Engines Built Where?

Somehow my wife and I now both have Mexican-built cars, my Taco and her 15 year old VW. Can't say they're noticeably different than US, German or Japanese built cars I've owned in the last 25 years. Now my comparing my Lordstown, Ohio-built Chevy Vega to my Koln, Germany-built Ford Fiesta (1st gen), both built in the '70's, oh my.

 

My 2016 TRDOR was built in Mexico . Funny that my 98 Dodge Quad cab 4x4 was built in Mexico also . When I bought it , I saw the build date was the friday before Cinco De Mayo . A couple co- workers at the time teased my that it would be a lemon for sure because they all start partying early down there lol .They were from Mexico . I had it from late 1997 to late April 2016 . It was a great truck .

 

They have a Kamigo in Japan and Indonesia as far as I can tell. Either way, not USA.

 

Nah they were probably fine Friday at work. Friday night they probably got wasted. Anyone who got a truck built that Monday or Tuesday was probably screwed

 

http://www.linex.com/blog/2016/01/24/exterior-body-armour-protection

Cost to do entire truck... The total body spray's cost at Line-X varies, ranging generally from $3,000 to $5,000.

http://www.linex.com/blog/tag/project vehicles

 

I asked and for what is worth my dealer told me the Tacoma 2.7 is made in Japan.
The 2.7 is a global engine and ships worldwide. But for the USA Tacoma 2.7 is from Japan.

 

Your daughter bought a Jeep Renegade? Where did you go wrong? Haha I kid I kid.

 

I REALLY didn't want to buy a Chrysler product, much less a Fiat. It's really a re-badged Fiat, but she's a great kid, that's what she wanted, I got a RIDUCULOUS deal, and she won't drive that many miles in college. Other than who manufactures it, it's a pretty cool little car. The interior is really cool, and it drives pretty well for it's size. I just know at 80K, it will need to be thrown away.

 

Is anything built in the U.S. Anymore?

I remember the ads, from way way back in the stone age, when car commercials would say

MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

But once the cars reached a point that it was less than 50% was made in the USA, they no longer were allowed to say Made in the USA.

So that's when the suitcases full of cash headed to D.C., that's how it's done, and the lobbyist greased the political machine with cold hard cash.

So we were all introduced to the New Saying: "Made in America".

Now if you can't see the little trick they just pulled over on us, what's the big deal, so what if it's now Made in America vs Made in the USA

Well simply put; Made in America meant North America, which would include Canada & Mexico.

And in just a few years later, they (lobbyist) once again greased our political machine and got it passed that Made in America would also include South America.

So anytime you see Made in America, that definitely Does Not Mean Made in the USA.

Ford is currently building a Monstrosity of a Plant in Mexico. In as little as two years from now it is very likely that No Ford Automobiles will be assembled in the U.S. The cost saving for Ford will be huge.

Imagine no longer paying your employees $30 - $40 per hour, plus all sorts of benefits, holidays, sick days, ect., to paying your employees $6.00 an hour.

Whatever few Ford jobs currently here will soon be swallowed by this new plant. Good paying jobs are leaving the states by the thousands and not being replaced.

 

The globalization of the economy is what is sucking jobs out of the US. GM, Chrysler, and Ford stuck their head in the sand from the 60's until the 90's and finally realized, we are not on an island. You have to be competitive, and when your competitors are building cars in countries that pay $10 an hour, vs. $60 in the US, they really don't have a choice but to do the same thing. When most people are at the store and there are two similar products, and one is $5 made in china, but the American made one is $8, they pick the cheaper one 99% of the time. GM, Ford , and Chrysler tried to rely on American loyalty, and almost went out of business because of it. Politicians, and companies aren't as responsible for our manufacturing going away, as much as the everyday person walking around listening to politicians blame each other for jobs. I don't know how to reverse it, because we can't just not do business with these countries. Global trade makes the poorest countries less poor, and the wealthiest countries less wealthy. When you hear someone talk about 100% tariff free trade, that means MORE jobs will leave for China, Mexico, and Korea. We need to enforce our agreements with countries that don't follow the agreements they signed, and get the young generation educated in math, science, and engineering because that's where the good paying jobs are going to be.

 

rant over

 

I agree, but our (U.S.) contracts/agreements made with other countries are horrific. We get totally screwed. Imbeciles negotiating our deals, totally screwing American companies. So why wouldn't American companies keep leaving. No reason to stay and lose to your competitors.

