Sunday, December 23, 2012

New car shopping

Well I'm actively hunting for a new vehicle now, either a small truck or an SUV. 4x4 capability is a must where I live, and I like the room to haul my bike, kayak, Murphy, etc. Still not sure what I want, but I can tell you for damned sure that, with one possible exception, it will not by a union-made American car.

Not after this:
Obama Administration sells GM stock back to company at huge loss to taxpayers.

And this:
50,000 GM Union Workers to Bag Year-End Bonuses

And this:
Chrysler workers fired for drinking, drug use on the job reinstated.

And this:
Obama and UAW in unholy alliance.

I have always purchased American-made cars since I was old enough to buy my second car (the first one was a VW Dune Buggy so we won't count it) but I won't ever buy another car made by alcoholic/drug-using Obama supporters who have given money and volunteered their time to destroy the fabric of this country. I won't help pay their salaries and if all of the unionized auto plants closed tomorrow for lack of customer demand, I would not shed a tear. Crappy work ethic notwithstanding, the union thugs chose a side politically, putting their self-interest ahead of America, and that choice has consequences as far as my dollars go.

Hopefully I'll get my new Japanese 4x4 this week, ideally one made in America by American workers good enough to not need a union.

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:28 PM

    You do realize every single car you have ever bought has been built by many UAW workers that were either drunk ir high on the job. Been like that for generations. It's nothing new.

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  2. FYI, if you want non-Obama American made, there is still Ford.

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  3. @ 0150, etc.,: Yeah, I know. I was willing to overlook it for a long time, figuring that I was helping support my fellow Americans, but now I realize that the fat stupid drones who put American cars together don't care about helping me or any of the rest of us, so screw them all.

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  4. The Mrs. and I drive Toyotas (I drive an '05 Tacoma, she drives an '05 4Runner with 4wd), and are very happy with them. Keep them fed and watered and up to date on fluid changes, and they're great vehicles.

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  5. @ Andy: Ford may have refused the bailout, but it's UAW member assembly drones still solidly support Obama. They gave him Michigan this past election so they'll get nothing from me, even indirectly. Henry Ford and Harry Bennett didn't break enough heads at the Battle of the Overpass.

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  6. Just a suggestion, but Honda, Hyndai, and Kia all have plants in Alabama/west Georgia. Honda went into a particularly economically distressed town abt 30 min from where I grew up. Most of the cotton/textile mills in the area had closed, and meth and pot were paying the bills - or costing lives. Honda came in, and basically created a whole new world for those people. So many folks I personally know from school and my tiny hometown are now successful, own their own homes, sending their kids to college, making a tremendously better life for themselves. Honda also essentially build a whole new k-12 school that is as technologically advanced as their plant. And other than the very top management at the plant, every last employee is a 100% southern, genuine American, most from the species redneckius hillbiliosa. Of course, they're non-union - and they sure as HELL did not vote for Obama. THAT is as American made as any POS made in Detroit, and when you buy from Honda, you are actually doing more to support actual American workers.

    Just a thought.

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  7. Hey, it's Jen in Houston. This is not a comment to this post, but I wanted to tell you that I lost my precious big dog Max yesterday morning. His cancer was finally too much for him. I held him in my arms and told him how much I loved him as we eased him on to his final journey. I am just grief stricken and devastated. There is a hole in my heart that I am not sure will ever be filled.

    I just knew you would understand.

    I hope you and Murphy have a wonderful Christmas. Hug him tight tonight.

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  8. Anonymous5:11 AM

    So, of the roughly 2.5 million votes cast in the election, in Michigan for example. And with there being around 300 thousand UAW members total. And let's say 50 percent voted. And we know it's not that high. And Obama won by well over 400 thousand votes. Now mind you the 300k union members aren't just in Michigan. So you're saying the UAW member with their roughly 150k in votes made Obama win Michigan. Amazing how you think the UAW is that powerful. UAW couldn't even keep right to work out of Michigan. They don't hold any political clout anymore.

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  9. I'm a huge fan of Nissan. Make sure it's not assembled in Mexico, they'll tell you should you ask. The Nissan Xterra or Frontier do decent with what you're looking for. Both are SUVs with 4x4. Fits most of your requirements pretty damned well. The Nissan Titan is a big truck, but most of that's the extended cab.

