Quality difference between Mexico and USA

85k miles on mine. Made in Mexico. No issues just a bad serpentine pulley they installed from factory. Replaced at 700 miles. It would squeak at all times.

 

I've had 3 vehicles with a 'J' as the first character in the VIN and one with a '5' as the first character. Of the four vehicles (all by Toyota) the one with the '5' was the one that gave me a problem in year 3 of driving it - bad welds which allowed water to seep inside the cabin and cause the driver side carpeting to get/smell mildewy. I wasn't the only one to have that problem from what I learned.

Does it matter where Toyota produces it's vehicles? Maybe yes, maybe no.

 

That all sounds good in your head, it just simply isn't the case. It was all give and take on quality including the imports. All manufacturers were going through trying times in the 70's and 80's.. Jap 4 bangers got popular due to gas prices.

Ps. You forgot Fords bailout

 

Greed is part of it but not the whole story, a lot of U.S. based corporations choose to go overseas due to a anti-manufacturing climate here at home (environmental regulations, etc.). The other part is the fact that some people want to own an overpriced pickup truck that's built by people making $1.60 an hour (I think your dollar amount is low, but whatever) instead of the same pickup substantially more if it was built by someone making $50.00 an hour.

 

Chrysler and GM faced the loss of a million jobs and bankruptcy without the bailout money.

Chrysler entered bankruptcy on April 3, 2009.
GM entered bankruptcy June 1, 2009.

Under TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) the Treasury department both lent money and bought stock in Chrysler and GM.

Ford didn’t need the funds as it had already cut costs and wasn’t facing bankruptcy, but it take a loan, which it later paid off.

Tesla also took a loan at the time, which it promptly repaid early.

 

Ford not only took a loan they didn't pay back, they also worked out a deal with the government to save face over eco-friendly vehicles. They were on the same path as GM and Chrysler.

 

What about Mexican vs American made? Is there a Canadian belief of a quality difference or preference?

 

Who cares what Canadians think.

 

I do. That's why I asked.

 

You’re wrong, check your facts. They are loaded into the spare tires...now I know why the DMV registered my truck a couple hundred lbs more than it actually states hahah...seriously, they didn’t go by the gross vehicle weight, rather with the “shipping weight” which was almost 200lbs more! I kept my mouth shut, will search my taco later for the extra “accessories” haha!

 

Most ppl in my circle would probably assume Mexican made was of lower quality for one reason or another. We know that large corporations go to these places for one reason - to save money. I honestly don't know what the average Mexican worker thinks about his job, the product, or if he has any pride in it. If he's getting shit wages and knows it, well there you go. How could he really be motivated. I'm certainly not basing my thoughts on race BTW. On the other side of the coin, just because unionized workers in some other plant working for one of the big three are paid more does not necessarily mean the product will be any better.
I work with plenty of unionized guys who are, to put it bluntly, entitled, lazy and generally miserable to be around. Everything is either not their job or a big inconvenience it seems. Sigh, but that's a rant for another day lol.

 

The following is a list of automobiles considered the worst. They are judged by poor critical reception, poor customer reception, safety defects, and/or poor workmanship.

Toyota 0,Nissan 0, Subaru 1 from 1968-1970 and Ford 3.

GM and Chrysler had the most on the list with GM at #1 and Chrysler at #2 for the most worst cars ever made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobiles_considered_the_worstT

 

Let's get back to the topic.

So, I've been seeing a lot manufactured in Texas or Mexico. Mine was manufactured in Baja California. 26k and drives like a dream. Absolute cream puff. Anyone els3 have one from Cali?

 

Mexico... I'll look at a map next time

 

I was at a class in Maryland last week. A Texan asked a local what there was to do over the weekend. The local said "you could go to Gettysburg. Maybe Harper's Ferry."

No shit, the Texan said "where's it go?"

"Where's what go?"

"The ferry."

"It's not a boat, dumb ass."

 

It was at one time a boat, hence the name. Seems more logical to assume it’s a boat than a town if you were not familiar with the area.

About the boat:

In April 1751, Harper purchased 126 acres of land from Lord Fairfax. In 1761, the Virginia General Assembly granted Harper the right to establish and maintain a ferry across the Potomac River (even though a ferry had been functioning successfully in the area before and after Harper first settled there).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Ferry,_West_Virginia

 

If somebody were to pay attention for more than 2 seconds in 7th grade history class, there should be no assumptions that it's a boat at all.