Cash For Clunkers is Over

[rockwood06]

I hear that the CASH FOR CLUNKERS is over. It was reported that the top three vehicles that were turned in as CLUNKERS were
1. Ford Explorer
2. Ford F-150
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee
It is a shame to see American vehicles being replaced by the others. I am a GM person but I do not want to see Ford or Chrysler go away. I don't know what the big deal is about Honda or any of the others, I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand AM that gets 32 miles to the gallon.......

[08flagvlite]

It really seems a shame to me, also. I own 3 Dodges, a Plymouth and 2 Fords, and one Chevy! No foreign stuff here! What REALLY bothers me is some of the so called clunkers that were traded were in reality very nice cars and trucks that still had lots of life left in them. To just ruin the engines and drivetrains like that is a crying shame- then they must be quickly stripped of any remaining good parts, then crushed! SHAME ON AMERICA, I say! Randy

[eandsphotography]

"I don't know what the big deal is about Honda or any of the others, I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand AM that gets 32 miles to the gallon......."

I thought the same thing till i bought a 92 honda civic from a guy i work with. I originally only bought it to go back and forth to work with so i wouldnt put miles on my truck. But i use it for everyday use now also cause you just cant beat the gas milage. I get 34 city and almost 40 highway on a trip i took to atlanta in it a few weeks back. On a car that is 15 years old and has 260,500 miles on it. I used to work for an auto auction and while i wont say that you cant get that out of a ford or chevy or dodge, the exceptions are very few. I used to pick up honda's and toyota's on a regular basis with over 200k miles on them and you could get in them and start them right up and drive them onto the towtruck. Chevy and Ford, almost guaranteed they'd be DOA.
It's a shame to say , and believe me, i'm an american car fan but you just cant kill a honda and toyota like a ford or chevy.

[eandsphotography]

"I don't know what the big deal is about Honda or any of the others, I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand AM that gets 32 miles to the gallon......."

I thought the same thing till i bought a 92 honda civic from a guy i work with. I originally only bought it to go back and forth to work with so i wouldnt put miles on my truck. But i use it for everyday use now also cause you just cant beat the gas milage. I get 34 city and almost 40 highway on a trip i took to atlanta in it a few weeks back. On a car that is 15 years old and has 260,500 miles on it. I used to work for an auto auction and while i wont say that you cant get that out of a ford or chevy or dodge, the exceptions are very few. I used to pick up honda's and toyota's on a regular basis with over 200k miles on them and you could get in them and start them right up and drive them onto the towtruck. Chevy and Ford, almost guaranteed they'd be DOA.
It's a shame to say , and believe me, i'm an american car fan but you just cant kill a honda and toyota like a ford or chevy.

[CTDSandpiper]

I'm just curious what "an american car" is these days. Honda vehicles are made as much in the United States as any of the "Big 3" vehicles are and in a lot of cases more so. This means that they provide JOBS to AMERICANS, not Mexican's and Chinese. Does this mean that Honda is "an american made" car? Or since Honda is a Japanese company that means it is not? Look, we have a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500, an '06 Pontiac Solstice and a '09 Honda CRV plus an old 91 F150, we haven't really had any problems out of any of the three newer vehicles to speak of. I think everyone blows this up into a lot more BS than what it needs to be. Fact is at this point they all make good vehicles that for the most part are extremely reliable, although there are some crappy made cars out there too, for whatever reason the imports seem to hold the resale value a lot better. I think at this point it is mostly perception, the Japanese were making better cars for a while there and everyone jumped on that bandwagon and won't jump off now and it has really hurt the Big 3. All I know is, I live in Ohio and Honda provides me and thousands and thousands of other Ohioans with jobs. I don't work for Honda but we both work for a big Honda supplier and just in our communtiy alone that provides well over 1,000 jobs, it was probably close to 2,000 in this community until the whole economy crunch came along. And those are just the jobs I know about, I'm sure there are many more I don't know about. So again I say, Honda is as much an American Car Company as any of the Big 3 and everyone really needs to get over this buy American stuff.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by rockwood06

I hear that the CASH FOR CLUNKERS is over. It was reported that the top three vehicles that were turned in as CLUNKERS were
1. Ford Explorer
2. Ford F-150
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee
It is a shame to see American vehicles being replaced by the others. I am a GM person but I do not want to see Ford or Chrysler go away. I don't know what the big deal is about Honda or any of the others, I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand AM that gets 32 miles to the gallon.......

