Try finding parts for your Jeep made in the USA- No way !

[JeffU]

I try buying US made products whenever possible. I will even pay more for them.
Gave up years ago on clothes. The once strong US textile industry is virtually non existent.

Today here in Atlanta they closed a Ford plant that made Taurus/Sable. The GM plant that makes GM mini vans is also scheduled to close.

That brings me to my Jeep. I used to be able to find US made parts at NAPA. It was there cheapo line parts that were made elsewhere. But their better line parts were mostly still US made. Now you are lucky if the parts are assembled here of foreign or may be (you do not know) US parts.

Today, I replaced my radiator with a NAPA made in China Modine radiator. The new Goodyear serp belt was made in Mexico ( I did not think anyone was left there to make anything) The new Mopar radiator cap also was "Hecho in Mexico". The Bosch water pump is an Airtex assembled here. I checked the Mopar which is the identical Airtex pump , also assembled here. The only part that clearly stated that it was made in the US was the Stant thermostat.


I do not know what Americans are doing for jobs these days but it is clearly not producing auto parts.


Off my soap box. For the moment at least.

 

[Menzenski]

Seeing as the Cherokee was born out of a relationship between an American company (AMC) and a French company (Renault), I find your rant more than a little humorous.

What year is your XJ? Does it have the French-designed Renix engine management system? Have you swapped it out for an American version? :laugh3:

 

[JrTxJ]

if you get Crown parts, almost all, as far as i know, are made in U.S.A. but the ones that aren't say so on the box labels.

.02

 

[JeffU]

Mambeu,
My XJ is a 97. Last I remember it was built in Toledo Ohio. AMC was a US company not owned by Renault. The French build cars about as well as they win wars.

If you are French Mambeu I am sorry . But the only thing the French are good at is surrender.

 

[JeffU]

JrTxJ,
Not familar with Crown. Who stocks them ?

 

[GSequoia]

Renault had a significant interest in AMC during the 80's Jeff (although your Jeep is in the Chrysler years). Without Renault the XJ as we know it would not exist. Renault designers helped and Renault supercomputers aided in the design.

If it were done strictly by AMC who knows what it would have ended up as; I'd be willing to bet a body on frame mini SJ.

 

[Menzenski]

AMC was a US company not owned by Renault.

Not owned entirely by Renault, no, but Renault owned almost a quarter of AMC at one point.

Also see http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=64497.

 

[JrTxJ]

JrTxJ,
Not familar with Crown. Who stocks them ?

if you've bought replacement parts for your car before, chances are, some could have been repackaged crown parts as they're the biggest replacement jeep parts distributor out there.

there are crown dealers out there and listed on their site...off the top of my head, the 2 i remember right now are quadratech and rock lizard fabrications. there are tons of others though.

http://www.crownautomotive.net

 

[Cornflake]

If made in USA products were a superior built product I could see the argument here, but the fact is we've become a lazy nation that does things half-a$$. Why do you think Asian companies came up the way they did, not just cheap labor but the fact that even getting a crappy paycheck by our standards, they have an honor about work ethics that we don't. It shames them to put out crap. These people get paid a tenth of what our fast food employee's make and they give a crap about how something is made. Have you gone into a McD's? The employee's truly care about their product? I guess it's an age thing because at 30 I still find it hard to believe that people get butt hurt about made in the USA. If all you could buy was made in the USA, it would be garbage. Just my .02. Now here comes the flogging

 

[motorcityxj]

the renault guys are right, i thought every jeep enthusiast knew about that era? Not personally convinced the frenchies had a ton to do with the design, more the cash flow needed, some super computers as needed, and a push to unibody or thinking in that direction. Engineering was USA, built in usa by americans in mini detroit/detroit jr town aka toledo. French cars sucked untill not to long ago, they have some half decent rally cars i would drive if given one. Nothing in the 70's or 80s was worth two shits (i was only born in 78 so i may be wrong but i am not aware of anything worth wanting much less washing or maintaining)

heres a good link also talks about some renault era stuff.... like the AMgeneral spin off, 'cause of those pussified terrible scum of europe french and there ilk bought into one of our fine auto companies.

