Are Toyotas American Made?

The largest Toyota manufacturing plant outside of Japan is located in Georgetown, Kentucky and has been there since 1988.

 

My wife runs the piss out of her old 1998 4Runner with 168,000 miles. It hardly stops long enough for me to change the oil and it keeps running like it was new. If it were a Ford Explorer, it would had been in the junk yard years ago. I've been driving Toyota's since 1991 and wouldn't consider driving anything else, they are to damn dependable to stray to something else and then have to worry about it.

 

Fun reading

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&story=amMadeParts&subject=ami
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&story=amMade1207&subject=ami
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,465005,00.html

 

There was a column in Car & Driver recently that was comparing the domestic trucks to the foreign ones. It was the writers opinion that Ford simply flooded the market with the F-150 because people were buying them like crazy. Why? I don't know; patriotism, Ford loyalists, etc. But the main point he made was that this simply gave the APPEARENCE that the F-150 was a great and reliable truck because you saw them wherever you turned your head. This could have led to a snowball effect, i.e. "Wow, you see these F-150's everywhere, they must be great, maybe I should buy one." Just an interesting thought, feel free to bash it because it's not my original idea ;-)

 

As partial owner of Toyota Motor Corp, I'd like to thank all of you for supporting my company!


And yes, Toyota has received 'loans' several times throughout their history (all the way back in 1933, when the company began producing autos). Just this month, they took another $2 billion loan from Japan Bank for International Cooperation.


And sadly, Big Government is not bailing out US auto makers....they are bailing out MAKERS of US AUTOS (as in the UAW). The unions and their greed destroyed these companies. Wouldn't we all want lifetime pension and benefits, full layoff pay, free healthcare for our familes, etc. Fact is, that stuff is too expensive for a company. The UAW demands it OR ELSE!

I hope detroit goes bankrupt and completely breaks all ties with the UAW.

 

I'm thinkin lemmings because they'll just go blindly off a cliff....or sheep because they need to be led....or maybe Chinese since all they can do is copy others.

 

I own a retail store and can tell you that every year we have half a dozen + manufactures move their production to China. I work in the aquarium industry so it isn’t a huge market either. Everything is made in china from the cheapest 99cent store products to high-end premium products.

 

Alright I'll Throw in my two cents
America had a good thing going in the automotive industry up until the Pony wars and the "gas crisis" that followed, The big three were so busy competing with each other during those times that they really lost track of quality, Its no coincidence that around that same time the Import market Skyrocketed in the US. Companies like Honda, Toyota and Datsun All offered quality, reliable vehicles that didnt cost much. Any american would jump on that

I was raised a Chevy guy, My first vehicle was a chevy s-10, which was obviously not a good vehicle to keep me faithful to chevy. Thing burned oil more than gas, Every sensor had glitches, It was a major pain in the ass

So...after I rolled the S-10 hahah yes I rolled a lowered 2WD S-10 don't ask. I bought a 93 Nissan Pathfinder from my neighbor, The price was right, It was 4wd and I wanted something bigger after driving an s-10 for a year or so. I bought the Nissan with 225,000 on it. I wheeled that thing every weekend, drove it to and from school every day, and made many a roadtrip with it. Only thing that went wrong was I torched a trans on it, but the automatics were kinda weak on those anyway, easily solved with a $35 trans cooler. I sold it about 9 months ago with 250,000 on the ticker. That sthing is still running strong to this day, It was easily the best Vehicle I've ever owned.

During the downtime I had from the Trans being blown in my Pathy, My parents wanted to help me out and buy me a car (I was away at college) So They bought me a 90 Jeep Cherokee...Ran awesome all of spring break....then on the trip back to college I shot peices of piston through my oilpan, block, etc. I owned that for a week before it self combusted

Getting back to Wyoming with no vehicle now, I had about 400 dollars left in my account and stumbled upon a 1980 Datsun 720 2wd Pickup for 300 bucks, It wasnt pretty by any means....but it was cheap and I needed wheels. It had about 120,000 on it and had been used on a farm for the last 3 years, I did a lot of cosmetic work to that truck because it was so ugly and i wanted to build something unique. but mechanically I never touched anything. I replaced the battery and fuel filter that's it. I never even changed the oil in it, and who knows how long it had been since farmer Ted had changed any fluids in the damn thing. The truck is still hopping around now, never touched mechanically, And still rakes in almost 25 MPG.

