What's really happening to the automotive industry?

Toyota is building cars and trucks in the U.S., not in Japan, not in Mexico. That provides jobs here in the U.S. GM and others build a large number of their autos in Mexico.

Toyota builds a good car, gets good gas mileage, lasts forever and is very competitive in price to U.s. auto makers.

If GM or Ford could do the same,, they would be in better shape today. As long as Honda and Toyota continue to build better cars and build them in the U.S. ,, I'd expect them to do good while Gm and Ford continue to decline.

But,, nobody will force YOU to buy a "foreign" auto.

It's a double edged sword. If they don't allow competition, then there is no motivation to improve the quality while lowering the cost of American cars. People lose jobs, but on the other hand, more people can afford cheaper, more efficient foreign cars nationwide.

I don't think that removing choice from the consumer is a good way to deal with the situation. The answer would be for the US auto industry give more reasons to buy American other than giving some folks a job. That sounds good and all, but when it comes to a relatively large purchase that you will own for the next 10 years, there has to be more incentive.

Competition helps US companies to try to keep innovating. That's why the US doesn't really allow monopolies. (But the economy is so bad now, they are letting companies grow). Besides, I think outsourcing is affecting more jobs (but it's great for US companies)

Technically, the US does not make it that easy to compete. For example, there is a tax for imported pickup trucks - Japanese manufacturers now assemble then in the US. Also the US is very strict with emission controls and safety, for example, it was practically impossible to import a 2003 VW Beetle. There are also lot of cars that aren't available, for example Kei cars (probably smaller than he Mini!) and diesel engines like those on Corollas. (Anyway most people in the US would not buy them).

I think the problem with the US auto industry is that foreign companies have improved drastically their manufacturing process and quality controls during the last 20 years.

But what is really foreign now? Ford owns part of Mazda, Volvo, etc. GM owns part of Isuzu, Daweoo, Suzuki, etc. There's a plant in the US owned by both Toyota and GM.

I think a related and better question to ask is why are american auto makers consistently putting out crap? Foreign cars exist here for a reason. Demand. Simple as that. Look at any car magazine in the last 15 years and you will find foreign cars CONSISTENTLY better american cars in style, quality, and reliability. Now I may get thumbs down as I'm sure there are die-hard american car enthusiasts here. I bought an american car and consistently had car troubles. Got rid of that car and went japanese. 3 jap cars later, 0 problems - same thing with my brother, 2 sisters, father, and friends. As far as the jobs being affected, don't you realize that companies such as Toyota are major employers of US citizens? They have built factories and employed thousands of americans. To the american engineers, we built the first cars here. We should build the best cars every year, hands down. But we don't. Stop putting out "good enough" crap and build better cars!

Given that the US is a free society, people are allowed to buy what they want to, and the "American" carmakers haven't always competed very well.

Many of the "foreign" vehicles are actually made in the US, and many "domestic" models aren't (Canada instead), so it's not a simple question.

Unfortunately the Auto Unions in America have helped in the results of "free enterprise" making it possible for foreign motor works to override(so to speak) the over expectant nature of the FAT CAT American Unions.

What a catch 22...It's all written in the rules classified as

" The American Way"

I heard Paul Harvey say once that Toyota is actually more American than Ford. Lets take one model for an example; The Ford Focus is about 65% assembled in the U.S. using parts manufactured in Mexico and Asian countries. The Toyota Camry is 95% assembled in the U.S. using parts that are 70% manufactured in America. Which car company do you think employs more American people?

Allowed to compete? We are a capitalist society, competition is the name of the game. That's how we keep quality high and prices low.

I'd like jobs to stay in the US too, but we have to stop assuming Americans are entitled to jobs and bring something to the table. Mainly quality. If someone else can do your job same or better quality, cheaper, they deserve it. You don't like it? Be the best at what you do and irreplaceable.

Okay here is the deal. Thanks to politicians who only think about their own agenda, we now have a hell of a mess when it comes to our market. They make it easy for the forgin companies to sell their products in America. This cost American companies a pretty penny because now people are no longer buying American. Politicians want it this away to say we need more workers so lets bring in the illegals from Mexico. NO! They only want them so that their wallets can get fatter! These politicians have businesses of their own or in conjunction with businesses. To make their wallets fatter, they need cheap labor. To get cheap labor you must break the back bone of the United States and that through American workers! It cost very little to make a car in the United States but with the cost of living going up because of the out of control economy, it cost four or five times more than a moderately taxed forgin car. We have a group of people to blame and it's our greedy Politicians in Washington D.C.! ~JK~

Legislation is currently debating over the price of gas at the pump and working with the major car manufacturers of the U.S. to start building cars to begin burning ethanol instead of gasoline. Keep in mind legislative processes are very slow