View Full Version : Are Import Cars Actually Imports Anymore???
pogox
10-17-2004, 11:32 AM
I wish to know which imports are actually imports anymore??? The design of an import is actually foreign, but the imports are made in Canadian/American car factories. I already know that higher end import sports cars are actually imported to N.America but can you consider most of the Toyota/Honda/Nissan, etc. line of cars imports anymore???
I'm curious because that is one of the reasons why Toyota was allowed to race in the "DOMESTIC" Truck NASCAR race, because technically that Toyota truck was made in an American factory so it qualified as a domestic. I don't really know the details so I'm not sure. :dunno:
civicluva
10-17-2004, 11:48 AM
while were on this topic, is a honda civic made in japan?
Redlyne_mr2
10-17-2004, 11:50 AM
There really isnt such a thing as imports and domestics anymore. Domestics are made overseas and imports are made here in North America. Alot of Nissans products are now considered domestics by the government and are subsequently taxed that way
I think a lot of it depends on the model too.
Take toyota for example: The camry's for the North American market are made in NA, while the 4runners for Canada are still made in Japan.
Each factory usually specializes in one or two vehicles, and caters to the market in the general vicinity.
Aleks
10-17-2004, 12:55 PM
Originally posted by civicluva
while were on this topic, is a honda civic made in japan?
Pretty sure there are made in North America.
GTS Jeff
10-17-2004, 01:39 PM
doesnt really matter where its made. the manufacturer has a set way of running a factory and set manufacturing tolerances on everything, so it doesnt matter where the plants are setup. its all computer and robot driven too.
the difference is that often say toyota manufacturing tolerances are way smaller than say manufacturing tolerances of gm. shit like that is what makes a difference in quality and reliability.
Aleks
10-17-2004, 02:35 PM
^^
So to you it would make no difference whether your car was made in japan or mexico?
GTS Jeff
10-17-2004, 02:43 PM
Originally posted by Aleks
^^
So to you it would make no difference whether your car was made in japan or mexico? well yea id probably rather have a civic built in japan vs mexico, but id bet that the mexican made honda is more reliable than a german built vw for example.
but seriously, there are way more important things to worry about in life :D
FiveFreshFish
10-17-2004, 02:47 PM
Originally posted by civicluva
while were on this topic, is a honda civic made in japan?
Most Civics are made in Alliston, Ontario since MY 1991. The current SiR is made in England.
You can tell a car's origin by the first character of the VIN.
1 = USA
2 = Canada
3 = Mexico
J = Japan
S = UK
Redlyne_mr2
10-17-2004, 02:59 PM
The manufacturing procedures in NA are still much less stringent than in other countries such as Germany or Japan. The MB ML is a piece, it's made in Tenessee. The new civics are only getting worse and worse. Don't even get me started on all the quality issues Nissan is having with their Mexican built units.
SmAcKpOo
10-18-2004, 01:14 AM
my civic is an import, it was manufactured in the UK
N'Syncro
10-18-2004, 10:37 AM
Most VW's nowadays are made in Mexico. Some are still built in Germany.
To add to FiveFreshFish:
W=Germany
20incheyes
10-18-2004, 10:53 AM
VDUBS made in Brazil too vin starts with 9
X3 made in Austria
Smart made in France
Xtrema
10-18-2004, 11:19 AM
Honda is adopting "build where the market is" strategy. So no more imports unless halo models - RL, NSX, S2000 - or special cases - SiR, TSX.
You may see some Japanese Civic/Accord during initial ramp up to volume on model change.
Honda actually has higher domestic contents than the Big Three.
Scandalous
10-19-2004, 11:34 AM
It would be funny to tell a hardcore import enthusiast that he ain't driving an import, that he's actually pimpin' around in a domestic...lol...this can start quite a controversy...
QuasarCav
10-19-2004, 11:38 AM
Originally posted by Scandalous
It would be funny to tell a hardcore import enthusiast that he ain't driving an import, that he's actually pimpin' around in a domestic...lol...this can start quite a controversy...
It would also be funny to tell a Subaru driver he is driving a Chevy! I think GM owns 25% of Fuji heavy industries, which owns subaru.
Or telling a Jag driver that they are driving a Ford. It's a global marketplace, companies want to build for cheaper and pay less shipping costs. It just makes more financial sense to build a higher-volume car in the place where most of them are sold.
