Last year, not one of the 491,687 new minivans sold in the United States was made in America by unionized workers.
Some were manufactured overseas by companies owned by non-American manufacturers. The Kia Sedona, with 24,047 sales, was built in South Korea, Russia, and the Philippines. The MAZDA5, with 19,155 sales, was built in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Some minivans from Japanese companies were built in the U.S., but by non-unionized workers. Honda sold 107,068 Odysseys built in Alabama. Toyota Siennas, built in Indiana, went to 111,429 persons. The Nissan Quest, built in Ohio, had 12,199 sales.
Only three minivans were built by unionized workers, but they were made in Canada by members of the Canadian Auto Workers. The Dodge Grand Caravan, with 110,996 sales; Chrysler Town & Country, with 94,320 sales; and the VW Routan, with 12,473 sales, all share the same basic body; most differences are cosmetic. GM and Ford no longer produce minivans.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) suggests that members who wish to buy minivans buy one of the three Chrysler products because much of the parts are manufactured in the United States by UAW members.
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So if we avoid Chrysler products, we can further starve the UAW! Cool!
ReplyDeleteThe union members probably don't buy them either - cuz they're more expensive - and prone to breakdowns....
ReplyDeleteWhy would I pay an extra amount that just goes to pay huge salaries to union bosses and overbloated pensions to the workers?
ReplyDeleteI avoid anything that has union attached to it.
Thank you for the heads up. Stay away from Chrysler mini vans!
ReplyDeleteUnions kill companies.
AMEARICN MADE CARS SUCK Allot beter off without american made..get this bought two cars from pohanka in Salisbury..A toyotya Corrolla 05 and Honda Accord V6 04..both american made union junk..the toyoto at 134,000 blows an engine...$2500 and just got the honda out of the shop blown transmission at 120,00 cost me $4200, but i Fixed both of them cause the price of new cars in this economy I 'd rather not have the note...american made sucks..
ReplyDelete.the toyoto at 134,000 blows an engine...$2500 and just got the honda out of the shop blown transmission at 120,00
ReplyDeleteIs it the cars or your driving habits?
11:17
ReplyDeleteYou must work for the dealership. My son had the exact same problem with his honda. After replacing both with after market parts he has had no problem at all. He had it to the dealership several times for a grinding problem.. a KNOWN problem they refused to address in all their dealerships.
12:37 AM
ReplyDeleteNO, I do not work for any dealership. But if one person blows an engine in one vehicle and a tranny in another, it's only natural to question the driver of both vehicles.
They both have high mileage. A shop is only as good as it's mechanics.
According to Consumer Reports, Honda, Subaru, and Toyota are the top three automakers for the third year in a row. Most of their vehicles do well in our tests and are relatively trouble-free.
Honda, including its Acura division, has had the best reliability record of any manufacturer and has made mostly good to outstanding vehicles. The subcompact Fit, midsized Accord, and Acura MDX SUV have been at or near the top of their categories for years. In fact, no Honda product scores less than average in reliability.
And while Honda's may be built here, it is still a Japanese company with the profits sent back to Japan.
Where a vehicle is assembled is irrelevant.
All auto manufacturers have assembly plants all over the world. Honda has assembly plants in North America but it is a Japanese owned company. Profits go to Japan.
Most of the Japanese owned auto manufacturers that have set up plants in the U.S. still import half of their vehicles from the homeland.
These Japanese owned factories employ a comparitivly small amount of people when compared to the amount of people employed by an American owned company.
Excerpt from a recent news article:
"Is it more important to the U.S. economy for someone to buy a Ford Fusion, although it's built in Mexico, from a company that employs 105,000 Americans," Doyle asks, "than a Honda built in Ohio from a company that employs 27,000? Domestic makers also purchase nearly 80 percent of the parts made here, and domestic vehicles average 76 percent U.S. content vs. 48 percent for U.S.-built imports. That represents billions of dollars in spending."
Good luck.