American Diesel Engines....or lack of.

[GeaugaDeere]

If cost is so prohibitive in this country, then why do Kubota, Honda, Toyota, etc., all make so many products in the United States? I know that Toyota and Honda build engines here in the states. I was just at Lowe's yesterday looking at some drill bits. The Black and Decker's were made in China, the DeWalt bits were made in Mexico, and the Hitachi's were....Made in USA. I just don't get it.... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Av8r3400]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Is the Cat Diesel in the Cub Cadet 6284's US Made? )</font>

Its a re-badged Perkins motor. But I don't know where it's made. Maybe in the UK?

 

[RobertN]

Because it is cheaper to build in the USA than to pay Tariff's on incoming complete vehicles...

 

[HGM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If cost is so prohibitive in this country, then why do Kubota, Honda, Toyota, etc., all make so many products in the United States? I know that Toyota and Honda build engines here in the states. I was just at Lowe's yesterday looking at some drill bits. The Black and Decker's were made in China, the DeWalt bits were made in Mexico, and the Hitachi's were....Made in USA. I just don't get it.... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif )</font>

The term is assembled in the USA, not manufactured.. Some companies misslead us with these terms.. The engineering, design and R&D is mostly performed in their country(keeping most of the money there).. Have you ever noticed GM, for example, has several divisions(GM,Chevy,Buick,Olds,Saturn,Pontiac,etc..) and each one has its own unique parts? This company pays multiple individuals to do the same job, to feed the same bottom line.. Toyota and Honda(along with most others overseas) use many of the same designers keeping less overhead.. Then you can add the labor unions(that the Japanese companies dont have) retirees benefits to pay... There are alot of reasons that everything is going overseas...

 

[cowboydoc]

Deere was forced years ago to go to outside sources for their motors. It used to be that people would pay for quality and US made. Unfortunately people like yourself anymore are few and far between. They think cheaper instead of quality. They they justify it as just as good as the US. Now I'm not saying that everything US is better. But Deere for one has always put out a top quality product. When Kubota cornered that market though there was no way they could compete with price.

The big tractors, 6400 and up all have US mfg. engines. The new 4000 series uses the skid steer engine that is mfg. in Iowa. Some of the 5000 series have the US engine and some are made in Mexico. Most of your 2000 and 3000 series as well as the lawnmower engines though are made overseas.

 

[EddieWalker]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
Have you ever noticed GM, for example, has several divisions(GM,Chevy,Buick,Olds,Saturn,Pontiac,etc..) and each one has its own unique parts? This company pays multiple individuals to do the same job, to feed the same bottom line.. Toyota and Honda(along with most others overseas) use many of the same designers keeping less overhead.. )</font>

Around ten years ago, give or take a few years, Nissan was for sale. They have always made good vehicles, but they were loosing money and not selling very many cars.

The thing that interested me about it was that nobody wanted to buy the company. I read some reports that they were through and didn't have very much time left before going out of business.

Then after a few years of reading all the doom and gloom about them, they got a new CEO. This guy realized that there problem was that they were competing against themselves. They had multiple vehicles in the same market. He eliminated most of their models and focused on the ones that people liked and than made a massive effort to improve them and market the improvements.

Now Nissan is a quality name brand with HUGE sales and profit.

GM competing with Chevy has always seemed like the tip of the iceburg in there problems. Ford claims the F-150 is the top selling vehicle in the US, but if GM and Chevy were to combine their half ton trucks, it would blow everyone away. Why have them compete against each other?

Just my thoughts,
Eddie

 

[BB_TX]

The company I work for is relative small, ~150 employees and about $40 million in annual sales. We were purchased last year by a $40 BILLION company. The new owners just recently announced that our manufacturing will be moving to Mexico soon. Even considering inherent inefficiencies, they expect that move to add $2 million profit by doing so. That is a significant addition to the bottom line, or a means of lowering sales price to better compete. Purely a matter of economics and surviving in a highly competitive market.

 

[rdln]

<font color="orange">Have you ever noticed GM, for example, has several divisions(GM,Chevy,Buick,Olds,Saturn,Pontiac,etc..) and each one has its own unique parts? This company pays multiple individuals to do the same job, to feed the same bottom line </font>

From about the 60s to about 1990 GM engineering responsibilities have been divied up into 3 groups: Truck and bus, BOC (buick,olds,cadillac) group, and chevrolet, I dont know where pontiac fell. Then it was small car, mid/lux and truck while Saturn was doing there own thing. Lately Saturn has melted into GM North American Car Group and truck is still doing there own thing.

The newest trend at GM which will take hold is mid size cars will be done by Opel, Small cars by GM Mexico with the remaining segments staying put.

The aforementioned does not include powertrains which have been done by GM powertrain for ??? years.

GM has dropped the Oldsmobile name (mistake) and kept the others because there is such a thing as brand Loyalty.

Too bad there is not country loyalty anymore.

 

[Volfandt]

About 10 yrs ago I did some subcontracting work at the Nissan plant in Smryna TN and I was highly impressed with their whole operation.

The huge plant housed the stamping presses, paint & oven assembly's ,engine assemblly's as well as the assembly lines. There were automated frame dollies carrying Sentra and pickup frames and bodies everywhere. The frames were made there as well as the bodies were stamped and welded there too. Robotics were everywhere also.

Once a vehicle hit the end of the line it was started up and drove off of the line onto a test stand with large rollers for the drive wheels. They then ran them up to 60 and held them there for a couple minutes for testing and breakin.

On site were engineers for the auto's as well as for the machinery/robotics that were used there. There were as many white collar/support personal as there were assemblers/craftsmen. I took a tour of the facility and was able to follow a pickup being manufactured.
These folks had recently voted down going union as they felt they didn't need it.
The plant has doubled in size since.

I used to be staunchly Buy American but soon came to realize that there are very few products that are totally made in America anymore.
And after seeing Nissan Sentras and Hardbody pickups haveing more American labor and parts in them than most Ford & Chevy/GM autos in the same class I began to realize that many Foriegn branded products that are manufactured/assembled in America are leaving alot of $$$'s here on our shores and giving many Americans good paying jobs.

My Kubota BX23 was mamnufactured in their large plant just south of Atlanta GA. The diesel engine and HST are both made in Japan and shipped to the GA plant but everything else is made & assembled in America. All the implements for the BX is also manufactured in America. Funny in that it probably has more American made materials and labor than many other American branded tractors in the same class.
I don't know where the small Perkins diesel is made but I would suspect that it's imported.

Volfandt