C'mon guys, the direction this discussion is going is absurd - on both sides. Look back at the original post and ask what any of this has to do with what you're arguing about.
There are no guarantees that any of these automakers will remain loyal to this country, and that goes particularly for the foreign-owned plants. Who's to say that when their sweet tax breaks expire that they won't shift production south of the border? Fact is, they're in a better position financially, partly due to unfair advantages regarding health care, trade policies and lack of retiree "burden". They can afford to build plants in the United States [[again, with major tax breaks) because these expenses do not burden them to the extent that they do the Detroit Three. There have been a lot of screw-ups by these companies, but at the same time, we're our own worst enemy when it comes to policy supporting domestic manufacturing.
Can you honestly say that supporting Hyundai instead of GM is better for the future of this country? It may do well for your selfish needs - you view it as a better quality vehicle, that perhaps costs less. You may feel it's got a better value, even if you haven't given the domestic counterpart a fair test. You're entitled to do that, of course, but I don't think you're entitled to complain about the consequences it may bring [[particularly if you live in SE Michigan). If you do live here, you're shooting yourself in the foot by doing so, though I shouldn't say that because it makes me ignorant according to some academics around here - should I just admit I think Detroit is the center of the galaxy? Regardless of what is said about how un-important we are to the 49 other states, I think a lot of people nation-wide should be scared of what is happening to Detroit and what it stands for.
If you wanted to, I think a case could be made that a lot of the work-force is overpaid; what makes a middle-manager worth six figures, and furthermore, what makes him entitled to call out a UAW line worker just because he feels he is superior to him?
I've tried to keep up with this thread, and perhaps I've missed it, but where has anybody acknowledged the fact that foreign-owned automotive jobs are a bucket in a sinking US automotive job ship? As I understand it, the automobile is still the most complex mass-produced product in the world, the biggest consumer of glass to semiconductors, requiring everything from accountants to chemical engineers to make them roll off the assembly line. Should we really just be that willing to give up this source of national pride? If the Japanese were in a similar boat, do you think that their culture would permit such a "it's lost a lost cause...move on" attitude? I think the fact that Hyundai, Toyota and Honda built plants here to employ Americans is great for those that can get the jobs, but it comes at a significant cost to all those that are losing them in return. The Camry may be the "most American" car to some, but I have yet to see figures that quote how many jobs the Camry supports versus, say, the Malibu. I suspect it's not even close. Can we get past the fact already that there is SO much more to a vehicle's human involvement than the 3,000 jobs in a final assembly plant?
If I've learned one thing in this thread, it's that the Fusion is built in Mexico. Wait, I already knew that, I've just seen it repeated half a dozen times. I think it sucks that Ford, GM and Chrysler make cars outside this country. I probably wouldn't have bought the 2008 Vue - my 2007 was built and designed in this country, and I didn't want a Mexican-built car [[as it would sort of go against my beliefs). But consider this: Besides outright greed, what else would drive production down to Mexico? Cost cutting. In my experience with an automotive supplier, we HAD to send production to Mexico and China, despite the preference by myself and most of the engineers. The reason was cost. GM couldn't pay the domestic-made premium because the consumer wouldn't. Joe McWalMart would be driven to the foreign competition immediately if the domestic counterpart had a $2,000 add-on because it was 100% domestic. Problem is, we have it too good here, and making a decent wage is no longer acceptable in the "shiny new global economy" that's slowly killing our standard of living. My understanding is, as I mentioned earlier, that the advantages the foreign-owned companies have give them more available overhead for a domestic worker. In turn, it convinces some of you that they're a more caring, more American car company than our own.
I look toward the future as really uncertain. I don't think we're headed in the right direction by shifting ownership and manufacturing power overseas. A lot of the so-called growth over the last however-many years has been a fraud; our manufacturing base erodes while credit masks our financial strain. I know this is a much bigger issue than "foreign cars", it just is ultimately where my beliefs come from. If we don't maintain the capacity to design, produce and support our own product, how do we build wealth? Our loss is their gain.
So, whatever. I hope I've been somewhat coherent. How about this for homerism. Brings a tear to my [[ignorant) eye when I think about how far we've fallen since even this was made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoLtODutYNQ
To put my viewpoint in perspective: I'm 28, an electrical engineer, and in the midst of forming a start-up energy/engineering company while also working for a global [[locally-based) automotive supplier. My wife and I own two domestically-built and engineered GM cars, a 2007 and a 2009. Call me what you will, but I will never buy a foreign car.