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  10. Merry Christmas!

    I have two Nissans, one is the Titan 4x4, still going strong after eight years. Worst maintenance problem I've had yet is replacement of the rear rotors, which can be avoided if you do not have a wife driving around with the E-brake on all the time.

    I recommend it highly. (The truck, that is. You'll have to make your own call on the wife.)

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  11. so you're either going Toyota or Nissan.

    i'd like to stick my hat in the ring for Nissan's Titan. we've had this truck for 6 years. Chris has had no issues with it whatsoever. he's never tried to tow anything with it, so i can't say how it is there, but he's never gotten stuck either. his is the base model Titan from that year and it came with more amenities and a nicer interior than the base Chevy and Ford pickups from the same year.

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  12. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone, especially the part about which companies build here in America.

    (And JR, I am SO sorry to hear about Max. That's rough, I know. Send me your e-mail address via another comment. I won't publicly post it.)

    @0150b etc.,: It's the thought that counts. The union leadership took a side and their membership did not repudiate it. They don't get a pass just because you come up with some numbers to suggest that they weren't the deciding factor. Other unions fought for Obama too, and I'll avoid giving their employers my business any time that I can unless the unions are on strike, at which time I'll gladly cross the picket lines to do business there. If unions are going to fight to screw over America by backing Obama, they have to expect that patriotic Americans are going to react unfavorably.

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  13. Word about small trucks up here - light weight. I got rid of mine and got the Hyundai after the first winter up here.

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  14. I love my 1997 Toyota pickup. All I have ever done is routine maintence. I also have had no issues with the 2007 Kia other than it eats a lot of gas especially in the summer

    Happy shopping!

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  15. if it doesn't have to be brand new, you could pick up a TDI VW Touareg for not too much. Decent milage for the size, comfy and good off road as well. New, there's also the Tiguan, sadly no diesel on this side of the ocean.

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  16. I had a flight student once who I found out was regularly doing dope, he was not allowed to rent a plane ever again there and I refused to fly with him again. But I remember when we talked when I found out, he said he did it all the time on the job at the Ford plant he worked at and his supervisors let them know so they could skirt the drug testing.

    Last car I ever bought from THAT manufacturer.

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  17. 2012 is the last year for the Honda Element. There might still be a few left.

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  18. I am a Ford guy, I used to work at the Atlanta Assembly plant( we built Tauruses). I was a union rep, not because I believed in the union. I was elected, because I knew the contract and I didn't BS anybody. I also am a hard core republican type. Never voted democrap in my life. My first presidential election I voted Ronald Reagan. Over 70% of the rank and file didn't vote democrat, we knew that the democrats were a threat to our industry and way of life. Ford didn't do the bailout and changed themselves and their culture with their own money. For that reason I will still buy Fords. All of my Fords have been stellar automobiles.

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  19. Why not buy two used vehicles? One for commuting; one for working/playing.

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  20. @MrGs: I have always been a Ford fan until I started driving Jeeps a couple pf vehicles ago. I have no issues with Ford as a company. However, right now it still offends me that if I give Ford a dollar, part of that dollar goes to Ford's unionized employees and part of that goes to the union, much of which eventually goes to elect Democrats. Can't do it any more.

    @ WSF: I tried that once, but between keeping both plated, titled, inspected, insured and paying personal property tax on them, it's just not worth it.

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  21. Check the VIN number if it starts with a 1 or 4 it was at least assembled in the US, if it starts with a J it took a boat ride.

    Ironically many Western US Dodge truck owners have trucks starting with 3 meaning Mexico.

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  22. I've got a Nissan Xterra OffRoad 4x4. I adore it.

    It can take 2 bikes (one of them my large frame mountain bike with the 29" wheels) on an inside rack with enough room for luggage for 2 adults for a week and still hold those 2 adults in the front seats. Or the front passenger seat can fold flat and it can take a kayak inside instead.

    It does wonders in the snow (upper midwest snow belt here), and I rarely even use the 4x4 for simple weather, but I've used it to go mudding with much joy.

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  23. Anonymous7:18 AM

    I don't discriminate. I own one from all of the "big three"....all used. I figure I'm actually doing the planet a service as well as my wallet.

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