Would you take a Japanese made car over an American mad car of the same make?

[nsl]

Seems some makes have certain models that are made in Japan, and some in America or elsewhere.
Subaru Foresters are made in Japan, yet the Outback is made in the US.
Some Toyota RAV4's are made in Japan, while others are made elsewhere.
Anyway, is there generally a quality difference in say, a Forester and an Outback?
This may be a strange question, but I work in an American factory, and I'll just say that I'm hesitant to buy anything made in the USA.

 

[Hamster65]

A lot of companies do that, it's called outsourcing. The Subaru Outback may be "assembled" in the US but, the parts are still made in Japan and other places.

For example: I used to own a Geo Tracker. While the vehicle was sold by Chevy, Geo was a Japanese company. Mine was assembled in Canada but, had parts in it that had been assembled in Mexico, Japan and other places too.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I used to have a BMW Z3, running gear from Germany, body from South Carolina.
Basis answer to OP question is YES.
Once I had a motor home, Dodge Chassis with a 440.
Had a misfiring, vapor locking situation.
A local family shop in San Antonio who knew how to work on MoPars couldn’t fix it!
And they were extremely frustrated !
Finally one of them screamed in agony ‘I have discovered what’s wrong with your engine!’
What?
It was made in Mexico!

 

[Chuck24]

Proud owner of a 2018 Toyota Tundra made in Texas

 

[Jim1392]

When I retired I got a job at a local BMW dealership in the Service Department. My job was transporting cars, moving cars, and working with the technicians in the shop driving cars after they worked on them. Long story short the X5 was made in South Carolina not Germany. Well you can guess where I'm going the car that was in the shop with the most problems of all of the whole BMW line was the X5's. So no I wouldn't I buy a German car made in the USA.

 

[kenjen]

only 20% of the parts of a USA made car are actually made in the US anyway. SO SAD..... My chevy pick-up was built by Canadians and my Honda was built in Indiana,

 

[Absalom]

For most complex modern products, the whole concept of being “made in ... “ one country or another has been moot for some decades.

Production has become so standardized, automated, and computerized that it is largely a matter of logistics, not production, where a corporation puts a plant.

And the quality of the product is always a matter of the company’s training philosophy and QC, not whether the guy pushing the buttons or assembling a part is American, Mexican, or Chinese.

SUV’s sell best in the American market, so Mercedes builds its GLE in Alabama, not Germany. They have their own training center to make sure things happen their way. Toyota likely does too; I suspect Toyota might have more employees abroad than in Japan.

 

[BearBio]

I have had both and would take the Japanese made version over anything made by an American union.

 

[kwselke]

Yes, but I'd only put domestically produced petroleum products in it. No cheap imported oil allowed.

 

[Robspeire]

I have had both and would take the Japanese made version over anything made by an American union.

Without unions, we would still be working 12 hour days, seven days a week, with no paid holidays, no paid vacations, no pay raises. The youngest of children would be toiling away in unsafe factories alongside their parents. The power of unions changed all of these. And in that, unions — along with a reasonable system of regulations — can be that brake we need on unfettered capitalism.

Proud retired Union member UBCJ. Collecting a Union Pension
UBCJ = United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners

 

[Nevada Ed]

only if the car had an AMERICAN.....................

air bag!!

 

[Old TexMex]

Own Japanese, and Dodge Ram (USA) and a Government Motors Chevy. I prefer a car that was made between Tuesday and Thursday.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

The same parts made who knows where and the same robots putting it together end up with pretty much the same car. I would always buy a U.S. made product if I knew what that was and that it really existed.

 

[vt_shooter]

Japanese vs. American built - that argument will be moot when our country gets flooded with Chinese made cars. That day will come, I'm afraid.

 

[wood714]

Proud owner of a 2018 Toyota Tundra made in Texas

Proud owner of a 2018 Toyota Tacoma, also made in Texas!

 

[Rustyt1953]

We have a 2nd gen 2011 Honda Fit made by Suzuka in Japan.

I wish I ran as well as it does.

 

[Rastoff]

I've learned that it doesn't matter where it's made. It matters how it's made.

The Japanese have embraced continuous improvement. They understand that nothing is ever perfect and everything can always be better. The US automakers have not adopted that concept.

What this means to me is I think the Japanese automakers, even when made in the US, have a better production philosophy. Therefore, they have a better end product.

US manufacturers are getting better, but are slow on the uptake. For example, Ford wanted to build a new plant, but wanted to incorporate Lean practices in their production line. The UAW fought them over implementing these processes. So, Ford built the plan in South America.

 

[prairieviper]

I buy as American as I can when it comes to cars, trucks, tractors and firearms.

 

[hoosierone]

My last new American car was a '93 Chrysler Concord. After replacing the transmission twice I traded it off before the warranty ran out at 70K. The car was comfortable and handled great, but the many ills I had with it soured me on Chrysler forever. Next was a '97 Cadillac. The Northstar engine quit at 103K. Since then I've been a Honda and Mazda fan.

 

[double-dipper]

I'm still driving an 2003 Ford truck that was assembled in the USA, but the parts all came from south of the border.