# American cruze made in America?



## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

According to the AALA Part 583 report the domestic content has varied year tobyear from a low of 44% to a high of 60%. IIRC the current one is at 50%.


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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

Jim Frye said:


> According to the AALA Part 583 report the domestic content has varied year tobyear from a low of 44% to a high of 60%. IIRC the current one is at 50%.


It's funny; my "American" car has less American content than my "Japanese" car.

I can't remember who said it, but a while back, someone on here quoted that we drive a car designed in South Korea, with an Italian designed engine made in Germany coupled with a Japanese transmission, all assembled in Ohio (specifically speaking of the diesel).


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## JoeInMilwaukee (Dec 10, 2014)

The AALA Part 583 reports mentioned by Jim are available here:

Part 583 American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) Reports | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

The 2015 Cruze is listed as 60% US/Canada content, up from 50% for the 2014 model.


- Joe


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## cruzinred92 (Dec 4, 2013)

It's funny I saw an episode of either how they do it or how it's made about the subaru legacy being made all in America, not just assembled. It showed how it started with raw rolled steel sheets and they made everything. Only thing was imported was the drivetrain. Funny how a Japanese company was paying American workers to make their cars pretty much from scratch when my cobalts were both made in Mexico lol.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The 1.4T EcoTec engine in the North American Cruze is made in the US.


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## GRIMland (Jun 1, 2014)

I thought it was closer to 30-40% American made parts, but it's been awhile since I looked into it. And @PanJet I thought the same thing about my old 97 Honda Civic having a higher percentage of American made parts than my Chevy (I think the Civic was around 70-80% US made parts).


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Our content laws work against us.....for example...all Japenese vehicles use instruments made by Nippon Seiki.

So, Nippon Seiki sets up a U.S. office and distribution center in somewhere U.S.A.
Because the parts came out of the U.S. distribution center, the Japanese sorced part becomes Domestic Content......howdoyalikethatcrap?

So, the Japenese vehicle, assembled here with Japenese sub assemblys that went through the U.S. distribution network often end up showing higher domestic content than some domestic cars.

Frankly though, whether it was built here or there is not the issue......the issue is 'What country profited from the Sale?'

I assure you, a Toyota(or Nissan or whatever) built in Mississippi may have provided taxpaying Americans a job but most certainly the actual profit went back to Japan......you don't really think they have us build their product because we are more expensive than their own folks now do you?
No, it is built here because we are way cheaper for them......I'm confident that the Japenese, Germans, Koreans, etcetera aren't that benevolent.

Rob


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

It's also not just about assembly. Engineers are people too. Every car part that is engineered in Korea or China represents fewer engineers that are employed in the U.S. And there are a lot of other non-assembly jobs. 

Some large corporations are also starting to say that they are no longer U.S. companies, but global companies. This really annoys me. 

China is also buying up American companies. This is different from when the Japanese bought up American companies. The Chinese government is communist, so the companies are now owned by the Chinese government, not private investors. We would be irate if the U.S. government started buying up American companies, but we don't seem to care that the communist Chinese government is buying up American companies. 

One interesting example is Continental Motors. Their tagline used to be "Powerful as the Nation", but they are now owned by the Chinese. So, which nation?


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

who knows what's going on? Most of us sure aren't insiders and have to rely on the news. China wasn't even a considered a competitor and under the shock of many Japanese cars being imported under Reagan, their prices kept on increasing, so we could finally compete with them.

Was reports about Clinton receiving huge campaign donations from China, but congress didn't do anything about this. But the bottom line is that we or I should say they started to import many goods from China. Under the Bush kid, this increased drastically, and Obama sure didn't do anything about this. We use to have tariffs to assure balance of trade. Still have some of these with our European allies.

When Bush became president, the old guy, suddenly the middle east became a problem, but was quiet under Clinton, then extremely noisy again when his kid got elected. Regan was very concerned about Latin America, that dropped completely after he was gone.

We also have very strict FCC laws against any foreign country owning communication industries in this country. So how did Fox and Sony get in? And NBC being sold to a French company. 

Paul Ryan from Janesville, WI was awfully noisy about cutting SS benefits, but extremely quiet when GM closed the Janesville plant laying off 3,000 workers. Doyle made a couple of remarks about this, but that was the extent of it. 

Was Nixon that opened the doors to Japan, before him, Chicago was the electronic headquarters of the world, and all that technology was developed right here in the USA, TV, radio, the vacuum tube, the transistor, the integrated circuit, the microprocessor, video recording, you name it, was done here. Today, can barely find a Radio Shack store in Chicago.

