutely the biggest lie and when I've called two different sales managers to question them they either have hung up or would not comment. Emailed GM, no response! If they included Chrysler's numbers as being American, since they are German owned they should have gone with the imports! Those Consumer Identification Tags should be a PERMANENT fixture on every "American" car, displayed in an obvious spot, then "Buy American" customers could always tell how scammed they are.
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Jimborino 8:49PM (1/18/2007)
#1 Not only is the source biased
#2 Well DUHHHHH, that is why they are called DOMESTIC, no one will accuse GM of being the biggest carmaker in the world but not employ more people and have more plants in JAPAN.
This is GM and Ford turf, they have to employ more than anyone, Apple is based in USA, Creative Technology another MP3 maker is based in Singapore.........They hire more people in Singapore, Apple hires more in USA.....both employ more people on HOME TURF.
No one says that GM and Ford do not employ Americans, the reason people attack them is because they are doing what they have been doing for last 30+ years and something they refuse to change...poor MPG, poor quality, cheap inside.
Someone will come in and point out that 88K Accord recall Honda did today. Yes, Honda makes recalls, but all of you who support domestics so much need to ask yourselves why over the last 30 years domestics have been losing the market? Are all people who buy Japanese cars hate America, dumb, don't understand cars?
No, the answer is simple, last 30 years thought them not to buy Gm and Fords cars. People say Fusion gets great reviews from Consumer Report**, yet it does. But as of last week Ford started selling Fusion with heavy discounts. Is Fusion a good car? Yes. But you can not undo 30 years of crap with one car.
Also many say well Domestics are now making better cars, that is not the case, they still do not understand the market, Prius has been out since 1997, we are in 2007 GM still has no answer to Prius. Everyone is getting ready for a DIESEL war, last week Ford came out and said that they will not bring diesel to US as they said they will.
Now if in 3 years everyone will not even look on Ford because they do not have a diesel, who's fault will it be?
**Consumer Report, the funny thing is that people who keep saying that CR gave Fusion that award hate CR and call it a Japanese biased magazine.
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Dave 8:57PM (1/18/2007)
Mercury Milan is not engineered in the US
camry and Accord are completely American. Those cars are not sold anywhere else the way they look here. European accord is different.
Milan and Fusion have very little to do with US of A.
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bernie 10:01PM (1/18/2007)
Toyota, Nissan and Honda all have large design centers in California. Those three and Hyundai have large engineering operations in Michigan that regularly hire laid off Big three talent.
The Detroit 3 are failing because they hire TOO MANY workers and sell TOO FEW cars. The transplants are leaner, more flexible and, because they're non-union - BETTER. Level Field my ass. What a charade.
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dakota 9:09PM (1/18/2007)
And here comes Craig touting his where it's assembled crap. If Craig actually had a BRAIN it actually does say where it's assembled right on the window sticker, so much of a SCAM isn't it?
Not all Dodge Ram's are assembled in Mexico, do some homework on Warren MI, and St. Louis.
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Mark 9:11PM (1/18/2007)
I am going to give you the main reason why dislike Honda and Toyota be cause there to damn arrogant if Honda wins an award everyone flocks to that model if Toyota wins an award everyone flocks to that model and Toyota had the balls to say this beffer it even happened that oh well were going to pass Ford and G.M. in sales this year i think its ridiculous ... And in my opinion the media runs the auto market and i think its really SAD that the American people would just let Ford G.M. And Chrysler go down the drain and let a Japanese Automaker be #1 this is AMERICA people wake up and support your American Automakers dont let them just die like Oldsmobile and Plymouth did ...
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Mark 9:10PM (1/18/2007)
I'm glad the traditional manufacturers are still a major source of employment in this country, truly, but by stating that they employ 2.5 more jobs per vehicle built aren't we acknowledging that they are simply less efficient in their manufacturing operations? And that they sell far fewer vehicles per dealership than the imports? Didn't Ford acknowledge last year that they have far more dealers than they need?
In short, this kind of strikes me as a celebration of their relative inefficiency.
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mark 9:22PM (1/18/2007)
...and Peugeot, and Renault, and Rover, and Opel, and Fiat, and Edsel, and Packard, and Hudson, and Daihatsu, and... automakers that somehow failed to capture American's interest. It's a matter of business & purchasing trends, not a American vs. import issue.
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artie43 10:31PM (1/18/2007)
I hope some of you guys will start to post to the Motor Trend general forum. Since Autoweek closed their Comubstin Chamber forum because of supposed criticism from the Detroit 2.5, Motor Trend Forum is the new battleground. It seems to be loaded with Detroit shills. THe posters quote all kinds of data that I am not familiar with. Your arguments here are very persuasive and well grounded. THis flag waving nationalism gets rather tiresome, particularly when the flag wavers seem to be paid shills of the Detroit 2.5.
HOpe to see you there.
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whofan 9:46PM (1/18/2007)
I love the comment containing electronics. You can`t buy an American tv, vcr/dvd radio or much of anything else. You can still buy an American car. Sorry Toyota and Honda are not American cars. They may be assembled here but thats it.
" While import brands will add around 3,000 jobs to their payrolls in 2007, in total they will only be supporting 106,000 workers. One of the main reasons for this disparity is that while more and more import brands are building their vehicles in the U.S., much if not all of the development work takes place in their lands of origin."
Can you people read?
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Rastus 10:10PM (1/18/2007)
What a stupid flippin' article. Of COURSE they employ more. But that's the academically-challenged point of view.
Let's look at the first derivative (Anyone take Calculus out there???): What is the RATE OF CHANGE of the domestics vs. the imports????
Isaac Newton would say: The domestics are dropping more domestic workers while the Asians are gaining!!! The slop of the curve for the domestics is DOWNWARD, whilst that of the Asians is UPWARD!!!!
Snapshot vs. a Dynamic System. Simplistic vs. something with a little more brainpower behind it.
You simpletons go ahead and cheer (your loss of jobs)!!!!
Losers of the UTMOST magnitude. Can't wait for GM to report their $5M Earnings, while Toyota .....
FOOL!!!
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