And our public schools system is a disgrace. We spend the most money per student by far and rank something like 37th. The politicians answer, give them more money. Absolutely Crazy. School vouchers is the way to go, good Ol fashion competition. Public school system is just another monopoly. Take some of their money from them and allow vouchers to any school of the parents choice.

Then America will once again rise above! 37th is a disgrace.

Enjoyed your rant by the way!

 

This is because in a lot of US companies cronyism and nepotism is out of control. Stroke the proper dingles egos and you advance even if you're shit at your job.

I don't even know where to start with the whole trade thing. The way I see it, it's less of an issue of driving up import tariffs (because some consumers still desperately want to see their made in Japan Tacomas, etc.) and more of an issue of figuring out a way to incentivize manufacturers to bring jobs back into the USA. The problem with that is there's so much red tape that you can avoid by offshoring, on top of the lower costs. Incentives to make them bring it back to US shores are gonna have to be pretty massive, maybe even impossible.

Anyways back to the 2TR. I looked at the Toyota global site and I found that Kamigo specifically lists making the TR as of July 2003. Kamigo
I don't see any Indonesian plants called Kamigo, which makes sense because Kamigo is definitely a Japanese name.
I did find TMMIN, which is Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia. No mention of the TR there. TMMIN

 

I'm in agreement, but let me tell you after traveling around the world there is NO better place that the USA.

I've been fortunate to visit Canada, Mexico, islands in the Caribbean, Peru, UK, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc...(likely missing some) and while many of these have some awesome people and qualities - the sum of the parts is not the same.

We are truly blessed people, no matter where our trucks are made or which wacko is wins the presidential race.
/soapbox

 

100%
I've traveled a lot too, hunting bad boys. While in Italy, working with one of their anti-terrorism teams, well let's just say they do things a little different. No advising you of your rights, and I've seen salt used in ways unimaginable. But it sure got to the truth in a hurry.

 

Thanks to everyone for the replies. You will be seeing a "DIY" paint job thread one of these days where I ask forum members who painted their trucks all the ins and outs. Having my truck painted appears to be in the 2500-3000 range and I have run across people who actually rolled their trucks with Rust Oleum to those who rattle can sprayed them with camo paint schemes and some look great. I already have camo seat covers so you can tell the way I am leaning.

 

PLEEEEEEASE tell me you are kidding.

 

maypearl, what do you think of this paint job? I hear they take 24 cans of spray paint and voila! camo truck. I will have to keep the silver wheels so I can find it when I park it in the woods. And yes, I am having a bit of fun here. I have the $$ for a pro paint job but can't seem to justify it for a 10 year old truck and those damned little clear coat spots are growing faster than bacteria in a petri dish. PS, enjoy your 17, wax it often and keep it out of the sun as much as possible or 7-8 years from now you may be looking for paint solutions.

 

Looks like a wrap to me, but could be a spray paint. If it is spray paint, it looks like a professional did it. There is no substitute for paint prep, and that's going to take a lot more time and $$ than 24 cans of rustoleum. I'm not judging you, but a spray can paint job is not going to look good at all, and It will probably peel off, if you don't sand the entire truck, and prime it. By the time you prep and prime it properly, I wouldn't waste all that effort and spray paint it with a can. If you are talking about a hunting truck that's going to stay on the farm or deer lease, that's a little different story. There is a reason no one paints cars with spray paint. Now did some guy sand and prime a truck, and use spray cans, just to prove it can be done? Sure. The average non-professional painting a truck with a can of rustoleum he bought at Wal-Mart, is going to come out with a shitty paint job that people will laugh at. No one is probably laughing at your truck with the peeling clear, they just see an older truck, and don't think much about it at all. It's your truck, and your money, so knock yourself out if you want to.

Quality takes time and money. You can minimize some of the expense, by doing some of the work yourself, and accepting a paint job that is less than perfect, but there is a reason a basic paint job is $3000. The body shop isn't making $2800 on a $3000 job. By the way, $3K is a basic paint job. Change colors and ask them to paint the engine compartment and door jams, and the quote will give you a hear attack. I bought a 68 Cadillac Coupe DeVille a few months ago to redo. When I got the quote to do a good paint job, I sold the car as-is to another guy, that didn't have a clue how much it takes to have a 50 year old car restored.

 

I had a friend in High school and we both had GTO's. I sanded mine, took all the chrome off, and found a shop that would prime and shoot it for me, saving a ton. My buddy sanded his entire car to the metal, took him months. He painted it himself, and forgot some kind of filter, and within months that sweet paint started to come off in palm sized chunks and his car started to rust. He had to re-sand the whole car back to metal, basically dis-assembling it to repaint it again