Not only this, but Nixon started the EPA and OSHA that worked hard to export all this stuff. Electronic Engineering use to have thousands of advertised engineering jobs, now, not even one and we have more electronics every place, even the cell phone was invented here as well as the internet.

Was able to supplement my income working for the FAA, this year, this is gone, FAA is going all GPS and ordered to shut down all of our ground navigation equipment, they use the word, decommission.

I can only point my finger in one direction to the real traitors of MY country, Washington DC, even the supreme court ordered, that these politicians don't have to disclose where their campaign money is coming from.

But in reality, have no idea of what's going on, but sure experiencing the effects of it.


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## gz9gjg (Sep 18, 2014)

How much $$$ comes in to the US economy from car manufacturing versus imported cars: I'm sure somebody in the industry has the real numbers:

Maybe $1000: Imported car with no US content: Sales tax, dealer personnel salaries, dealer property tax, service and repair

Maybe $5000: Foreign manufacturer - US assembly: Assembly labor, assembly plant property tax, vehicle parts transportation, Sales tax, dealer personnel salaries, dealer property tax, service and repair

Maybe $10,000: US manufacturer - US assembly: US engineering and management salaries, parts tooling, parts and vehicle validation; assembly labor, assembly plant property tax, parts transportation, Sales tax, Sales tax, dealer personnel salaries, dealer property tax, service and repair

Why care? The money gets taxed and provides for schools, roads, defense, etc, not to mention you / your fellow Americans having a paying job. An imported car puts the majority of that money into the country of origin. Why do you think foreign car companies export cars to the US? 

There are at least 1,000,000 people employed directly or indirectly in the auto industry in the U.S. so there's a lot of $$$ involved.


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## oakleychevyguy (Feb 22, 2015)

I just wish GM would be proud to make the cars here in america. I mean if your a true GM lover, you'd want your vehicle made in America not in some other foreign country. What ever happened to "the heartbeat of America"?


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## JoeInMilwaukee (Dec 10, 2014)

I certainly wouldn't buy, for example, a Chevrolet Spark (7% US/Canada content, finally assembly in Korea) no matter how great of a car it is.


- Joe


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

oakleychevyguy said:


> I just wish GM would be proud to make the cars here in america. I mean if your a true GM lover, you'd want your vehicle made in America not in some other foreign country. What ever happened to "the heartbeat of America"?


There's always price. There's only so much premium you can put on "made in America". The second, you have to go with who makes good parts. If some place that used to make washer pumps in the US closed down, you'll have to go find someone else.

And I'm sure the EPA hasn't been a friend to the auto industry. If we want to put China on a level playing field, send some environmental activists over there.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

ChevyGuy said:


> If we want to put China on a level playing field, send some environmental activists over there.


HeeHee. They'd just be called an "enemy of the state" and arrested.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

With a global economy, more and more jobs will go overseas because it is cheaper. The only way American workers can compete with workers in China and India for the same jobs is to lower the standard of living of the American workers.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Been reading GM, Ford, and Chrysler are building plants slightly across our southern border. Reasons? Shipping cost is getting to expensive from the far east for reason number one.

Reason number two, can get plenty of hard working people for only nineteen bucks per day with lower cost shipping to the USA.

One reason not given, would help keep the Mexicans down there. What about making 19 bucks a day here? 

Five working days a week and 52 weeks in a year comes to $4,940.00. Not even enough to make my property tax bill let alone state, federal, sales tax bills, plus have to eat.

Can we live comfortably on 19 bucks a day in Mexico? Maybe we should all go down there. And how come Chinese vendors on ebay only have to pay 30 cents an item to ship it here, but for us to return that same item, its 50 bucks!


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## Danny5 (Dec 22, 2011)

Volvo will begin shipping cars from China. For some odd reason, this bothers me...

Volvo to be first automaker to export Chinese cars to U.S. - Jan. 12, 2015

Maybe it's all the youtube videos of Cherys failing crash tests???


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## bowtieblue (May 26, 2014)

Danny5 said:


> Volvo will begin shipping cars from China. For some odd reason, this bothers me...
> 
> Volvo to be first automaker to export Chinese cars to U.S. - Jan. 12, 2015
> 
> Maybe it's all the youtube videos of Cherys failing crash tests???


 Crash test results are more reflective of how a car is designed, engineered, etc. than where it is assembled.

Quality control factors would be more of a concern with assembly but Volvo/Geely claims to be on top of that with this China plant. It will be interesting to see how the S60L does here.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Jim Frye said:


> HeeHee. They'd just be called an "enemy of the state" and arrested.


