New gas tank for Cadillac powered Hiboy arrived. Quality is low enough to look like it was made in China. Regards, Ron
I feel your pain, A lot of these well known pioneer part companys used to sell well made parts that looked nice and fit better than the overseas junk they sell today. They were small American companys, most mom and pop shops, and we made their businesses flourish. When the demand got bigger instead of hiring Americans and building a bigger buisness in the states, they outsourced overseas or where ever. Doing this they lost the quality of their original products and a lot we get from them now is junk that has to be reworked or junked. It's all about greed, hell they don't even adjust the prices for this stuff. Anyway I'll get of my soapbox now and get another beer.
If you paid a premium for the part expecting something different, feel bad...but if you saved 50% of what the "other" guys cost were, you got what you paid for. But heck, it'll be covered up and 99.99% sure it won't leak
don't feel too bad, when i lived in minnesota i worked for a subcontractor of Tanks Inc. even the "American Made" parts were made by non-americans. made on american soil by foreigners. and they made better parts than their american co workers next to them.
What do you mean THEY made better parts that the Americans next to them? Our Hot Rods are the envy of the World.
I'm with ya on this.. No different than when i bought my new Mac tool box a few month's ago.. Nice big sticker on the back that state's. "Made in the USA with Global parts"..in fact, after i saw that istarted looking at some of my other Mac product's, and many have that on them.. I must be old fashioned, that just bother's me..
Not to be off topic, but I worked at a local factory that made bearings for "foreign" cars. The ones that win "safety crash test ratings awards". Well when I'd check out the parts and notice cracks, I'd report them and quickly be told they "weren't" cracks. They were. We were pretty much encouraged to p*** bad parts, only to be reemed the next day for it. I quit after 3 months. My point, make your own if you have the means...that is what hot rodding is (and was) as well as the essence of American-made. Once again, just me.
5Window has a good point, they won't change their ways untill people quit buying **** when they are paying for and expecting quality goods.
Mac has started to sell a lot of tools made in Taiwan too. Sockets, and other hardline hand tools. They recently got fined a few hundred thousand for putting "USA" on their gearless ratchet, that wasnt all USA made.
Is this for a Deuce? I have noticed that the Tanks brand has been selling for much lower than normal prices on Escam and I wondered what the quality was like. Your only other choices are the off-shore Vintique (didn't look too bad when I've seen them) or a 75 year old gennie.
Taiwan IS China. This stuff gets made to a price. They CAN make good stuff over there,if the greedy American corporations would pay the price. Instead,they cheap out,and live off the name and brand recognition developed when they made good stuff. Cl***ic 21st century American business practice. Find a way to do it for less,and keep the difference.
I have found that there are some chinese parts and or equipment that is pretty good quality and others that aren't. Just like some american products are good and some aren't. What pisses most people off is not where it is made but wheather it is what they expected for what they paid. We should be pissed off at where it was made.
One little gimmick that companies are commonly using now is to make the actual part overseas, then pack it in a box labelled 'Made in the U.S.A.'....Okay, the box is made in the U.S.A. and the product was packed in the U.S.A. but the actual products inside the box were made overseas. Just because the box says ' Made in the U.S.A.' doesn't mean the parts inside the box actually are.
I work in the music instrument industry, and I'm told by reliable sources that a product only has to have 40% total content to be able to be labelled Made In USA. This total content can include labour, parts, finishing, packaging. Example, most "Made in USA" Fender guitars (not the Asian Fender Squier series) have the neck and body made in China or Korea, shipped to the states for paint and ***embly. The paint, ***embly and electronics and packaging must come to over 40% of the total. Even "handmade" Paul Reed Smith guitars, which are high-priced items (as played by Santana) buy their necks and bodies from Warmouth, who have them made in Asia. Yep, they're "Made in USA".
Id send it back, I usualy feel cheated when that stuff happens. but as for being a CMC in the seabees thats pretty bad ***.
