"Import" cars and trucks...

[Flyinbowtie]

Very well said FBT, we must drink from the same well
Could Be
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/1525934.jpg
My Dad had this snapshot in amongst some some stuff I found. He was an old Dry Lakes racer, was at the first meet after the war, we believe he is the guy in the light colored shirt in the middle. Sent the pic to Chrisman with a letter, but never got a response.

[Ziggy]

If the demostics went metric they could get a little more precision in the manufacturing process.
American laborers do not have the same "Attention to Detail" as the Asian and European workers. "Good enough for Government work" doesn't fly overseas. Fit and finish is drastically different. Domestic tolerances are bigger, makes for easier manufacturing and assembly. Take the gap of the hood to the fender on most any domestic mainstream car and it is not equal, then look at the Japanese and Euro cars evenly spaced. Its this type of quality, or lack of, that represents the overall quality of the marque.
As Proud as we are to be American we do not have the same standards as do the "enemies". Most cars will be nice and tight for 40-50k miles but thats where the long term quality really begins to show.
While most Foreign vehicles have evolved and transformed dramatically for the sake of improvement the domestics have basically remained on the same/similar platforms for decades.

[Flyinbowtie]

Agreed, Ziggy.
The "domestics" or what is left of them, have been slow to change, strangled by absurd regulatory shizint, and the metric issue should have been dealt with 30 years ago.
Taking pride in a product means putting a little bit of yourself into it; my Dad's favorite line when I was getting into building cars was "Boy, if it is worth doing once, it is worth doing right. Your name will be forever associated with that machine, remember that."
I did.
I taught it to my sons.
Somewhere along the line, that kind of pride in wok went away. I saw a deal on TV the other night about the new hot rod engine in the Corvettes, hand assembled by one guy who signs a plate on the top of the engine when it is done. That gave me hope for the future.
A global market is going to force these compaines to produce a quality piece, or die. They can't fight the government regs, cheap overseas labor, etc. and get away with an inferior product anymore. The influx of offshore auto compaines in the U.S. building product here proves that our labor force can still do the work, it is the domestic auto corporate culture that needs to change, imho

[Luckie Stiff]

That is a BITCHIN' car! Do you have a higher res pic of it you can email me? I know a lot of greybeards that are sharp as tacks when it comes to old hot rods, they may know some of it's history. On another note, you say Gold Country eh? I'm interviewing in Jamestown next month, could be moving there in a few months! Never been up there, but it sure looks neat from what I've seen.

[Riomouse911]

The frustrating part is I really REALLY WANT to buy American...but the luck I have had outside of the '99 Super Duty is terrible. Case in point, my '91 Toytoa 4WD, 175K on the dials when I sold it.. with the original brake shoes on the rear. I bought a new set, but every time I took it in the mechanics said the ones on it were still good. The new owner got the brake shoes still in the box, and a truck that looked and ran like new. Best truck i've ever had.
My Impala.. Vega (A true rust bucket POS), Suburban, Silverado, Fairmont wagon.. ALL were regulars to the shop for steering, A/C, electrical, fuel pumps, drive lines.. you name it. And it was never right, and I usually had to go back 2-3x to get the thing fixed.
After the Ford SD, which has been a great rig, I got an '04 Scion. Ugly little runt, but it runs like a top, lowered with 215-40-17tires/rims so it handles like it's on rails, parks anywhere, and gets 33 MPG. 45k trouble free miles.
My company car, an 06' Ford 500. THREE (soon to be 4) trips to the dealer in LESS THAN 12k miles. Vacuum issues 2 times (It's now acting up again) and the trunk lid decided to pop open last spring on the only rainy day for months, so everything in the trunk got soaked on the 91 freeway. Needless to say, I was pretty soured.
Despite my lousy luck with American marques I recently spoke to Jay Photoglou a couple of times about a GMC or Chevy 2500 SUV (Yukon XL or Suburban) because we need more room with the kiddos. The wife and I thought long and hard about a GM rig, then we found a sweet deal we couldn't pass up on a Toyota Sequoia, so we got that. (Traded in the '05 Lexus, again zero problems to speak of.) Based on the tales friends and aquaintances have had with theirs, I'm thinking this purchase should be as trouble free as the other foreign cars I've owned.
In closing, YES I want to buy a home-grown product, and YES I want to support fellow Americans. NO I don't want to support every mechanic in town, NO I don't want to have to rent cars again while it's in the shop, and NO I don't want to have little or no faith in the car I'm in getting me home without the help of a tow truck. I've been there several times, not again.