Oh, well. Nice try. But we would reduce our surplus. :grin:


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

NickD said:


> Been reading GM, Ford, and Chrysler are building plants slightly across our southern border. Reasons? Shipping cost is getting to expensive from the far east for reason number one.


I suspect there's tariffs on cars entering the country that get bypassed for Mexico. Probably one of the big reasons that the Japanese started assembling cars here.

But Mexico lacks two more things: Unions, EPA and OHSA. Oops. That's three.


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## jamescyberjoe (Jun 23, 2015)

I have a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze. I love it. It's a little small but it serves my needs quite well. I'll admit that due to an injury I don't use it much but it's there when I do. All I added was floor mats and vent shades. Both from USA. From what I can see I have determined that my Cruze, while assembled in Ohio has a large Chinese part content. 
Honestly I don't care as the quality is good but I have found:
This model was designed by GM Korea (formally Daewoo Motors)
The key fobs are from a supplier called Yu Shin
The Onstar electronics are from LG 
The glass comes from Funyu? 
The touchscreen is Panasonic China as well as the climate control
The speakers from some Shenzhen electronics company
Air and oil filters are AC Delco but sourced from China as well
The tires are Firestone but are from Indosnesia
ALL the wiring is from Mexico
Most sensors in the engine compartment are Bosch Germany and Poland
The engine, tranny and related electronics are US made.
I know more about my car than the idiots who sold it to me.
I am sure GM sources parts from the lowest bidders like any other business and it could change from different production runs. I honestly don't care as we live in a global economy nowadays. That's world we live in.

My previous car was a 2011 Chevrolet Aveo5. Good car but not really enjoyable over the long run. Had all the personality of a rental bike. That car had the most primitive suspension. And at 60,000 miles or so, transmission started leaking. Traded it in for my Cruze.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

EPA should be changed to EBA, environmental banning agency. First thing to go was our semiconductor industry, unfortunately some deformed babies were born because the chemical were dumped in the sewer system. Could have collected that stuff and shipped it to Mexico, the Philippines, and even Japan, but instead the entire industry was shipped to these countries. 

Or just added some cost to distill it. This was in the early 70's/

Next to go was trichlorethylene, very fast and efficient way to clean metal parts. Was reuseable, distilled, yeah, some got out, but not very much, remmants was mostly oil sludge, that could be recycled. Instead, acid baths were used, so-called biodegradable. Since a water rinse was required, parts had to go through a heated chamber or a rust coat would build up, extra production expense. And people were getting sick from acid fumes. Late 70's as I recall.

Next was solvent based paints, mostly affected us with transformer varnish, could be vacuum impregnated, and air dried. With water based varnishes, more heat energy had to be used, water took a heck of a lot longer, didn't adhere as well, more discards, less profit.

Water based paints were new, not perfected, and would chip off, doing a better job today, but was a disaster when this first started. Early 80's as I recall.

Next to go was electroplating, all electric contacts had to be plated. A first the terminals were embedded in a plastic housing, had to be soldered in place, always an expensive operation, for harnesses, went to Mexico for cheaper labor. Then as time went by more and more of these connectors had to be used to meet EPA emission requirement.

When electrical switches were made here, just bare copper was used, this was done for most of the 90's, grease was used, but would quickly wear off, and copper oxide is an excellent insulator, a tone of problems. To ease on soldering, connector housings switched to push in terminals. At first the end of the wires were stripped for a much better air tight seal. Copper wire was pretinned, switch to bare copper wire, have this in your battery terminals connectors. Are you having problems with these?

Then someone came up with the brilliant idea of eliminating that stripping operation and using an insulation displacement terminal would pierce the insulation making just a point contact to bare copper wire, talk about brand new problems. After a few years, corrosion would set in, again copper oxide. 

Getting terminals from China really isn't that bad, not Mexico, they still can plate. Really all this is done by automation so the cost advantage with long shipping expenses isn't that much, but congress making these laws, didn't realize when the buck leaves here, they can't tax it. So are going deep in debt.

Look what they did to our steel industry, Gary, IN, is a flat field today. Yes, there was problems, never solved, just exported. Someone is coming up with the strange idea that its not local pollution, but global instead. Ha, California moved all of their coal burning electrical plants to Nevada. This is how the government thinks. Strong on electrical vehicles as long as electricity is produced across the state line. 

How could I forget about asbestos? This was really a major nightmare, we were fabrication this stuff in an air filtrated area, workers where wearing dust masks, really no problems. Banned and had to find something else, the dust could be buried in a hole, this is where this stuff came from. But the law is the law. Also used in building materials that was banned with excellent fire protection properties. Was said if the World Trade Centers used asbestos materials, they would be still standing.