http://www.allpar.com/trucks/jeep/liberty-2008.html


by the way i agree with ya Jeff U . Here in michigan "the heart of the auto industry" and blue collar middle upper middle class lifestyle is dieing. Even here in detroir everyone themselves wants that nice 50-100 grand a year job, AND to shop at wall mart and save an extra 2 grand a year buying throw away chinese and indian shit. They only bitch when they lose a job. So long as the job loss is other people they are fine with it. Michigan economy is dead last in everything we are worse than alaska and louisana .... yeah that bad. After the nov election we will likely in michigan slip into a full on local economic depression for years.

 

[XgeekstarX]

i seriously don't give a f*ck where my part was made as long as it works.

 

[Cornflake]

i seriously don't give a f*ck where my part was made as long as it works.

I 2nd that!!!!!

 

[rock rash]

I do not know what Americans are doing for jobs these days but it is clearly not producing auto parts.


Off my soap box. For the moment at least.

Cheap Labor...why would corporations keep producing parts here when they can do so overseas for less and sell them for the same price...

Good luck going patriotic for much longer...how do you fill you jeep up? US drilled only?

 

[XgeekstarX]

Cheap Labor...why would corporations keep producing parts here when they can do so overseas for less and sell them for the same price...

Good luck going patriotic for much longer...how do you fill you jeep up? US drilled only?

that's what i'm saying... people who try and keep everything usa made are wasting their time.

 

[Menzenski]

If you are French Mambeu I am sorry .

Note the 'eu'.

But the only thing the French are good at is surrender.

Don't forget cheese and wine.

 

[RESET]

As a non-UAW automotive worker, I chime in stating that there are still several thousand of us. Granted most of us work at US plants assembling foreign makes. The big 3 are hurting bad right now. The only thing saving DCX is the new Caliber. I am proud to say that my company and our sister plants make a large percentage of the vehicle content. Pretty soon GM and Ford will have moved out of the US and DCX, Toyota and Nissan will be the new big 3.

 

[JeffU]

DCX is German. Great PR work by them to let most people believe that C/D/J is still an American company . NO merger it was an acquisition of Chrysler. The headquarters is in Germany. As for the Japanese manufacturers building cars here. It is great that it provides jobs, but the majority of the profits go back to Japan.

For those of you that think that only the labor is cheaper overseas. The quality is not the same. You only have to compare the OEM parts you replace with the foreign replacement. The fit and finish are in most cases inferior. And based on the complaints that I read often on this forum do not hold up. I doubt seriously that I will get 10 years and 150K miles out of my new foreign made replacement parts.

And last, for those of you that do not care about the loss of the manufacturing jobs in the US . You are either too young or naive to understand the implications this has had and will have on the future of this country.

 

[johnlv6]

If made in USA products were a superior built product I could see the argument here, but the fact is we've become a lazy nation that does things half-a$$.

We are a nation of lazy people. That fact can't be denied. We are also cheap...which is why we outsource for everything. Why pay an American union worker $15+ per hour when you can pay a foreigner $.50 per hour to build the same part?

 

[Bradlybob]

Ah, but in a few years the Chinese will be fat and lazy too. Just give 'em a few more years of McD's and Walmart and they'll be sitting around on sunday eating pork rinds ig: and watching TV like the rest of us civilized people.:eeks1:

 

[rocklandxjer]

We are a nation of lazy people. That fact can't be denied. We are also cheap...which is why we outsource for everything. Why pay an American union worker $15+ per hour when you can pay a foreigner $.50 per hour to build the same part?

i dont agree. we are a nation run by computers. we are not so much lazy as we are productive. some analysts somewhere saw that by using computers and outsourcing, not only could we save money, but we could make/do multiple times more things done per day than the old way.

just because we dont use hard labor to make products HERE does not mean we are lazy, it means we found a better, more efficient way of doing so.