wingsnut Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 While giving my Excursion a once over last weekend I decided I didn't like the way the brake lines and hoses were looking and that it was time the entire system get an overhaul. As usual I head out to NAPA to pick up the parts. As far as I know the pads where the only items ever replaced so being almost 12 years old with 100,000 on the clock I decided to replace the whole deal..... calipers, rotors, pads, hoses and lines for all four wheels. I was unloading everything into the shop when I noticed the rotor boxes said "Made in China" on them. Up until now NAPA ultra premium rotors have always been made in the states. Napa economy rotors have been made in China for a while now which is why I switched to the ultra premiums in the first place. Upon closer inspection the pads (premium ceramics) and hoses are also made in China. Calipers are stamped Ford castings that have been re-manufactured... who knows where that work was done. I also stopped and picked up a double flare tool set and some line wrenches since the ones I currently own have seen better days. I was disappointed to find that all of these items, Craftsman branded, were also made in China. I will gladly pay more for things made in the USA, but it is getting harder and harder to find stuff made here. I haven't always been this aware of buying things made here in the US, but I made up my mind a while back that I would try to purchase things made here if possible. I will admit that in addition to my Shelby and Excursion I do own a Honda Accord and a Honda Element as daily drivers, but I am not sure if my conscience will allow me to purchase another regardless of the fact that both were made right here in my home state of Ohio and the Accord is #2 (behind only the Toyota Camry) on the latest most American made car list. This made in America deal has always bothered me, but not like it has been lately. I hope more people become bothered by it as well. I guess the last straw for me was that the American flag I received for a "years of service" award at work had a tag on it that read "Made in China" That flag sits in the closet while my good ole Made in the USA flag flies proud. Rant and vent over, Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denstang65 Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 While giving my Excursion a once over last weekend I decided I didn't like the way the brake lines and hoses were looking and that it was time the entire system get an overhaul. As usual I head out to NAPA to pick up the parts. As far as I know the pads where the only items ever replaced so being almost 12 years old with 100,000 on the clock I decided to replace the whole deal..... calipers, rotors, pads, hoses and lines for all four wheels. I was unloading everything into the shop when I noticed the rotor boxes said "Made in China" on them. Up until now NAPA ultra premium rotors have always been made in the states. Napa economy rotors have been made in China for a while now which is why I switched to the ultra premiums in the first place. Upon closer inspection the pads (premium ceramics) and hoses are also made in China. Calipers are stamped Ford castings that have been re-manufactured... who knows where that work was done. I also stopped and picked up a double flare tool set and some line wrenches since the ones I currently own have seen better days. I was disappointed to find that all of these items, Craftsman branded, were also made in China. I will gladly pay more for things made in the USA, but it is getting harder and harder to find stuff made here. I haven't always been this aware of buying things made here in the US, but I made up my mind a while back that I would try to purchase things made here if possible. I will admit that in addition to my Shelby and Excursion I do own a Honda Accord and a Honda Element as daily drivers, but I am not sure if my conscience will allow me to purchase another regardless of the fact that both were made right here in my home state of Ohio and the Accord is #2 (behind only the Toyota Camry) on the latest most American made car list. This made in America deal has always bothered me, but not like it has been lately. I hope more people become bothered by it as well. I guess the last straw for me was that the American flag I received for a "years of service" award at work had a tag on it that read "Made in China" That flag sits in the closet while my good ole Made in the USA flag flies proud. Rant and vent over, Chip I hear you. This might be one of the reasons why I will never sell my '65. I am proud to say that it is and always will be an American built car. When I buy newer parts I try to buy American as much as I a can. Depending on what the part is, I might buy OEM if needed. I know there are parts new out there that are still made in the USA. I am proud to be an American and am proud to be driving something that has been an American longer than me. Thank you Ford for building the Mustang! I love mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hawkins Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 While giving my Excursion a once over last weekend I decided I didn't like the way the brake lines and hoses were looking and that it was time the entire system get an overhaul. As usual I head out to NAPA to pick up the parts. As far as I know the pads where the only items ever replaced so being almost 12 years old with 100,000 on the clock I decided to replace the whole deal..... calipers, rotors, pads, hoses and lines for all four wheels. I was unloading everything into the shop when I noticed the rotor boxes said "Made in China" on them. Up until now NAPA ultra premium rotors have always been made in the states. Napa economy rotors have been made in China for a while now which is why I switched to the ultra premiums in the first place. Upon closer inspection the pads (premium ceramics) and hoses are also made in China. Calipers are stamped Ford castings that have been re-manufactured... who knows where that work was done. I also stopped and picked up a double flare tool set and some line wrenches since the ones I currently own have seen better days. I was disappointed to find that all of these items, Craftsman branded, were also made in China. I will gladly pay more for things made in the USA, but it is getting harder and harder to find stuff made here. I haven't always been this aware of buying things made here in the US, but I made up my mind a while back that I would try to purchase things made here if possible. I will admit that in addition to my Shelby and Excursion I do own a Honda Accord and a Honda Element as daily drivers, but I am not sure if my conscience will allow me to purchase another regardless of the fact that both were made right here in my home state of Ohio and the Accord is #2 (behind only the Toyota Camry) on the latest most American made car list. This made in America deal has always bothered me, but not like it has been lately. I hope more people become bothered by it as well. I guess the last straw for me was that the American flag I received for a "years of service" award at work had a tag on it that read "Made in China" That flag sits in the closet while my good ole Made in the USA flag flies proud. Rant and vent over, Chip I can only hope and pray that the Parts actually WORK after you install them. More and more items are now imported from China, and the only reason I can think of for WHY.........is because we owe them so much Money....................