After it was manufactured, a very hard substance and dust free. But even hair dryers were recalled on the premise that a spec of dust would blow off, not very likely, would go up the uses nose and cause cancer. A very natural material, and the ground is loaded with this stuff.

Major headache was in brakes and clutch discs, guy went crazy trying to find a substitute. Maybe a good point in this application, in use, would put plenty of brake dust in high traffic areas. This is one thing this country has, high traffic areas with a traffic light every short block.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Ha, Y2K was another bad year, spend more time updating computers than doing work. This was strictly an a$$hole kind of marketing thing, computers were very expensive back then, but memory only cost a couple of cents, did have IC's. So let's save a couple of cents on a several thousand buck computer and use a two digit date. Guys doing the work were against this, but most of our high paid executives are complete a$$holes for lack of a better work.

Not fun living in a country ruled by a$$holes. 


Ha, made this comment before and its true, as engineering manager was invited to our country club for lunch, first I took a rain check on alcohol, had to drive back with a load of problems to solve, this sure didn't stop the executives. Then was told, Nick, we have to reduce production costs. Without thinking, said, then lets leave this country club and have this meeting at Macs. Wasn't the best thing to say.

In foreign competition, had the IRS, DOT, EPA, ERA,OSHA, DNR to deal with, high cost of health insurance, paid vacation, and holidays, this all added to the production costs. Main manufacturing was done down south in a right to work state. Like calling killing unborn kids is called pro-choice, a politically correct term for no unions. 

Was offered a position across the border, but had to move to Texas, turned that down, first comment was, are you going to give me a whip? Or at least a pair of boots when walking down those sewer laden streets. 

Wasn't living in a country like this in the 60's, but sure changed after they created all these new government agencies. Never got help from them, just fines and banning, resulting in importation.

None of this are lies or stories, actual facts and experience.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

NickD said:


> Been reading GM, Ford, and Chrysler are building plants slightly across our southern border. Reasons? Shipping cost is getting to expensive from the far east for reason number one.
> 
> Reason number two, can get plenty of hard working people for only nineteen bucks per day with lower cost shipping to the USA.
> 
> ...


Carrier Air Conditioning says they'll be paying $19/hr in Mexico. This works out to be $39,520 per year before taxes. Companies also know they can work Mexican workers up to 20 hours a week overtime.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

obermd said:


> Carrier Air Conditioning says they'll be paying $19/hr in Mexico. This works out to be $39,520 per year before taxes. Companies also know they can work Mexican workers up to 20 hours a week overtime.


I heard it was 19 bucks per DAY, or as high as 26 bucks per day. Quite a difference between a day and an hour. 

What is overtime? Recall that word sometimes in the distant past, but can't remember what it meant.

A work day in China is something like 16 hours, also have to define a day.


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## det (Aug 19, 2014)

cruzinred92 said:


> It's funny I saw an episode of either how they do it or how it's made about the subaru legacy being made all in America, not just assembled. It showed how it started with raw rolled steel sheets and they made everything. Only thing was imported was the drivetrain. Funny how a Japanese company was paying American workers to make their cars pretty much from scratch when my cobalts were both made in Mexico lol.


The rolled sheets from that show are likely the sheet metal for the body before being stamped. These large parts are expensive to ship and almost certainly stamped in Lordstown, OH for the Cruze. First gen gas engines were from Flint, MI. I think AT's were from Toledo. The powertrain is expensive, so if Subaru was importing powertrains they likely have less "American" content than the Cruze.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

obermd said:


> Carrier Air Conditioning says they'll be paying $19/hr in Mexico. This works out to be $39,520 per year before taxes. Companies also know they can work Mexican workers up to 20 hours a week overtime.


 That just doesn't sound right as the minimum wage in Mexico is $4.19 a day? Did you have a credible link to the new pay scale. Also I'm sure the 20 hours overtime is also paid, just not at at a premium wage?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

det said:


> The rolled sheets from that show are likely the sheet metal for the body before being stamped. These large parts are expensive to ship and almost certainly stamped in Lordstown, OH for the Cruze. First gen gas engines were from Flint, MI. I think AT's were from Toledo. The powertrain is expensive, so if Subaru was importing powertrains they likely have less "American" content than the Cruze.


They actually shipped complete engines for the 2011- early 12 model year from Austria until Flint was up and running for the 1.4. All MTs too.


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## det (Aug 19, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> They actually shipped complete engines for the 2011- early 12 model year from Austria until Flint was up and running for the 1.4. All MTs too.


Diesels probably come from Europe as well. And just because the engine is built here doesn't mean all the parts come from here.


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