I was at the local Ford dealership yesterday, and I saw the line of clunkers that had been traded in. 15 to 20 year old F150s did seem to be the #1 vehicle traded.......but these puppies were apparently well used by the local farmers. And guess what.......there were very few cars (or trucks) left on the lots. I would have to guess that these trucks were traded in on cars that would qualify them for the clunker classification. But maybe then they needed a truck to replace the old 1 traded in, so there is a new truck sale also. Just speculating, but I have never seen the Ford lot so empty.

Since this is a good time to spout, here goes: It burns me to see the Big 3 shipping so much of their car manufacturing to Mexico. When I was looking to buy a new truck in 2006, the Chevy regular cabs were manufactured in Mexico. The 5.7 hemi engine was made in Mexico. I recently saw a deeply discounted Dodge 2500 sitting on the showroom floor.....final assembly in Mexico. My daughter just bought a new Chevy HHS....made in Mexico. My wife's 2004 Honda Accord was manufactured in the good ol' USA in Ohio by America workers. I will refuse as long as possible to buy an "American" car built anywhere other than in the USA or Canada. I made a choice in 1991 to buy a new Honda Accord made in Ohio over a Plymouth Acclaim made in Mexico......I really wanted the Acclaim to support Chrysler, until I saw where it was made. When the Big 3 bring back there jobs here, I honestly believe that people like me that refuse to buy vehicles made anywhere other than the USA (or Canada) will again go back to buying from an American Company.

I will now step off of my soapbox.

[bikeman]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I was at the local Ford dealership yesterday, and I saw the line of clunkers that had been traded in. 15 to 20 year old F150s did seem to be the #1 vehicle traded.......but these puppies were apparently well used by the local farmers. And guess what.......there were very few cars (or trucks) left on the lots. I would have to guess that these trucks were traded in on cars that would qualify them for the clunker classification. But maybe then they needed a truck to replace the old 1 traded in, so there is a new truck sale also. Just speculating, but I have never seen the Ford lot so empty.

Since this is a good time to spout, here goes: It burns me to see the Big 3 shipping so much of their car manufacturing to Mexico. When I was looking to buy a new truck in 2006, the Chevy regular cabs were manufactured in Mexico. The 5.7 hemi engine was made in Mexico. I recently saw a deeply discounted Dodge 2500 sitting on the showroom floor.....final assembly in Mexico. My daughter just bought a new Chevy HHS....made in Mexico. My wife's 2004 Honda Accord was manufactured in the good ol' USA in Ohio by America workers. I will refuse as long as possible to buy an "American" car built anywhere other than in the USA or Canada. I made a choice in 1991 to buy a new Honda Accord made in Ohio over a Plymouth Acclaim made in Mexico......I really wanted the Acclaim to support Chrysler, until I saw where it was made. When the Big 3 bring back there jobs here, I honestly believe that people like me that refuse to buy vehicles made anywhere other than the USA (or Canada) will again go back to buying from an American Company.

I will now step off of my soapbox.

So its OK for canada to make a car but not Mexico?

[rockwood06]

The bottom line is that since Honda as an example came from Japan the profits go back to japan even though they are made in American which helps Japans economy. If the big three makes a car in Mexico then the bottom line profits come back to the U.S. which helps our economy. One of the reasons imported cars are cheaper is because the production lines are in non union states so the cost is not past on to the consumer. I was born and raised in the U.S. and my father has put his life on the line for this country and for what It stands for, as long as I have control over what I can buy I will continue to support the U.S. economy and will not buy a car that was engineered and built by a non American company, so GM, Ford and Chrysler hang in there, I back all three of you..... As far as the car life is concern, if they are taken care of American cars will last, the problem is that Americans get tired of there cars and want something new, but now the economy has taken care of that.

[Palomino_G210]

Please remember that companies pay very little tax and collect a lot of benefits from the government so even if they are American companies you personally benefit very little. It is the workers who pay taxes and if the American worker is unemployed and the Mexicans are employed by an American company it doesn't do you or your community a whole lot of good.

Another point, the more you get paid the more taxes you pay. So then what is so wrong with high priced union labor. They pay their taxes and they spend their money in America buying houses, boats, cars, and other stuff. The Mexicans aren't getting paid enough for that and either way Mexico isn't paying the unemployment benefits for the American worker who's car plant is south of the border. It is the other American workers. So let's forget whether the company is from Japan or Mexico as long as the work is getting done in your home town helping your community keep going.

By the way the cost of union labor in the total price of the car is 10% of the price.

The same goes for us Canadians. We aren't any different from our US friends south of the border. We lose a car plant we lose a community. We lose lots of good paying jobs who spent their money at locally.

