Honda to Build Three New Plants

The big three auto makers (at least what they call themselves) are scrambling to build cars in Mexico. All the while Nissan, Toyota and Honda are building them here and enjoying huge profits.

You have to wonder what the common denominator is. Have the Unions incrimentally forced them out with large payrolls and retirement packages, Has NAFTA been good for the American workers ?

Unions have strangled the American auto industry as they have killed all other industry.

I agree with both of your comments. As Americans we probably hurt our economy in the long run by buying over-priced/under reliable American cars. When foreign auto makers can provide American's with decent jobs, who are we to complain. Until the big three can build cars with competitive price points, I will continue to look at foreign autos for purchase. After all, I save money, my vehicle is more reliable, and the warranty is usually two times better than an American auto. It's time for the unions to realize that we are in a global economy and to keep up, they will have to concede many excessive benefits that they have won for their workers. Time to trim the fat if we want to be competitive in the automotive industry.

We burn more $ through foreign oil then $ we spend buying our cars. Our cars have as many parts made in other countries and many cars/trucks such as Toyota have more American made parts and labor in them then our cars do. The American auto manufacturers have shot themselvs in the foot with everything they have done. A Ford, Dodge, Chevy is no longer "Made In America" That's why you don't hear it any more.

I stopped having any interest in honda when their sleazy dealers price gouged the s2000.

I would much wrather be a honda bike rider then a over priced Harley driver. Wana talk about overbearing selling machine? Harly has stong armed dealers across the country.

You have every sissy bike rider trailering harlies with $1,000 worth of harley cloths trying to act like a biker. All I can think about is "sucker!". They look like the just came from "Harley Disney Land"

Ano wrote:

I would much wrather be a honda bike rider then a over priced Harley driver. Wana talk about overbearing selling machine? Harly has stong armed dealers across the country.
You have every sissy bike rider trailering harlies with $1,000 worth of harley cloths trying to act like a biker. All I can think about is "sucker!". They look like the just came from "Harley Disney Land"

Your gonna set off a firestorm after igniting that comment...hahaha

Maybe. There are some other good American bike companies now but Honda and Kawasaki make a hell of a good bike for half the price.

I was having my Jeep worked on and walked down to the Harley store. They had a dyno set up outside. I watched. As I walked through the crowds I thought it was halloween. "Check out my new boots!" One conversation I heard was 3 guys asking what does a clutch do...LOL. I mean these guys were a joke. They are a discrace to the old time HArley drivers that's for sure.

mcgyver wrote:

The big three auto makers (at least what they call themselves) are scrambling to build cars in Mexico. All the while Nissan, Toyota and Honda are building them here and enjoying huge profits.
You have to wonder what the common denominator is. Have the Unions incrimentally forced them out with large payrolls and retirement packages, Has NAFTA been good for the American workers ?

You lack basic reason.
American car companies cannot make a good, economical, safe, popular car. The reason for that is US auto management and marketers get too deeply involved in engineering and design, and then the US manufacturers create cars designed by committee. The workers, unions, suppliers, and dealers are not to blame. BLAME TOP MANAGEMENT.
Poor design is killing thr US auto industry.

Your predjudice against unions is blinding you to reality.

What confuses me is that the Saturn car is good, economical, safe, but not popular. What is it that Toyota & Honda has, that Saturn doesn't have?

MrBill wrote:

<quoted text>
You lack basic reason.
American car companies cannot make a good, economical, safe, popular car. The reason for that is US auto management and marketers get too deeply involved in engineering and design, and then the US manufacturers create cars designed by committee. The workers, unions, suppliers, and dealers are not to blame. BLAME TOP MANAGEMENT.
Poor design is killing thr US auto industry.
Your predjudice against unions is blinding you to reality.
What confuses me is that the Saturn car is good, economical, safe, but not popular. What is it that Toyota & Honda has, that Saturn doesn't have?

That's what a loyal union man says as they strike so they can "Bring the company to it's knees!!!!"

Saturn started out junk. They had them as crew cars across the USA. They all fell apart in a heart beat. They may be better but they got a bad rap out of the gate. And they are not atractive to start.

Mr Bill, while true in some ways you have to admit that due to past Union bargaining tactics the results were an enormous financial strain on the Auto manufacturers. They are now unable to pay for future design and engineering.
I think Saturn fell when it was first introduced with a no haggle price. People like to haggle,,,it assures them they got the best deal.

Unions in the airlines have destroyed the airline industry. As a new pilot a few years ago I was making less then $15k per year. Long term captains making over $350k per year flying 5 days a month. The arrangement stiffs the flight attendants and is so straining on the company they can not manage. Every year one or two airlines file bankruptcy.

You and I bail them out!

In the cockpits I hear more talk how they are fighting for this or that instead of the approach briefing.