[Baja Big Dog]

I wonder how many "closet" import drivers are out there????

[RT21]

The bigger question is if they are bigoted closet import drivers...

[RT21]

None at all. What effects me effects the entire industry. It will not be made illegal to buy a boat because the market is too big and too many politicians own boats. But if it became difficult, the same difficulty level would extend across the industry, and we are in a better position to comply with almost any regulation than most. I had the same discussion with regard to the smog laws on high performance boat engines. Doesn't effect me. If there is a price increase, it will increase across the industry. If we have to use smaller motors... nobody can make better use of a small motor than we can.
There already is a boat like yours with a smaller motor. It is called a pontoon. Do you think potential customers of yours will spend 150 large and be stuck with a V-6? Face it, if big motors go, so goes the "***boat" industry.
Also, which auto company is at the front of shoving small motors down our throat? Bonus points if you also can guess which US political party is on board with them.

[sangervdrive]

If the demostics went metric they could get a little more precision in the manufacturing process.
American laborers do not have the same "Attention to Detail" as the Asian and European workers. "Good enough for Government work" doesn't fly overseas. Fit and finish is drastically different. Domestic tolerances are bigger, makes for easier manufacturing and assembly. Take the gap of the hood to the fender on most any domestic mainstream car and it is not equal, then look at the Japanese and Euro cars evenly spaced. Its this type of quality, or lack of, that represents the overall quality of the marque.
As Proud as we are to be American we do not have the same standards as do the "enemies". Most cars will be nice and tight for 40-50k miles but thats where the long term quality really begins to show.
While most Foreign vehicles have evolved and transformed dramatically for the sake of improvement the domestics have basically remained on the same/similar platforms for decades.
Good post but I disagree a little bit, I personally think that the importers good quality is due to the Toyota Production System, and not really their line workers vigilance. I don't disagree that as a whole they are a hard working, loyal people but from what I understand they just do what they are told, its the system that makes their cars better. That being said I feel that as more people like me, soon to graduate, trained on lean MFG, Kaizen, Pokayoke, Toyota Production System, and many other techniques that have been in place overseas for decades get into the workforce, things will change.
We can and will produce the best products in the world because I feel that it is our country that has the imagination, the will, and the perseverance to make it happen. Think about it Japan was in isolation until what? the thirties?? most of the knowledge on manufacturing they have they copied off of the domestics, their only advantage over the years is a simple theory, "Continuous Improvement"
Everyone has horror stories of their domestic that was always in the shop and the import that ran forever. Personally I drive a 2000 Chevy Cavalier about 28 very hard mpg (5 speed, with a short shifter ) and it has 170,000, on the clock I bought it for $500 wrecked in the front fixed it for an additional $800. It looks good, has never spitted or sputtered and runs beautifully. Maybe it was the pick of the litter, maybe its just a good car from a good company.? Who knows

[Froggystyle]

There already is a boat like yours with a smaller motor. It is called a pontoon. Do you think potential customers of yours will spend 150 large and be stuck with a V-6?
Well, frankly the largest expense in the entire boat is the engine and drive. Hard costs of the boat minus motor and drive is about $40K. Add even the cheapest motor and it goes up $14K. My price on a 710 Ilmor with a drive is about $70K+. Add steering and it is essentially double the cost of the boat.
Bottom line is, with a V-6, the boat wouldn't be more than $80K.
Face it, if big motors go, so goes the "***boat" industry.
Well, I humbly disagree. It would spell doom for boats with big motors. Would certainly make owning boats that could go faster with smaller power a lot more attractive, wouldn't you think? It won't end ***boating... it will just change it. I will still have a fast boat, I don't know about you...
Also, which auto company is at the front of shoving small motors down our throat? Bonus points if you also can guess which US political party is on board with them.
I dunno... Who?