Since this is a No-No on the main board I thought you all might want to see this and contact your state representative as this is how they voted http://www.senate.gov/legislative/L...ote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00249 I don't know how many times it has come up about garbage offshore parts failing on us and when there is an opportunity to change things why it isn't being done and why we are not putting American workers first.
what a bunch of ********, Im not big on discussing politics or religion but did I mention that 42 votes for overseas anything is ********
Reminds me a little of "Shark Tank" episode I saw on TV. I do not regularly watch the show and certainly will not now, but one of the "sharks" (the short guy on the end) got on to one of the entrepreneurs who had invented something for trucks/truck beds and said that one of his motivations for doing this was to bring jobs to his hometown (IIRC, somewhere in TN where jobs had dried up). Well, the dipwad shark tells the fella that he will only give him a loan/offer stake in the company IF the entrepreneur took his invention and had it manufactured overseas. A little bit of an argument between the entrepreneur and the dipwad shark followed and then it got really bogus. The dipwad shark started talking about how he made his millions, etc. .... All to his father who EMIGRATED here from POLAND to get a JOB in the US to support his family!!!!! Hey dipwad shark with no respect for your own father's legacy of hard work and sense enough to WORK IN AMERICA, support the entrepreneur who wants to KEEP JOBS in AMERICA... rant over. if this thread gets locked or deleted, whatever, I am in and made the post!!!! At least the two fellas in my home state here of WV voted "yea" - bring jobs to the US... for all the WV jokes we get about the backward people, etc ... gotta love it!
Introduced in Senate (07/08/2014) Bring Jobs Home Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. Requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses.
Dan,thanks for sharing! That is just a great example of how out of touch the "1%" is from the average Joe and what is wrong with elected officials who are elected not by what they stand for but how much they spend to dupe people into voting for them.
I guess I'll step up and be 'that guy'. Jeff, I'm not agreeing nor disagreeing with you or anyone else on these political issues. I have my own standards and beliefs but I won't share them here, this isn't the place for it. While we (here in the states) are continuously bombarded with copious amounts of political propaganda, half-truths and the like via our so-called news outlets, the HAMB is one of those places we can go without getting peppered with that stuff. For me (and probably many others) it's a reprieve, a get-away of sorts to escape the stinking ******** of politics that we keep getting brow beat with. I thoroughly enjoy seeing everyone's progress with whatever project they have going at the moment and gleaning a new trick or two for possible issues I might have. I've learned a great deal from the knowledgeable membership of this group and I can't help but think that if we slowly start introducing these little political discussions, no matter how small, it's going to quickly erode the confidence of the membership and lead to them limiting what they share (e.g. member xyz won't post a floor pan technique because he knows member abc is a Republican or vice versa, you get the picture) . In my humble opinion, that would be a great disservice to everyone. Let's not let the toxic political ******** infect this awesome, world cl*** social group. We're all better than that! I know, I know....let the flaming begin!
Politics aside, the economies of scale of the cl***ic/antique car parts market don't work in the favor of suppliers without going overseas for cheaper labor; the market is just too small. If one does it they all do it to stay compe***ive.
The real reason I even brought this up is because on almost every car guy forum out there I have seen the dis-satisfaction with these off-shore parts,in our hobby most of us want to spend our money wisely because these cars mean something to us.But if we sit back and say nothing then nothing done is the result, by exposing who is looking out for our interests and who is not and taking some action maybe slowly change will come,Wal-Mart has even gotten the message and is high lighting "Made in the USA" products in their stores.I can't begin to think how many posts that bad mouth them I have seen on tons of forums out there.As for political in nature that is only part of the picture,look what happened with this "new member" intro: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160123 Recently the ABC Evening News has featured their "Made in America" stories and many of these American companies have increased their business and hired new employees as a result.The bottom line is let your voices be heard.
I'm with you Jeff, the problem with all this is it's a double edged sword. Cheap off shore parts verses no parts at all,with aftermarket manufactures it is about the bottom line.....sadly,quality has nothing to do with it. HRP
Let's remember the reason this forum exists... AMERICAN manufactured automobiles. Historic Detroit iron has brought us all together - no matter what your political stance. If you do some research you will find that even back in the 50's there were parts coming from other countries that were put on our old Fords... Ford was outsourcing things back then, albeit not in such a manner or scope as car companies do today, but things like voltage regulators and the like were made elsewhere - there is no denying that. What drives this impetus to have things manufactured back in the STATES is the lack of quality that many of us see when we purchase aftermarket, restoration, or even so-called performance parts from US companies. When the current economic issues and lost jobs of the citizens of the STATES are combined with the lack of quality, we, or at least I, get torqued over it and wonder "where do we turn?". There used to be a day when the question as to whether or not we ought to have manufacturing jobs for our CITIZENS in the STATES was simply not political. Whether you were republican, democrat, independent, or what have you, a large majority of us viewed the welfare and rights of a fellow citizen ABOVE the welfare and rights of the rest of the known world. I am afraid that day is no more as the world "shrinks" and companies compete to stay afloat and survive. As we head to a one world order and economic system, we can rant all we want to, but frankly these things are going to happen - it is inevitable.
