I haven't heard anyone complain about their toyotas, but they're still just a heavy half ton. As far as buying american, I think if somebody local makes what you want you should give them the first shot, but this country was founded on the principles of capitalism. Remember the market determines what sells, nobody worried about that when our stuff was hands down better but competition is pretty stiff these days. All that said out of my 4 personal vehicles only 1 is foreign, and it's not my truck

Unbiased? My ass. You got some lemons in the past that have very clearly biased you. Same as someone who got a sludge Toyota engine or busted Tacoma (actually, Toyota owners are told their cars are infallible, so they write off issues as no big deal).

That article on "most American" is total ****, and I think I've taken you specifically through it before. Tier 1 buy is all that is measured, so if a part has 90% foreign content shipped into a nearby US plant (owned by foreign supplier) and slapped together it shows as 100% US part content. That study ignores employment, development, profit, or anything that matters. Volume x % "American content" is about as shallow and asshatted attempt to get a specific result as possible, showing how "American" foreign junk is to rationalize buying it. If it's better, just buy it and quit wrapping it in the American flag. Hell, a Porsche is awesome, buy one, is that better for the US too?

There are few on here who actually understand the history of the auto industry. Here are some cliff notes for the uninformed such as yourself:

Trade manipulation - 30% price advantage due to yen at 130 to the $. Today when it's at 90 the Japanese ***** "neutral" is 100 to the $, never heard them complain when it was way over! So the domestics had to cut content and costs significantly to compete w/ foreign imports who's government enabled dumping through currency manipulation. Might explain the cars of the 80's/90's no?

Closed market - Japan has both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers that keep all foreigners out, without a partner that can suck their intellectual property dry anyways (sound familiar.....China). Therefore you develop a car, sell it at a high price in non-competitive home market to cover all development costs and then dump overseas to put the local folks out of business. You may remember RCA and the rest of the US electronics industry right? Read up: http://www.uwsa.com/issues/trade/japanyes.html and then keep claiming "free market", my ass.

Retiree's - prior to the glory that is "global trade" the Big 3 employed hundreds of thousands of people. They made good money, built the middle class, and retired comfortably. As technology shrunk the world and global competitors reverse engineered enough American auto innovation they could now come sell here. As we openly allow foreign competitors to do so, obviously you won't maintain 100% market share as there is an "ass for every seat". Therefore, a company that once had 60% market share shrinks to 20% or so, but still has 400k retirees from the past. Oh, and now you have to compete against people with a massive currency advantage, no health care costs, no retiree costs, and a gov't subsidizing everything they can so they can dominate the world.

CAFE - the gov't decided to curb gas rather than tax it, which actually reduces use, they'd just limit what you can build. But because gas is cheap there is no reason to get a fuel sipper through most of the history of the US. So the gov't says build little econo cars, but people want to buy the big powerful cars/trucks. This direct intervention on supply/demand kills profitability. It also gives a huge advantage right out of the gate to companies coming from a market where gas is 3x more expensive, and people WANT fuel sippers.

So in the end, you have a gov't that has opened up the market to everyone, despite the competing countries doing the exact opposite, while making asinine and ineffective laws to curb fuel consumption. The WalMart fueled American is too short sighted, lazy, or ignorant to be bothered with any of this and want the cheapest **** they can get, long term be damned. Therefore they gladly lap up the propaganda bull **** coming from foreign companies here to pillage all the profit they can make and send it back home and go around on the internet claiming "Big 3 cars are all built in Mx and foreign cars all built here" which is far from true (per the actual links and data I have already provided). Why be bothered with caring about the long term success of the US, who needs jobs!

Globalization = equilibrium in the long term. This means we won't be happy until our standard of living has dropped while everyone else's has risen. Just think, you're great-great grandchildren won't see commercials begging to help 3rd world kids, they'll be living the same!

You have friends that can get you a plant tour, do it. You've heard too many stories/rumors and haven't seen enough first hand.

There is some corruption and bull****, but it is not the norm. I think they are overpaid, but I'd rather Americans get overpaid and put it back in the system here than pay the same (which you do, there is no cheaper labor discount on a transplant) and just send that money overseas as profit.

Also, every single OEM uses unions in their home country, and each of them is more militant and overpaid than even the UAW. They just come here and treat us as low cost labor while ignorant Americans cheer them on. TL;DR They overpay at home, underpay here. Yep, sounds like they're here to help.

+1

Just a heads up, the insurance companies do get out of claims when some one is towing over their rating and also towing out of class. So your truck is rated at 11,700? What does your boat weigh? About 9k, trailer if it's aluminum it's about 2500k, steel would be around 4000k. You're pretty much over right there. Then if I remember correctly you have to also take in the tongue weight, which is usually about 10 percent, that definitely puts you over 11,700 and all of this is assuming that your fuel tanks are empty and that there are no tools or gear on board. What's your fuel capacity? Around 200 gallons? That's about another 1400k pounds. Then to top it off, a lot of states, especially my screwed up state of California, if you tow over 10500k you need a non commercial class A endorsement. Not sure if you tow in states that require it, or if you have one, but if you get caught here the fines are huge and you have to park the trailer until you get someone with the proper license to tow it for you. So I don't see where you're even close to being safe and legal, probably not even with a 3/4 ton. Be careful.

I always find these flag waving posts entertaining. I especially like the part about "Japanese company profits going back to Japan." OK, that's a fair statement. Anybody want to guess where a significant portion of GM, Ford and Chrysler profits come from? That would be overseas. Nothing wrong with that now is there? Just a bit of a double standard here.

BTW, I own a Ford truck and two Toyota cars. I've owned Fords and Toyotas for 30 years. The Toyotas have been hands down more reliable.

Oh, and one more thing. One of the great things I love about this country is our freedoms. One of those freedoms is the right to buy anything we want. Once somebody has the right to tell us what to buy, watch out.

And we also have the right to free speech. So I might not agree with some of the posts here, but I’ll defend to the death your right to express your opinions – tactfully of course. And like folks telling us what to buy, once you take away our right to free speech, really watch out.

Yes...he's focused on the towing capacity I believe. What's going to really matter is the GVWR. Add in all the stuff you mentioned and he'd probably be close or over.

You're going to honestly say that a line worker should make as much as a degreed engineer? Here is a prime example of the corruption that was job bank...family friends of mine have worked for GM their entire careers at GM the wife is a senior engineer, w/ a Mech Eng PHD from MSU, in the Cadi division and the husband is a maintance worker just a high school grad. When Fisher Body was closed he was part of a skelton crew assigned to the facotry until it was torn down, and he used to brag that he was making more money per year than his wife and he didnt even have to go into work, and when he did go into work they would play poker and drink. There is no justification that can be provided where that makes moral and fiscal sense, dipchits like him are what ruined GM.

WTF qualifies you to say that ?
My UAW journeymans card sits in a frame above my Engineering Degree because it was a harder road and I worked with a bunch of good men. I was in the trades for 11 years.
My wife has two masters degrees and was a special education teacher and later consultant.
You're full of crap !
ed

I worded that carefully for a reason. I have never been a UAW, never been to an automotive factory and never met a UAW member. I understand why the UAW labor contracts were written the way they were, poor design = poor sales = less labor needed to produce less than projected quantity. But...I feel that people shouldnt be paid to sit at home.
I do have family members that are teachers and, well, dont really respect their opinions on what the government should control, what rights parents have, the constant entitlement attitude etc. One of my coolest uncles is a teacher and car guy. He HATES everything made in the US but doesnt understand how many hours I put in each week and the responsibility my position at work demands.