I drink Sam Adams so I wouldn't care.:p Speaking of which why is it just about every bar in the world doesn't call Sam Adams a domestic beer? Last I checked Boston was still apart of the U.S.
CRAP, I walked into 7-11 and picked up some Budweiser last night.....I really did think of this thread and felt like a blue blooded American when I exited good old 7-11 with my "American made" Budweiser. Guess I was wrong!
Right on... This was a question we had at a local bar on trivia night a few weeks ago... We answered wrong because we "thought" it was an imported beer...
And if you look at their history, I believe it was less than a year after the aquistion they introduced their new beer ---- "American Ale"... I'm guessing to try to "buy back" their loyal followers.
And if we did some research I'm guessing we'd find that a lot (probably most) of the 7-11 franchises aren't American owned... Nor is 7-Eleven, Inc http://www.answers.com/topic/7-eleven
For all you guys screaming " Buy American" I have to ask you one thing. Do you "buy American" everything or just what is visible to your friends and family? I have worked for Toyota (Indiana) and currently Ford (Chicago Assembly). I won't get into the debate over the better built product or how much of it is made in the U.S., but what I will tell you is I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life by leaving Toyota and going to work for Ford. I once woke up happy to go to work. Now I spend every waking minute on Monster.com.
To the original question, I would, but MY WIFE won't! Right now we are in the market to buy her a "new to us" SUV. Her dad had her in the "buy American" mode, until we started looking around. She seen a few non American vehicles she really liked, but when she seen it was a Nissan or Toyota, then never mind. Well, she fell in love with a Nissan Pathfinder, and I said if you willing to buy that, let's check out the Toyota forerunner. About that time every evening news segment was started with another recall or "incident" involving Toyota, so that put the kibosh on Toyota for her. In small town America where we live, this whole recall stuff really made up a lot of minds that were on the fence with them
"Deserving", or not....it's simply the way it is. It's "A" way of weeding through applicants. "A" way. When you were single, did you ever think you might be passing up the greatest lover; best mother; etc....by qualifying your potential suitors via appearance? Do you approve of the practice of requiring physicians in the US to be licensed? Mechanics? GC's? No. It's not (a college degree) the end-all for establishing a person's worth in the workforce. But, it's "A" place to start for MANY. It's simply the way it is.
I have driven nothing but Ford Trucks for the past 20 years. But my next one will be a Tundra. Toyota will get through this issue, and still make a quality truck (or car). But what really got to me was the bail outs and the way that the UAW handled that. When asked, nearly every stakeholder involved in the "Big Three" industry were willing to renegotiate their contracts or work with General Motors and Chrysler. I know, Ford did not take any money, but the UAW is the same greedy group no matter what facility they are at. The unions leaders knew that the gov't was going to help, so they held their ground, without regard to the bigger picture. I will never again buy a vehicle that is manufactured with union labor, and I do like the Ford Trucks. American Made? I hear that all the time, and I used to buy into it. But the reality is that nearly every product, especially anything with multiple components is not "American Made" So would I buy a Toyota, I sure would, and will once I finally graduate.
This is simply not true. I understand that it may look that way to someone in an area heavily dependent on the Auto industry, but it is not. There is a lot that goes into a companies global strategy. And it is most certainly about money. It is about the efficiency of the entire supply chain and the ability of a company to be responsive and produce goods and services and keep a competitive advantage while doing so. Companies have to balance the wants and needs and location of their customers with the other costs, of say transporting parts or material to a distant location to produce a product then shipping that assembled good to the customer. It is not about politics.
I had a lincoln continental that would continue to accelerate every now and then when you hit the cruise/accelerator button. When I mentioned it to a mechanic he flippantly replied "yeah, they do that." :/
I'll tell you exactly why they're built, here....and it is a "little" about politics.....but not the way you're thinking. In the 70's, the US Gov't. put tariffs on imported automobiles that were exhorbitant. This was a direct, unabashed attempt to make the US auto makers more competitive. The japanese auto makers STILL did well. They did so well....that the gov't. made the tarrifs larger. At first, the Japanese auto makers looked for loopholes. For instance, Toyota trucks were doing so well in the early 80's that the gov't. put a higher tarrif on them (v. cars). The Japanes found a loophole in the definition of a "truck". So....they'd ship the bodies into the ports in FL without the beds on them......ship the beds, separately.....and assemble them in port. Pretty smart. But....the US Gov't. thought they were smarter. They started placing higher tarrifs on all vehicles, across the board. So.....what do you think the Japanese auto makers thought of, next? Exactly.
Let me just add this somewhat stretched analogy. You go to a bow shop, there are two unmarked bows to choose from. You shoot both several times. You draw back, let down, etc. Bow A has a great feel to YOU. The draw cycle is just what you like, the bow specs (ATA, BH, DW, Weight, etc) are what you're looking for. Bow B doesn't feel as good to you. It has too low of a BH, or the ATA is too short (or too long) for what you want. Not that it's a BAD bow, it's just not what fits you best. Now, if someone tells you Bow A is made in Japan, and Bow B is made in the U.S. Which one would you choose?
How soon a generation forgets. sad truly sad. To those of you that are bit historically deprived. Those who's families lost nothing, to many this war has no significance. "While the attack ultimately took place before a formal declaration of war by Japan, Admiral Yamamoto originally stipulated the attack should not commence until thirty minutes after Japan had informed the United States peace negotiations were at an end.[45] In this way, the Japanese tried both to uphold the conventions of war as well as achieving surprise. Despite these intentions, the attack had already begun when the 5,000-word notification was delivered. Tokyo transmitted the message (commonly called the "14-Part Message"), in two blocks to the Japanese embassy in Washington, which ultimately took too long transcribing the message to deliver it in time, while U.S. code breakers had already deciphered and translated most of it hours[46] before the Japanese Ambassador was scheduled to deliver it. The final part of the "14-Part Message", is sometimes described as a declaration of war, but in fact "neither declared war nor severed diplomatic relations".[47] The declaration of war was printed in the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition on December 8,[48] and not delivered to the U.S. government until the day after the attack." Hell maybe one day Bin Ladin will build you the truck of your dreams.And cheap too.
I'll tell you what would really happen. Most (not all) of the "Buy American" crowd would instantly change their opinion and state that bow "b" is much better. Now whether they do it subconsciously or on purpose is another story. Human nature is that you will most often believe what you want to believe.
They are by far the "greatest generation" but this is a ridiculous argument. Does that mean I should never buy anything German because Hitler at one time ran it? I get the whole support your neighbor thing. I see no problem with that analogy. However, something that happened in history 65 years ago by a completely different culture is not a reason to choose a brand. This is a global economy..... like it or not. We either need to find a way to compete or be passed by.
My mom got to experience repeated bombings and planes doing strafing runs on civilians during WWII. My aunt was killed as she ran down the street during such a run. My father was a navy seabee in WWII, he lied about his age and enlisted when he was 16. Something that happened sixty years ago doesn't have much bearing on what I buy now. We were all enemies at one point or another.
