BUY AMERICAN Picking tires is more than just the tread (Buy American Mention of the Week, 8-17-13)

[Omaha Steve]

http://mobile.wnd.com/2013/08/picking-tires-is-more-than-just-the-tread/

You can’t bolster American independence by fostering foreign dependency. But that’s exactly what you would be doing if you were to buy Cooper brand tires next time the tread runs thin on the ones that are on your car now.

On Wednesday, June 12, Cooper Tire and Rubber Company was swept up by Apollo Tyres of India for $2.5 billion in cash, leaving Goodyear as the sole remaining major tire company in America.



That’s right. Every other major company you can name is foreign owned except for Goodyear, which also owns the Kelly-Springfield and Dunlop brands. Bridgestone/Firestone is based in Japan. Michelin (which also owns the American-sounding BF Goodrich) is based in France. Continental is a German-owned brand.

It is correct that all of the above foreign brands make at least some of their tires in the United States, but their profits unfortunately accrue to foreign countries to reward foreign owners, foreign investors, and foreign stockholders.

FULL story at link.

[Demo_Chris]

1. Which are MADE here?

[bhikkhu]

3. The best way to tell is to look at the tire itself

It will say somewhere the country of manufacture.

Brand is not how you tell, as Cooper, Goodyear, all the major brands have factories all over the world. I work in the automotive business and we've ordered in Goodyears and others for people who wanted to buy American, only to get the tires and see a "made in Indonesia" or "made in Thailand" stamp.

As a note, even though Cooper was bought out they still have plenty of manufacture here, and its not likely to move. A list of plants and the DOT codes that identify them is here: http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm . I use that site at work to keep up on where things are coming from, and which plants to avoid when we have problems with tires.

[Demo_Chris]

4. Yeah, years ago I sold cars...

I happened to sell Honda's, most of which were made here -- in contrast with many of the 'American' cars, many of which (at that time) were not.

[Skeeter Barnes]

2. How to buy Union made tires:

http://www.usw.org/media_center/news_articles?id=0409

[James48]

6. thanks

I always buy only us made Union made tires.

[matt819]

5. Made in America

Slightly misleading title, I guess. I have no idea which tires are made in America. In fact, what I don't know about tires could fill a book.

That said, it might be a little too simplistic to say that profits accrue to foreign owners, investors, stockholders. Assuming most of the tire companies are publicly held, profits accrue to shareholders, who may in fact be Americans - individual shareholders, mutual funds, etc. Not that that means anything to me, since I own shares in nothing, but you get the idea. Also, many of these foreign companies have US entities that may be listed companies in the US, and even if not they have employees here, and those that manufacture here employ people, etc.

[Rebellious Republican]

7. Funny thing happened to me just the other day...

I went to visit my British friend, I pulled into his drive way, where a very modern and tricked out VW sat. I pulled into him nose to nose. We were both having a bit of a chuckle, mine was a new HONDA CRV. If anyone remembers their history, the VW was a Hitler/Nazi car for the people. Honda has its history in world war two as well.

So here we sat an Englishman who has a family history of being bombed by the Nazi's and an American with a history of being bombed by the Japanese. Both owning cars, nose to nose from our perspective enemies. Face it, nothing is made in America anymore. Call it what you want, I also had a 1997 Ford F150, that was pretty much metric, and the dealer was proud to announce that it had a Mitsubishi Transmission.

In 1933, with many of the above projects still in development or early stages of production, Adolf Hitler got involved, demanding the production of a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph). He wanted his German citizens to have the same access to a car as the Americans.[5] The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings plan at 990 Reichsmark (US$396 in 1930s dollars)—about the price of a small motorcycle (the average income being around 32RM a week).[6][7]

Tōkai Seiki was placed under control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (called the Ministry of Munitions after 1943) at the start of World War II, and Soichiro Honda was demoted from president to senior managing director after Toyota took a 40% stake in the company.[11] Honda also aided the war effort by assisting other companies in automating the production of military aircraft propellers.[11] The relationships Honda cultivated with personnel at Toyota, Nakajima Aircraft Company and the Imperial Japanese Navy would be instrumental in the postwar period.

[Motown_Johnny]

9. Your statement is inaccurate,

but things are not as they once were. That is for sure.

I live within 10 miles of a plant that assembles the Chevy Volt. I see car carriers full of them on I-94 on a regular basis. Yes I also see parts being shipped to the plant, but we are still building cars here (to some extent).


http://editorial.autos.msn.com/what-are-the-most-american-made-automobiles



^snip^



What Are the Most American-Made Automobiles?

By Evan Griffey of MSN Autos

"Made in America" doesn't mean the same thing it did during this country's manufacturing heyday, especially when it comes to automobiles. Luckily for those flag-waving car buyers who wish to express their nationalism by purchasing a vehicle built mostly by American workers, the American Automobile Labeling Act of 1992 requires automakers to list the percentage of United States and Canadian parts, the country of assembly and the origin of the engine and transmission for every model sold.

Click through to see the ten 2012 vehicles that are the most "made in America."

[Motown_Johnny]

8. Kicking, since the Tire industry here is following the path of the Textile industry

and without any "look for the union label" songs on TV it would seem that the end is inevitable.


Even so, there is still hope.