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormeaston Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Really...................the american consumer is to share most of the blame, products made here are higher in price than stuff made over there. When you go to the store lets say, to pick up a 3-pak of socks, one pak is 3.00, made in Bumfuk, the other is made in the USA at 5.00, which do they choose..........................the 3.00 one, even though they know the quality sucks on the 3.00 pak they buy'em anyway. When a store owner notices that the 3.00 ones are selling like hotcakes and the 5.00 are sitting on the shelf.............well, it dosen't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.............. does it. Our labor costs are much higher here in the US because of our standard of living, over in China a worker makes 50.00 a week and is happy to make that. I always try to buy stuff made in the USA, hell..........I even buy stuff I don't need because it was made in the USA. I was in Fleet Farm about 4 months ago and I noticed some metal pails that had a huge American flag on it with "Made in the USA", sure enough I looked at them and they were made in Winona MN..............I bought 5 of them. Amazing what you can find uses for metal buckets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hawkins Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Really...................the american consumer is to share most of the blame, products made here are higher in price than stuff made over there. When you go to the store lets say, to pick up a 3-pak of socks, one pak is 3.00, made in Bumfuk, the other is made in the USA at 5.00, which do they choose..........................the 3.00 one, even though they know the quality sucks on the 3.00 pak they buy'em anyway. When a store owner notices that the 3.00 ones are selling like hotcakes and the 5.00 are sitting on the shelf.............well, it dosen't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.............. does it. Our labor costs are much higher here in the US because of our standard of living, over in China a worker makes 50.00 a week and is happy to make that. Knowing it will piss off a few People, I will say it anyway............I blame a LOT of it on the Unions. Get rid of the Unions NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormeaston Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Knowing it will piss off a few People, I will say it anyway............I blame a LOT of it on the Unions. Get rid of the Unions NOW. At least someone has the guts to say it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Hoss 540 Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 The Union BLOAT drives prices so in a global economy in order to compete or go out of business. Not a Union fan by any means but if they would be willing to work like most of us then I could support them. Will spend my money on what is the best product/value no matter where it is made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsarkis Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Knowing it will piss off a few People, I will say it anyway............I blame a LOT of it on the Unions. Get rid of the Unions NOW. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormeaston Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Not all unions are bad.................. private unions=good. public unions=very bad. Case in point.............USPS, 8 BILLION in the hole, and they have to come up with another 5 billion in October of this year for the retirement pensions. In 2008 they were (and I use this term very lightly) only 2 billion in the hole and nobody in the gov did sqwat. I don't know..................I think I would have pulled the plug when they hit 500 million in the hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedj Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I just got a set of Race Ramps, made in America and they work great! http://www.raceramps.com/car-service-ramps.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanted2b Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I'm so sick of shopping. American muscle (American Racing) made in China. OEM wheels on the Shelby, made it Tiawan. You have to really look hard to find anything that isn't made over there. Not a Union man. There is only one single word that has put us in this state of affairs GREED!!! We are slowly being taken over by foreigners. My only hope is that I don't live long enough to see it happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT/SC#0471 Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Knowing it will piss off a few People, I will say it anyway............I blame a LOT of it on the Unions. Get rid of the Unions NOW. Yeah well then we could pay the US workers the same 1.00 an hour they pay the workers in China... I only buy union made cars (we own one made in Germany car)....blame whoever you want but enjoy your weekend, without unions you would not have one... Huge tariffs on foreign goods would make cause more goods to be made here...I cannot stand what has happened to the car parts industry. I had a guy put a water pump on the counter that did not even have the gasket surface machined....made in China. Total bull.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVT NAJA Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I'm so sick of shopping. American muscle (American Racing) made in China. OEM wheels on the Shelby, made it Tiawan. You have to really look hard to find anything that isn't made over there. Not a Union man. There is only one single word that has put us in this state of affairs GREED!!! We are slowly being taken over by foreigners. My only hope is that I don't live long enough to see it happen. wanted2b, It's not all greed (monetarily anyway) that has brought us to this point. A lot of it is over regulation by our own government for the past several decades (environmental, safety, local planning agency demands, etc.) of industries that made the USA the strongest economy in the world. Take Aluminum production for example. Your 5.4L engine block, heads, hood, wheels and more of your GT500 are made of this material. Smelting aluminum takes lots of cheap energy, but produces some manageable (but toxic) waste materials. For some time now, the NIMBY's haven't wanted to build new power plants or allow the construction of any kind of "dirty" industry. Example: the last completely new oil refinery (they produce the fuel that your 5.4L burns) built in the USA was the Marathon facility in Garyville, LA in 1976 when the population of the United States was 218 million (we're now at 310 million and consuming way more energy than we were in 1976). But I digress, back to aluminum... If you look at this list of the major smelters, what do you notice about the manufacturers in the USA? http://en.wikipedia....minium_smelters Of the 19 plants listed, 4 of them have closed (better than 20% of the total) compared to no closure of any other international plant on the list. My point... if this continues throughout American industry, we'll be proud of our clean water and clean air while unemployed and huddled in the cold. Washington needs to stop making laws (we already have more than we need) and get to work putting Americans back to work by not strangling business (the goose that lays the golden egg). The trade unions are starting to wake up to this reality too in the past several years. If we don't twitter away too much more time turning this ship around, we can save what we use to have that made this country great. Just sayin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormeaston Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 ......blame whoever you want but enjoy your weekend, without unions you would not have one... Could you tell them to make it 3 days instead of only 2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT/SC#0471 Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 ......blame whoever you want but enjoy your weekend, without unions you would not have one... Could you tell them to make it 3 days instead of only 2! Thats up to you my friend...no one is going to make anything happen for you but you. But there is strength in numbers....Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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