It doesn't matter who the boss is as long as the salaries stay at home.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by bikeman

So its OK for canada to make a car but not Mexico?

I was wondering who was going to catch that.

There are several reasons that I don’t discriminate against our northern neighbors, so here goes with my understanding of events over the last 40 years or so:

The Big 3 have a long time relationship with Canada. During the 60s thru early 80s, they were gearing up production at a record pace. They looked to the north, and found an able workforce with available raw materials. They built plants there while they were also opening plants on this side of the border.

Jump to the last 20 years or so. The Big 3 started opening up plants where labor laws, safety, and environmental concerns were lax or nonexistent……Mexico. In the process, they have been closing American plants and many of my fellow American workers have been cast out on the street without a job. I have also seen this locally in several industries, and have friends that were laid-off because of these moves……and I avoid buying those products also.

Another point is if you look at the new car stickers, there is a place that states “For Vehicles in This Carline: U.S./Canadian Content: xx%. It does not mention other countries. So this is another reason that I consider the U.S. and Canadian cars the same.

I have nothing against our Latin American neighbors who live there....and I stress who live there, but that is a whole nuther discussion. I have been to Latin America a number of times, and have never had a problem there…..other than Montezuma’s revenge. My problem stems from our “American” auto manufacturers shipping American jobs out of the country.

Originally Posted by Palomino_G210

Please remember that companies pay very little tax and collect a lot of benefits from the government so even if they are American companies you personally benefit very little. It is the workers who pay taxes and if the American worker is unemployed and the Mexicans are employed by an American company it doesn't do you or your community a whole lot of good.

Another point, the more you get paid the more taxes you pay. So then what is so wrong with high priced union labor. They pay their taxes and they spend their money in America buying houses, boats, cars, and other stuff. The Mexicans aren't getting paid enough for that and either way Mexico isn't paying the unemployment benefits for the American worker who's car plant is south of the border. It is the other American workers. So let's forget whether the company is from Japan or Mexico as long as the work is getting done in your home town helping your community keep going.

By the way the cost of union labor in the total price of the car is 10% of the price.

The same goes for us Canadians. We aren't any different from our US friends south of the border. We lose a car plant we lose a community. We lose lots of good paying jobs who spent their money at locally.

It doesn't matter who the boss is as long as the salaries stay at home.

Amen to all of that Palomino.

I walked down the line at the local Honda dealership this morning. All of the Accords, Civics, CRVs, Odesseys, and Ridgelines that looked at had a final assembly in Alabama, Ohio, or Ontario. The U.S/Canadian content of these vehicles ranged from 65 to 75%. That is impressive to me. The majority of major parts came from the U.S., with several lines having Japanese transmissions. Honda has geared up production in the USA and Canada, and they are doing well in the financial department. I did not check out the Pilots, Fits, or Insights.....I am pretty sure the Insight still comes from Japan.

Back off the soapbox.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by rockwood06

I hear that the CASH FOR CLUNKERS is over. It was reported that the top three vehicles that were turned in as CLUNKERS were
1. Ford Explorer
2. Ford F-150
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee

I took a tour through the local Dodge, Honda, and Subaru dealership this morning. By what I saw, that report seems pretty accurate. F Series, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee, Expeditions, Chevy and Dodge trucks, and a bunch of other vehicles were sitting on the clunker lot......including 2 Land Rovers. 1 work truck still had a nice looking ladder rack on it. I mini-van looked like it might have been sitting under a tree for the last year.....I don't even know how they saw out of the windshield to drive it there. Most of these vehicles looked shot, but a few looked pretty good.

[MtnGuy]

**

[08flagvlite]

No matter how you slice up a tomato, it is STILL a tomato! (or a honda).

[08flagvlite]

No matter how you slice up a tomato, it is STILL a tomato! (or a honda).

[aintgotnun]

We own 4 vehics, '00 Big Red Truck (paid for, 143k+ miles), '02 Saturn (paid for, 185k+ miles), '85 MB 300CD (paid for, 210k+ miles), '02 HD Road King (paid for, 36k+ miles). Notice a trend? Paid for (case ya didn't ). And I ain't got me a clunker one.

Oh yeah and my 5'er is paid fer too.

No thanks uncle sugar. I don't need no dang vehicle payments.

nuff said

[dimurrrw]

I sometimes wonder if the reason for outsourcing to other countries, probably not just Mexico, is so the parent corporation can make a greater profit. Remember, there are people called stockholders, who need to be kept happy! The same, I suspect, is true of the Japanese who are outsourcing to us. Perhaps this is a simplistic view, but the bottom line is always profit. There is this new thing call the "world economy.""