The above sums the situation up perfectly. The Asian factories are making the products to the American Companies specifications. You should be pissed off not with where it was made but with the American companies greed. They could be getting much better product for not a huge amount more. The other major problem is the buyers mainly wanting to buy at the lowest possible price. Given the choice between a real quality product at a fair price and a low price product far to many people choose on price. I sell Die Cast Model Cars. Virtually all of these are made in China and the quality and detail has improved 500% in the last few years since manufacturing has gone to China and in real terms prices have dropped. If you ever get a chance have a look at some models by CMC which is a German/Chinese company or even easier just go and check out the CMC website. Their models are a very good example of the quality that is available. Support the companies that have quality products and stay clear of the budget stuff and generally you will get good stuff. Don't forget that companies make what the customer wants and what will sell. Think about that for a minute and you will understand why America is no longer a great manufacturing country and will not ever be so again.
Well its a known fact our tried and true companies we have stood by for years are now handing us foreign made goods and raking in the cash. We put up with it so they keep doing it. We either pay more for it made here or dont buy it. I cant afford most of the higher end toys anyway. I have to buy on the cheap to even exist. One company that pissed me off on this whole subject was Harley Davidson. I s****ed and saved and did everything I could to build me a basket case chopper. When the Harley dealer sold me Jap parts in a Harley box I couldnt beilieve it. Then I started seeing the made in Japan stamps on the factory parts. All that flag waving with the Harley name and all, but the fine print says ***embled in the U.S.A. For the prices they charge?
Why is it always "greedy US corporations"? Ever consider that cheap *** customers might bear some of the responsibility for cheap parts? Edelbrock SBC manifold prices were so compe***ive that a group of WD's went to China for "no-name" knock offs. They were selling the Chinese stuff at the same price that dealers were peddling Edelbrock's manifolds. Difference is, that the WD's are making a fair profit on the Chinese stuff instead of trading dollars on the Edlebrock brand. Anybody remember the "scandal" when Cal Custom started making stuff in Japan? Now HAMB'ers give their left nut for vintage CC stuff that we p***ed on in the fifties.
doesn't seem like much of anything is actually made in the USA anymore. most of the time USA made stuff has parts sourced globaly, then put together here. GM gets parts from everywhere in the world.
At the risk of getting this whole thread nixed, I have to ask the question; have you considered, beyond 'greedy U.S. companies', and 'cheap ***ed customers', that the larger issue is poor quality U.S. natural born labor; who all think they should be paid as much as the guy who runs the company? You can thank the folks who are always t******* to raise minimum wage and the unions for a good part of these issues. That, and a good portion of the labor force in the good 'ol U.S. of A.; think they are better than everyone else. There is an at***ude problem in this country with labor. If folks put half as much effort into their jobs as they do their recreational activities, the global economy would look a lot different today. Let the bashing begin, but I've been on both sides of this; I can give you numerous cases which demonstrate the point, and it is true. Some import stuff is excellent; by the way, as is a lot of American products.
All my " T " tanks are 100% made in America. The flat steel is purchased about 100 miles from the forming and soldering shop. All the inlet and outlet bungs are cast by the Amish in PA. Last year over 10k was invested in new tooling, dies and machines to increase production. I'm very proud to represent the fine American craftsmen that make these tanks. Unfortunately, I haven't found a source for American made screw in gas caps.
I could not agree more with the above post as the union mentalty has ruined labor but there are problems with management too,I live in what used to be a GM town and heard many stories of the way GM ran some of the plants. The managers got their bonuses by how much went out the door and did not care if the product was any good,this is probably the way most big companies worked but its not only labor that is a issue here. Jeff
True. There will always be a place for products that are well made by labor and maangement that takes pride in their name. Just as there will always be people whose handshake is more binding that any 100 page legal contract. (I'd liek to think that's what we have here on the HAMB on both accounts). But, sadly, as we all know, the average American wants cheap and lots of it. If society demands a better product then it will find a market-as a previous poster said, the Chinese can make fine, quality stuff, but their buyers want it made to a price, not a standard, so what you get is what they asked for.
I think you will find that North American corporate management typically makes a lot more than their foreign counterparts,as a multiple of the shop floor average wage. So "greed" isn't confined to the low end of the hierarchy. Labor Unions came about for several reasons, basically Management was ****ing over the workers. If they treated people decently in the first place, they wouldn't have this "problem". Did Unions go too far ? Some did,of course,it's human nature. Now they make a convenient scape goat.
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