There has been much news coverage in recent weeks about the plight of American car makers and the realization that one or all three companies could actually go out of business. Besides the catastrophe that the job losses and the peripheral business losses that this would create, there are other things to consider.
Many people in our country are not fans of American made cars. These people are still of the mindset that these cars are inferior to foreign competitors like Honda and Toyota. However, this mindset could not be more false. Yes, it was true back in the 1980’s when foreign competitors really began gaining a stronghold with cars that were of better quality, but this myth has not been true for several years.
Many people also believe that American car companies should suffer the consequences of not moving forward with cars that are smaller and make better gas mileage. Part of this is true in that American car makers have not moved forward as quickly as their foreign competitors when it comes to smaller, lighter, and more fuel efficient cars but some of the reasons for this lack of ability to move forward are not really being examined by the national news media, and I believe that people should take time to consider many other factors to this complex issue.
The first issue is the fact the American car makers are heavily strained under the burden of providing pensions and health care benefits to retired workers. This has greatly hindered their ability to improve their manufacturing plants and make way for the innovations that need to take place to make these smaller, more fuel efficient, or even hybrid cars. I think most people agree that it is vitally important for retired workers to be able to collect on their pensions and health care benefits. After all, these workers paid in to this system, so the company should uphold its promise to keep the pensions afloat. Foreign car makers do not offer pensions and health care benefits to retired workers. Yes, it is true that they offer reasonable benefits to current workers, but they have no obligation to workers after they have retired from the company.
Second, foreign car makers are at an extreme advantage when they decide to build new plants in our country. Their new manufacturing plants are mainly located in the southeast part of the country in states like Alabama and Mississippi, and these states are more than willing to give the company huge tax incentives to locate there because the state wants the jobs for its citizens. Foreign companies also like this area because wages are much lower in this part of the country, so they can pay much less for workers and therefore have operating costs greatly reduced.
Third, some people will argue that foreign cars are now American made so there is no difference in which cars to buy, but we all need to realize that American car makers buy the bulk of their parts and materials such as steel from American companies which puts billions of dollars back into our economy. Foreign car makers buy the bulk of their parts from their own countries putting money into their own country’s economy, not ours. Also, foreign car makers’ profits all go back to their own countries which do not contribute to our economy. American car makers’ profits remain here thus contributing to our own economy.
These are just some of the reasons all of us should consider supporting American car makers. The next time you are ready to buy a car, please do your research on all cars, not just one particular type and remember that by supporting American car makers, you are supporting the economy in your own country which supports many other businesses, citizens, government programs etc…
On a personal note, I have driven Ford cars my entire adult life and I have never had any kind of serious problem with any of my cars. I have driven two of the Ford cars I have owned for over 200,000 miles and one of them for over 400,000 miles with the original engine, so I know that the quality is exceptional. For anyone that is still suspicious of American cars having inferior quality, I encourage you to do some research to learn the facts about this issue.