As GTSjeff stated, The factory may be on domestic soil but the factory still has to live by Import standards.
Scandalous
10-19-2004, 11:51 AM
Its true that car manufacturers owns or owns shares of each other one way or the other, for marketing, R&D, expansion, etc, etc...
I haven't bought a car recently, and am not up to date with the values of cars these days...but it seems that the prices for "imports" are still the price of "imports", regardless if the vehicle is manufactured in N.America or not.
The car manufacturers are obviously saving money, but it doesn't seem like consumers are seeing any sort of price reduction too.
QuasarCav
10-19-2004, 12:00 PM
Originally posted by Scandalous
Its true that car manufacturers owns or owns shares of each other one way or the other, for marketing, R&D, expansion, etc, etc...
I haven't bought a car recently, and am not up to date with the values of cars these days...but it seems that the prices for "imports" are still the price of "imports", regardless if the vehicle is manufactured in N.America or not.
The car manufacturers are obviously saving money, but it doesn't seem like consumers are seeing any sort of price reduction too.
It's that we aren't seeing a price increase, not a decrease.
Scandalous
10-19-2004, 12:15 PM
Thats true too...for example, the common notion is that Japanese cars are more reliable because of manufacturing standards, Kaizen, etc...and so are priced a little higher than domestics. Its too bad that the general public are not aware of the business side and will always assume this.
If you didn't know this, you would go in to Mazda assuming your gonna get a "reliable" import car. However, its under Ford and for the past few years, Mazda cars are no longer reliable.
I guess it makes sense that you would pay more for quality, regardless if its made here or abroad. Thats if you know a little more than the average joe.
Are imports, imports anymore... short answer... NO!
Heres a current list of who owns who!
Bmw owns:
BMW
Mini
Rolls Royce
Daimler/Chrysler owns:
Chrysler
Dodge
Eagle
Hyundai (10%)
Jeep
Maybach
Mercedes-Benz
Mitsubishi (37%)
Plymouth
Smart
Fiat owns:
Alfa Romeo
Ferrari
Fiat
Lancia
Maserati
Ford owns:
Aston Martin
Ford
Jaguar
Land Rover (recent purchase but still contains BMW engines)
Lincoln
Mazda (33%)
Mercury
Volvo
Fuji Heavy Industries owns:
Subaru (80%)
GM owns:
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Daewoo (44%)
Fiat (20%)
GMC
Holden
Hummer
Isuzu
Oldsmobile
Opel
Pontiac
Saab
Saturn
Subaru (20%)
Vauxhall
Honda owns:
Honda
Acura
Hyundai owns:
Hyundai
Kia
Nissan owns:
Inifiniti
Nissan
Peugeot owns:
Citroen
Peugeot
Renault owns:
Renault (85%)
Nissan (44%)
Toyota owns:
Lexus
Scion
Toyota
Volkswagen owns:
Audi
Bentley
Bugatti
Lamborghini
SEAT
Skoda
Volkswagen
Independantly owned:
TVR
Porsche
Cosworth
Qvale
Vector (tho in receivership)
Shelby American
Saleen
McLaren
Tommy Kaira
Lotus (From what i hear formerly part of volkswagen!)
so you see with all this cross control investing going on its hard to say that any one manufacturer is clearly a national brand... most of the partial ownership investments have been made so as to gain control over operations and finances... all in the name of saving money... renault purchased nissan out of near bankruptcy and immediatley started reversing and undoing the construction of the cars in favor of a less costly way (less quality)...
Cars regardless of what brand almost all nowadays have comparable build quality because of the decades of cross investing and the universalarity of factorys.
there are exceptions to this however as is found in most independantly owned manufacturers where cars seem to come first. IMO!
Rav4Guy
10-19-2004, 01:13 PM
Many companies such as Toyota still produces some of their cars in Japan. They are assembled there and then transported over. So there are still imports being imported.
but now through explosive sales in N. America, companies such as Toyota and Honda are planning on/already have assembly plants here. Its cheaper than to produce it in Japan and ship it over. Less risky. Now... because these companies need to train new employees for their plants, you will have new unexperienced people building your cars.
