Thanks Ford, for helping to ruin our economy by taking hundreds of jobs out of our country and market. Way to be team players when the going gets tough! I guess it is just easier to build a new plant than it is to comply with the EPA, and not to mention the workforce that is happy to do the job for mere pennies on the dollar. Good to see that Ford is so "Green" in their building too, way to save the Rain Forrests......
maybe if the environmental nazis and the unions would ease up a bit businesses could run like businesses. and kind of funny to rip on Ford for taking jobs out of the USA when you are on an import car forum...???
maybe if the environmental nazis and the unions would ease up a bit businesses could run like businesses. and kind of funny to rip on Ford for taking jobs out of the USA when you are on an import car forum...???
Perhaps you'd prefer the "good old days" of uncontrolled air, water, and hazardous waste pollution spewed out by businesses being "run like businesses?" Or maybe a non-unionized labor force working at poverty wages is more to your liking? Why do you think they moved to Brazil in the first place? Are we supposed to lower our living standards so Ford can stay here? Or wouldn't it be better for Ford to be a good corporate neighbor and environmental steward no matter where they go? How is it that other car companies like Honda, Toyota, BMW and others can provide their workers with good wages, meet pollution standards, and still do well in the market without always crying foul about environmental standards and union wages?
It is a complete and utter myth that environmental regulations have had a significant adverse impact on economic activity. This myth has been debunked in several nonpartisan studies. Probably the original and best known of these was done by Prof. Meyer of MIT, who looked at the economic activities of all 50 states and compared those with strict regulations (e.g., California) with those having more lax regulations. Surprisingly, he found that those states with strict regulations consistently out-performed states with lax regulations on all the economic indicators measured. Don't believe me? Check it out yourself at Republicans for Environmental Protection website (a surprise find for me if ever there was one):
And I don't see the hypocrisy of ripping on Ford in this forum. The smart cars we buy were not originally made here by a U.S. company, so no American jobs were exported to France and Germany. And, unlike Ford going over to Brazil, France and Germany are not exporting their pollution to the U.S. by sending their polluting companies over here. Rather, smart is making cars in France in probably the most environmentally friendly way. I doubt the French would consider themselves in the same position as the Brazilians who have to breathe, drink, and eat Ford's emissions under the more lax Brazilian pollution standards.
.........and kind of funny to rip on Ford for taking jobs out of the USA when you are on an import car forum...???
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smart Enuf
.....And I don't see the hypocrisy of ripping on Ford in this forum. The smart cars we buy were not originally made here by a U.S. company, so no American jobs were exported to France and Germany.
my guess here is that in buying an import, you are not supporting the American workforce, but that of the country from which your import came, such as France in the case of smart. if EVERYONE bought an import, there wouldn't be ANY American car manufacturer workforce left.
on the 'flip side' of that equation, i've seen on this forum several times the suggestion that smart build a facility here in the US to take care of the demand for smarts in THIS country. by doing that, wouldn't they just be following in the footsteps of Toyota, Honda, BMW, etc in that THEY have taken away jobs from their own countrys workforce and brought them HERE? ever wonder how they feel about that back in Germany and Japan? we can't have it BOTH WAYS, ya know??????
as for ME buying an 'import'? yea, i'm getting my smart, but i still own my Jeep too....built right here in the good old U.S. of A. in Belvedere Illinois. hey, i like to 'spread the love'!!!!!!
Thanks Ford, for helping to ruin our economy by taking hundreds of jobs out of our country and market. Way to be team players when the going gets tough! I guess it is just easier to build a new plant than it is to comply with the EPA, and not to mention the workforce that is happy to do the job for mere pennies on the dollar. Good to see that Ford is so "Green" in their building too, way to save the Rain Forrests......
Sorry, if I offend anyone with that rant.....
Anyone bother to think that this plant is used to make cars for the South American market much like BMW, Mercedes, Kia, Toyota, Honda, etc. have plants in the US to make cars for the US market?
Now, agreed chopping down more rainforest to build it was a bone head idea.
Last edited by msjohnson1974; 06-26-2008 at 06:06 AM.
No matter where you stand on the environment, labor, etc. you have to admit this plant is not only a technological marvel, but also business genius. There's little to no outsourcing of jobs or parts, AND they have their own port so they can ship product out immediately to its corresponding market.
No matter where you stand on the environment, labor, etc. you have to admit this plant is not only a technological marvel, but also business genius. There's little to no outsourcing of jobs or parts, AND they have their own port so they can ship product out immediately to its corresponding market.
I don't doubt for a second that the plant is state-of-the-art; that much was clear from the video, and kudos to Ford for integrating all the production and shipping infrastructure into one location. The issue I had was with the post suggesting that Ford would have stayed here if only the eco-nazi regulators and greedy union workers would just give Ford a break. And I also have an issue with Ford clearing rainforest land to make this facility.
my guess here is that in buying an import, you are not supporting the American workforce, but that of the country from which your import came, such as France in the case of smart. if EVERYONE bought an import, there wouldn't be ANY American car manufacturer workforce left.
on the 'flip side' of that equation, i've seen on this forum several times the suggestion that smart build a facility here in the US to take care of the demand for smarts in THIS country. by doing that, wouldn't they just be following in the footsteps of Toyota, Honda, BMW, etc in that THEY have taken away jobs from their own countrys workforce and brought them HERE? ever wonder how they feel about that back in Germany and Japan? we can't have it BOTH WAYS, ya know??????
as for ME buying an 'import'? yea, i'm getting my smart, but i still own my Jeep too....built right here in the good old U.S. of A. in Belvedere Illinois. hey, i like to 'spread the love'!!!!!!
Ford doesn't offer the smart, and the smart was what I wanted, not the Focus or any other existing Ford product. If Ford made the smart, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But they don't, so what's your point? So I'm betraying the American workforce by buying a car from another company even though Ford doesn't offer the car I want? By buying the smart, am I not supporting the American workforce who pilot the cargo vessels into American waters, unload the vehicles at the docks, deliver the cars by road, sell the cars at the smart dealer, underwrite my car loan, and service my car? Do none those people benefit from my purchase of an import?
well, with the current climate in the USA regarding unions and enviromental concerns we will NEVER have thriving manufacturing like we once did whether you like it or not. China, India and others are on the move and it's too bad but the USA will be taking a back seat to this boom and will most likely look like A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY in 20 years.
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