Wife needs a new car

[slapshot1979]

I think the discount worked out to be about $1000.

[marlo]

Chinese steel from our scrap metal. Refined in Asia and sold to America.

[Orange]

Nothing like Chinese steel....<~ I really mean that,

[slapshot1979]

Heres my soapbox rant....

Im a millwright at an industrial factory. Last week built and installed a new soft water system. all new piping, hardware, etc. Ran about 300' piping. almost half of new unions leaked (Yes..tight and installed properly).
and reducing bushing with inner hole on and angle so next pipe was on a beauty angle .
Removed the unions after many attempts to get sealed with no luck. checked faces and everyone was inconsitantly differnet and had to mix and match to find some decent ones and throw rest in scrap.
Were was it all made......yup CHINA. Im getting sick of this cheap crap.
I get it, cost is biggest factor these days for the things we buy but in this senario when you throw most in the scrap is there any savings?
And were does this leave us when we build our country out of crap products..... rant over. thank you

[GoMachV]

Don't know if it's true but I heard from a customer that the good ole USA closed shop on the last lead manufacturing plant recently. Not that we use much lead anymore but the lead we do use will come from lands where safety is not exactly job #1.

I guess we will always have helium lol

[kaiser]

we make some nice styrofoam too.

[marlo]

Don't know if it's true but I heard from a customer that the good ole USA closed shop on the last lead manufacturing plant recently. Not that we use much lead anymore but the lead we do use will come from lands where safety is not exactly job #1.

I guess we will always have helium lol

I'm glad this was mentioned, I was going to post a pick up in my "Hobby Money" thread. I'm sure, but not 100% that Australia is the #1 producer of lead. Where I am, I sell used car batteries for $8-10 per. I have 13 of then. I also heard (maybe a joke tho..) That the Chinese are buying all the brass and lead to make bullets ......almost all metals ends up there anyway.

[Sixtysixdeuce]

That's the thing, The FTC does not consider parts made out of out-sourced materials American made... They consider the material the most substantial cost of the product.... In other words, a chunk of steel could come from China and the part is made out of it in the USA and that is not considered "American Made" in the eyes of the FTC because its Chinese steel.

Well, that would depend on the process. A hot rolled steel pipe? Yeah, materials cost is higher than production cost. A forged steel 1911 frame? The materials are peanuts compared to the amortized cost of the purchase and maintenance of forging and milling equipment, and the man hours for final machining and finishing.

Not that we use much lead anymore but

Some of us do

I also heard (maybe a joke tho..) That the Chinese are buying all the brass and lead to make bullets ......almost all metals ends up there anyway.

There is some truth to that. However, ammunition is still big business right here in the good 'ol US of A. With the present demand, the manufacturers cannot keep up. Go try to buy a box of .22 LR; the domestic makers are churning out about 9 million rounds of it per day, yet the shelves are still bare all over the country.

[askbob]

^ No joke on the 22LR. Used to find it everywhere. Now you can't find it anywhere. 380 about the same.
I have managed to horde quite a bit of 22LR though.

[RC104ever]

i work for vw and i'd take a mexican built car over a german built car any day.
the puebla plant has excellent qc. the new vw plant in chattanooga tn is where the new passats are built.
i'm currently in a new passat and i am pleasantly suprised by the build quality. the germans on the other hand.....well they miss welds.

(3) is a mexican vin# btw.

I knew there was a reason I liked kaiser

[MelvinsArmy]

For those who care, there are plenty of ways to continue supporting American workers. Think about your more frequent and every day purchases, like clothing. Stop buying Levis and Nike. There are plenty of American made jeans companies (and shirt companies) making products here in the US that cost the same or less than Levis. New Balance still makes some of their shoes (not all) here in the US. Work boots too, Redwing has moved some production over seas, but the "good" ones are still made here. This has been something I've been obsessed with for a few years now. We live in a world where it's impossible not to patronize companies who rely on 3rd world sweat shops, but there are still plenty of options for avoiding them when it comes to certain scenarios. When you go to the hardware store, or wherever, check the box before you buy, you might be surprised.

My wife also needed a new car. I traded our Tacoma for this last night. It's a 2010 certified pre-owned Ford Fusion. Made in Mexico. I'm pretty impressed with it. It has good reviews and ratings online, so hopefully it will be good to us.

[slotcarrod]

Traded the Taco to get better gas mileage?

[Coelacanth]

Don't know if it's true but I heard from a customer that the good ole USA closed shop on the last lead manufacturing plant recently. Not that we use much lead anymore but the lead we do use will come from lands where safety is not exactly job #1.

Confucius say one who can't lead doomed to follow.

[Orange]

I just bought 1000 rounds of 22lr at a gun show a couple months ago.... Also got 1000 .380 and 1000 .223. I have about 4000 rounds of .45 and also around 3000 rounds of 9mm. Another gun show this weekend, another 1000 coming up! I love Arizona!!!

[GoMachV]

Confucius say one who can't lead doomed to follow.

I never thought about "that" use for lead. Makes sense, they want to take our guns away might as well take away the bullets too. Were so screwed