GTS Jeff
10-19-2004, 01:54 PM
Originally posted by Rav4Guy
Many companies such as Toyota still produces some of their cars in Japan. They are assembled there and then transported over. So there are still imports being imported.
but now through explosive sales in N. America, companies such as Toyota and Honda are planning on/already have assembly plants here. Its cheaper than to produce it in Japan and ship it over. Less risky. Now... because these companies need to train new employees for their plants, you will have new unexperienced people building your cars. civics and accords arent hand assembled buddy.
izzoblitzo
10-19-2004, 02:06 PM
cp1, thanks for the list man.. that's pretty cool :thumbsup:
crazydave
10-19-2004, 03:24 PM
my 90 240sx was made in japan:D ...that makes me happy for some reason knowing i drive a true import car still.lol im just playin i dont really care.
JordanLotoski
10-19-2004, 03:25 PM
my maxima is made in montana
crazydave
10-19-2004, 03:27 PM
:thumbsup: :poosie:
Originally posted by pogox
Re: Are Import Cars Actually Imports Anymore???
SIMPLE !
NO !
Most Jap cars, are actually made in USA, Canada ..
Most American cars, are even worse .. from Brazil, Mexico .. etc ..
At least, they are not Made in CHINA :rofl:
FiveFreshFish
10-19-2004, 06:23 PM
Originally posted by C4S
At least, they are not Made in CHINA :rofl:
Fortunately, the cars made in China are for their own domestic consumption.
Redlyne_mr2
10-19-2004, 06:29 PM
Originally posted by C4S
At least, they are not Made in CHINA :rofl:
China is the next big boom in the auto industry. VW, GM and many other all have cars, engines etc being manufactured there already
yes .. I know .. with 1.3 Billion people .. even BMW built cars in China .. and most stuffs we have now .. are made in china ..
but .. do u want a made in China car ?? :rofl: :rofl:
Redlyne_mr2
10-19-2004, 06:44 PM
Originally posted by C4S
yes .. I know .. with 1.3 Billion people .. even BMW built cars in China .. and most stuffs we have now .. are made in china ..
but .. do u want a made in China car ?? :rofl: :rofl:
I like things that are made in China:poosie:
pogox
10-19-2004, 07:56 PM
Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
I like things that are made in China:poosie:
I like things that are made in China too. Shiet, everything I have is made in China, besides myself...LoL...Though its a sad fact that labour is cheap in China, India, Bangladesh, etc, this cheap labour is allowing manufacturers to keep the price of almost everything they sell at an affordable price.
962 kid
10-19-2004, 08:37 PM
Originally posted by cp1
Lotus (From what i hear formerly part of volkswagen!)
Lotus is owned by Proton
FiveFreshFish
10-19-2004, 08:45 PM
Originally posted by C4S
but .. do u want a made in China car ?? :rofl: :rofl:
Remember this? :D
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?threadid=30754&highlight=geely
Im now working on a new list that lists which companies manufacture internationally (in other countries) stay tuned it may take a few days!
Originally posted by 962 kid
Lotus is owned by Proton
Thank you for the correction! my info on lutos was sketchy at the time of post!
redec
10-20-2004, 02:19 PM
Originally posted by cp1
Independantly owned:
...
Cosworth
...
Ford?
Originally posted by redec
Independant: Cosworth
Ford?
ford is set to let go of cosworth completely either by end of this year or early next... they will continue (rumor) to sponsor cosworth racing tho.
you know i'm not suprised if the auto market is loaded with made in china cars in about 10 years (by made i mean like a chinese brand) it'll be like north american cars trying to out price chinese cars
china which just recently joined the W.T.O. is showing amazing auto industry growth right now at 20% annually compared to the average of the rest of the world at 2-3% annually... so dont be surprised if one day in the near future your gm or honda vehicle is made in china!
Scandalous
10-22-2004, 07:31 PM
Originally posted by cp1
china which just recently joined the W.T.O. is showing amazing auto industry growth right now at 20% annually compared to the average of the rest of the world at 2-3% annually... so dont be surprised if one day in the near future your gm or honda vehicle is made in china!
Yeah, thats true, too bad its going to add to the already bad enough pollution in the major cities there. China is also the center stage for companies to test hybrid/environmentally friendly engines. Kinda wonder what kind of hybrid cars will come out.
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