The 70’s through the 90’s rid our country of much industry which is NOT coming back. Unions really screwed the country here. What’s worse is they took the union member for a ride along with it and they were not smart enough to realize it. The only one who made out was the union itself.

It's as yet unannounced, but does anyone have any input as to where the new US Honda plant is going to be? I heard "midwest" which leaves things kindof wide open.

I'm particularly curious if they're going to put it in a union place like Michigan or farther south in the Midwest, closer to Dixie and less union-friendly. TM was considering an engine plant in Michigan and seeing how things went, but Shotwell scared em off...

I heard they were looking at a "Right to Work" state

Why do they build new plants when so many from the big 3 are closing

Ti-Paul wrote:

Why do they build new plants when so many from the big 3 are closing

Usually the legacy plants with higher costs are the ones that are closed by the big 3. Most new assemblies built (both big 3 and transplants) are more modern, flexible, and capable of quickly shifting production goals/vehicles, and are usually more efficient.

My, my, unions are soooo bad. I remember when many workers were "union" seems to me there was ONE individual working ONE job to support the average family with 2.3 children in QUITE acceptable fashion. It is the non-unionized workers that drove down the price of labor(which equals almost 1/3 of your LIFE) to the point where we now have TWO individuals working MORE than 40hours each a week(lots of folks have second jobs) to provide for 1.8 children in a not as nice style.
Wake up buffoons!The problem is not the unions. It is a concerted effort to concentrate WEALTH in the hands of a very few. WEALTH is power. How can the people of this country have become so DUMB???? You NEED money to live. The few who control the money will give you less and less for saving/descretionary spending. Your life is meaningless. As you give up larger and larger portions of your lives to meet basic needs, there goes any semblance of freedom.
The general public is just too stupid and greedy to see what's going on. They think they're better off because their $100,000 house is now worth $300,000. Many have refinanced to the max and SPENT the money on comsumables even autos are consumables. Now come time to pay the piper, with those salaries that won't escalate. You are locked into your home. You are "tied to the land" serf. Your perception of wealth is bogus.
I cannot believe that the scenario I predicted 30 years ago has come to pass.
What this country NEEDS is strong unions and HIGH TARRIFFS(that's what protects developing economies like China) since we have fallen so far behind we are dangerously close to runaway inflation. People need to get used to the idea that they cannot continue to "borrow" their way to riches.
Back to the auto plants building here. Do you think they're being built here because the companies want to provide good jobs for Americans or do you think that now that the unions are bust, they want to locate here so they can pay low wages for skilled labor of trained auto workers that are no longer employed by the "big" three that you buyers of foreign autos are helping put out of business? It's only a matter of time till all of the lowered wages affects EVERYONE in this country.
Soon you will owe more on your home than the refinanced balance.
Do you own a big SUV? The ever escalating price of gas will reduce the value of that too to far less than the remaining payments.
Trying to save for your future? Forget it, as we spiral downward the money you save will be worth less and less abroad. all of those "cheap" imports will finally show just how expensive they really ARE.
UNIONS are the only things that could potentially save this country. Europeans have a BETTER quality of life than Americans AND they have VERY STRONG UNIONS.
Americans have bought a crock of crap. The UNION bad theory was promulgated by big business. Unions are a way of giving the AVERAGE JOE some control over his own life. Without UNIONS multi-national corporations that owe loyalty only to themselves will continue to enslave the workers they employ.
I'll bet not a one of you plans on retirement in a third world country, but keep spouting the rhetoric that's posted here and you will, and you'll still be living in the same house, and oh yes, retirement will mean you work ONLY one job. Incidentially, that thing called Social Security? When wages DON'T rise, that's when they up the exemption. Most people never earn enough now to even know there is a shut-off, another tax break for the wealthiest. It's also the wealthiest segment of society that writes our laws. as I said, the only representation that the average Joe EVER had was through UNIONS.
I'm still wondering how Americans became so ignorant of economics. They let their LIVES be "bought"for so little now.
WAIT, THE WORST IS YET TO COME! Especially when there are so many who know so little and owe so much.

Sound that drum Union Man! Tell those companies to bring their factories back so we can milk them for everything.

I believe there is a place for unions but not in their present form. Unions don't do what they were intended to do. They don't protect the worker they give the worker power to strong arm the company. Union laws should be revised to allow the union to do what it was meant to not to strong arm the company and drive it out of the country.

As an update, some follow-up research indicates the frontrunners for Honda's new plant right now are Indiana and Ohio. Definitely not right-to-work states.

I find it very interesting how in those two states, there's plenty of Nissan/Honda/Toyota plants which are all non-union, but the Big Two are heavily unionised. Has the UAW tried organising the transplant assembly factories in Indiana and Ohio? How have the transplants avoided the unions in those states while the Big Two haven't?