So....in my personal Experience....Import all the way, Everything I've owned american was shit

 

the only reliable car i have is my 1951 ford sedan with the original flathead v8.. back when american cars were made in america with american made parts they were good. these days there assembled here but most of the parts are made over seas..just look at harley davidsons.. i bought a toyota because there are well know to be bullet proof.. well at least they were..IMO the unions are to blame for such shotty american vehicles.. IMHO

 

I wasn't debating what the best selling truck is. I'm merely giving insight into the minds of Americans when it comes to supporting foreign brands and goods.

 

Ford F150's are the #1 selling vehicle because they are willing to deal when it comes to fleets. Around here, all turnpike and municipal (water and sewage) employees drive them.

Look at who Yahoo Autos ranks as the #1 most popular truck
http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/popular/thisweek.html

Also, look at the body style that is most popular for the F150's....REGULAR CAB. That is because they are bought as work trucks by companies who get discounts for buying in bulk.

source...friend who sells Fleet vehicles for Kenny Ross Ford.

 

Look at the top sold vehicles...how many are American made? Why is that?

I continue to hope Detroit fails and goes under. They can rebuild the companies with smarter objectives that are more in tune with the American consumer. Right now, Japan has the market.

1.Honda Civic

2.Honda Accord

3.Toyota Camry

4.Honda CR-V

5.Toyota Corolla

6.Toyota Prius

7.Honda Fit

8.Honda Odyssey

9.Toyota RAV4

10.Nissan Altima




SOURCE: Cars.com
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=buy&subject=most_pop&story=popNew

 

Now that I think of it many of the North American Toyota/Scion vehicles are designed in California

Not that I blame unions for the problems facing automakers these days but my opinion on unions is that they are a great shield to hide behind for people too lazy to do their job. I miss the quality and fit an finish of the old Japanese assembled vehicles. Quality has declined significantly since Toyota and others built plants in the states.

Gov't has been protecting domestic companies for a long time. Tariffs in the neighborhood of 25% of imported cars is why all the manufactures moved to North America in the first place. Without that the Big 3 would have been slowly squeezed out long ago. They have always built substandard vehicles and will continue to until the government stops manipulating market economy and makes them actually compete. Sure the unions add cost, but to place sole blame on the unions is just a excuse by the automakers to divert your attention from the real problems.

 

Since we are all just preaching to the choir, can any of the mods just post this entire thread in an F150 forum. Should be entertaining.

 

The last American car I bought was a Ford Focus. Lets recap how "American" the Ford Focus is:
First debuted and mainly designed in Europe.
Engine is from Mazda in Japan.
Transmission was made in Germany.
But the final assembly plant for my car was in Michigan.

Now lets compare that to my Tacoma:
Engine is from Toyota in Japan.
Not sure where the transmission is from but willing to bet not the USA.
Final Assembly plant was Fremont, CA.

Using that logic, my Tacoma is just as much an American vehicle as the Focus was that I traded in for it.

 

The whole Import versus Domestic car argument is like any other political debate: there are people with VERY strong feelings about their stance, and for many who hate Toyotas, I've found that many hate them just because they're "foreign". I've heard some of the most ridiculous arguments these days, with some of these Ford lovers all over the latest JD Initial quality reports showing Ford doing well. Hello! Its INITIAL quality dipshits! I could care less because I keep my cars 12-15 years minimum.

As far as American made, I try to buy it when I can. I can say that my cast iron pans ( made in TN) my knives, lawn mower, lots of tools, and bunch of other stuff is made in the US. But at the same time, there's a whole crapload of parts under the hood of my Toyota that has "Made in USA" stamped on them.

Just because it says Toyota on it doesn't make it foreign. I went to the UK awhile back. Over there, people drive Fords as much as people do here. The difference is that they are totally different cars ( a hell of a lot nicer/better) and they are made in Europe. Ford has been in Europe so long that the locals consider them practically European and support them as their own bread and butter.

 

I agree, and in my mind I feel the same about Toyota. I have been die hard Ford since I got my first Mustang after high school. I have always said though that I feel that Toyota is the most American foreign car company that I can think of. I was one of the few that were actually excited to see them join NASCAR. Many people I know were up in arms about a foreign car company joining such an American sporting event. But the way I see it you never find out your true potential if the only people you compete against are on your home team.

 

They didn't get a "bailout." Read this.