I agree with Jeff,we have to make our opinions be heard. The only way to get get real change is to work together for it and remember that Government works for us,we pay their salaries and we vote them into office to represent us, so for me the USA will ALWAYS come first. If our forefathers did not let their voices be heard and did not fight where would we be ?
I completely understand WHY you brought it up and completely agree with you (as I'm sure every other car guy will) on the quality of offshore parts, I get it. I also couldn't agree more with the 'Made in the USA' sentiment but frankly, if people are only now starting to complain about it they've been asleep for the last 15 years. Because it was back then our political leaders were paying large corporations to take their manufacturing overseas (do you see where this is going to go yet?). The part I was highlighting was how it's being made into or transitioning into something political here (hence the link to how Congress voted). There are a plethora of car guy sites on the internet that gleefully engage anyone that wants to have a political circle jerk or attack thread. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I didn't think the HAMB was the place for that!
This is an older article:http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Articles/012004_04.html But many of those off shore parts are counter-fit and dangerous,a while back I posted a link to a Hot Rod magazine article that posted comparisons between the real ones and the fakes.Not too long ago on the main board a member had a custom steering column snap internally and lost his steering lucky for him he was turning a corner at a slow speed,there has been cases of motor mounts separating on several forums.Maybe these companies that put lives in peril deserve "an attack" or we could just do nothing and count on luck?
I have one rule; support the lifestyle you want to live. If I want to live with 20 family members and make $15 a week, I will buy Chinese parts. It all boils down to this; you are the only one that can make a difference.
Jeff, those are all valid and serious concerns and again, I agree with you. You miss my point. Regardless, if you (or anyone else) seriously wants to get involved in making a difference, SEMA is as good a place as any to get started. There's a bunch of useful info there under Government affairs and Resources.
Damn... just read the article and the thread. Eventough I cant throw in any comments, I'm affected by this, or better thinking, non US buyers might be in even deeper trouble since we dont have much choice, do we? I had a recent problem when my 58 yr old FoMoCo (!) water pump failed. I went for a good part, and bought from C&G (reputable I think) a new cardone waterpump (~80bucks I recall). It arrived and the box had a sticker saying it is China Made. I was disapointed, but as long as it functions properly I think I can live with that. Now I've got 4 wheel cylinders (Raybestos) and a master cylinder (Dorman) on the rack, but hell, I'm concerned, theyr all made in Taiwan! The parts look sturdy, well built, they'r heavy, no slacks, threads are protected with rubber caps on the wc, bleeding nozzles are protected with rubber caps, the mc brought a threaded plastic cap for bench bleeding.... this meaning that they look like carefully built parts, or at least I cant see anything that looks faulty... But I'm getting nervous on this one... Are there other options? What is trustworthy?
Rui, your post reminded me that I have seen an old Ford commercial (I have the DVD somewhere!) of the 1955 Ford and how that the symbol of pride for Ford was quality parts and people making those parts. The commercial showed people involved in parts and car manufacturing, and I distinctly remember footage and verbiage from a FoMoCo plant in Brazil where quality cars were being built and made. I wonder if that video is not on Youtube somewhere. It would prove the point though that is not necessarily "US made" products as it is attention to detail and quality of parts.
Rui, I wouldn't worry too much about Taiwanese parts; they have been producing pretty good stuff for a long time. It's the mainland Chinese stuff you have to watch. They seem to have little regard for quality.
Well Daniel, the idea your words carry seem to be proved true all around. How on earth would a today-built water pump last 58 years? To my pride and joy I've got many parts on my car that still carry the fomoco stamp. I know theyr good. They can only be good, having been produced in the US or at other location / plant at the time. The thing is that craftsmanship and the inherent pride that was ***ociated to it seems to be gone throughout the world. There are honourable exceptions, obviously. My question was more what to do? How to know what /from who to order?
I think there is this thing that was started called planned obsolescence,isn't it strange that most things not just auto parts break after the initial warranty runs out? And companies are always trying to push the "extended warranty" for an extra cost? A few years back we bought a new Kenmore washer and dryer the plastic gears in the washer transmission bought the farm 2 weeks after the initial warranty ran out,I got lucky and found an "old school" repairman and he transplanted an older metal gear unit in it's place for half the price of the "extended warranty" 4 years later it's still running like new.
15 years ago? Hell, my old man was ranting and raving about US companies shipping jobs overseas with the help of governmental policy back in the early '80s. It's been going on for well over a generation.
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