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Yeah, I wonder if there's a study out about that.
All I know is from now on, I'm buying a car made in Japan.
I bought a new Honda Accord in 1990 and I made sure it was Japanese built. There was definitely a difference between it and American made Accords, especially in the plastics used and the quality of construction. You could actually tell them apart by the interior smell, you didn't even need to check the origin of build. It was tight and problem free for the 80,000 miles I had it.
My 2005 Camry is American made (it was late and I didn't really feel like checking the origin because I was tired and I didn't think you could even get a Jap made Camry anymore). I hate the car, it has squeaks and rattles that drive me nuts. I wonder how a Jap made car would be in comparison.
One note, I did buy a new US made Camry in 2000 and that baby was tight and rattle free for the 75,000 miles I had it.
The point is, I guess it depends on things like who actually builds the car, what day and time it's built, etc. You could get lucky and get a good American made Camry. I think overall though, the Japanese take more pride in their work and you'll probably get a better car if it's Japanese made.
Yeah, I wonder if there's a study out about that.
All I know is from now on, I'm buying a car made in Japan.
I bought a new Honda Accord in 1990 and I made sure it was Japanese built. There was definitely a difference between it and American made Accords, especially in the plastics used and the quality of construction. You could actually tell them apart by the interior smell, you didn't even need to check the origin of build. It was tight and problem free for the 80,000 miles I had it.
My 2005 Camry is American made (it was late and I didn't really feel like checking the origin because I was tired and I didn't think you could even get a Jap made Camry anymore). I hate the car, it has squeaks and rattles that drive me nuts. I wonder how a Jap made car would be in comparison.
One note, I did buy a new US made Camry in 2000 and that baby was tight and rattle free for the 75,000 miles I had it.
The point is, I guess it depends on things like who actually builds the car, what day and time it's built, etc. You could get lucky and get a good American made Camry. I think overall though, the Japanese take more pride in their work and you'll probably get a better car if it's Japanese made.
Remember the movie Gung Ho?
Yes, good point. I do think there would be a difference as there are cultural difference among nations.
No matter where its built I think some parts still are built in Japan. The engine, transmission, (major parts) I believe, are made in Japan. Is this correct?
The only real issue with all this is that US workers according to a few articles I have read are more lazy, less focused and and tend to not do their work seriously.
I know I word hard at my job though
According to those articles, wish I still had them, stated that is why cars & other products made in the US tend to have more problems, etc.
These are not my words though, don't kill the messenger, hahaha.
Well I was born and raised in Flint Michigan...and I am willing to bet that a Japanese built car would have allot better odds on being built better!
I have mention before that I own two Buicks...and I remember when Flint was Buick Town! We were very proud of that....now it is a Ghost Town...what does that tell you?
__________________ "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."Albert Einstein
Has there been any study whether where the car is made makes a difference in quality?
Camry's are made all over the world nowadays. Canada, US, Australia, Japan (of course), etc... Do you find know if there is a difference in quality?
Of course, the design makes a huge difference in quality. But where its assembled, what impact will that have on quality?
I once pointed out that Gen4 Camrys made in Japan were subject to only about 1/20th of the recalls that applied to US-made Camrys and someone called me racist for saying that.
I once pointed out that Gen4 Camrys made in Japan were subject to only about 1/20th of the recalls that applied to US-made Camrys and someone called me racist for saying that.
1/20th of the recalls, wow, that's a big difference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most recalls due to design flaws, in which case, where it's assembled won't make a difference.
We have owned 2 Japanese built Toyotas (Previa, Camry) and 3 US built Toyotas (Camry, Corolla, Sienna). The Sienna had 3 problems from the get go, but now is fine. My US 04 Camry has 110K miles right now and is tight except for a squeek in the door. The Japanese Toyotas all have held up pretty well.
1/20th of the recalls, wow, that's a big difference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most recalls due to design flaws, in which case, where it's assembled won't make a difference.
also the fact that jap cars are sold less than american cars.
Over a lot of years of comparing US vs Japanese made vehicles from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, body panel fit is what seems to be substandard with the US made vehicles.
Nissan seems to have the widest gap, with Toyota and Honda about the same. While working Toyota service, I would look a car over, and 9 times out of ten, it was easy to spot the US made one by body fit alone (looking for plastic plugs in the front bumper is cheating ).
My 03 Camry SE that I ordered from TMMK, has very poor body fit as compared to my 94 Japanese made Camry.... Very bad! For example, the doors on the right side are all well below the other panels, the other side is "proud", the right top of the trunk is noticeably higher, and worst of all, right from the factory the front edge of the drivers door made considerable contact with the fender, causing a creaking/popping noise operating the door! On the other hand, interior fit is OK?
Paint is real "orange peely" on the fenders, and the rear spoiler is not very well fitted. I remember reading once, that Japanese car buyers spend 90% of the time looking over the cars fit and finish, and maybe go for a test drive. Perhaps they figure "gooda nuf" is acceptable over here for our factories???
I looked at an 05 Maxima SE that's door was so badly fitted, that it literally looked as if it were ajar, by a lot. Same car had a fender to hood gap that almost touched on one side, and had a HUGE gap on the other? Can not believe it was considered acceptable.
Really have to say from a fit and finish, and quality materials standpoint, the Japanese made Gen 3 Camry's were the best ever built IMO.
hmmm just from looking at gen 4 camry on the TSB the USA version is the one with the major recalls...the Jap one only has the minor issues that the USA one has as well. It seems like parts and labor were both to blame in the case of the gen 4.
Over a lot of years of comparing US vs Japanese made vehicles from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, body panel fit is what seems to be substandard with the US made vehicles.
Nissan seems to have the widest gap, with Toyota and Honda about the same. While working Toyota service, I would look a car over, and 9 times out of ten, it was easy to spot the US made one by body fit alone (looking for plastic plugs in the front bumper is cheating ).
My 03 Camry SE that I ordered from TMMK, has very poor body fit as compared to my 94 Japanese made Camry.... Very bad! For example, the doors on the right side are all well below the other panels, the other side is "proud", the right top of the trunk is noticeably higher, and worst of all, right from the factory the front edge of the drivers door made considerable contact with the fender, causing a creaking/popping noise operating the door! On the other hand, interior fit is OK?
Paint is real "orange peely" on the fenders, and the rear spoiler is not very well fitted. I remember reading once, that Japanese car buyers spend 90% of the time looking over the cars fit and finish, and maybe go for a test drive. Perhaps they figure "gooda nuf" is acceptable over here for our factories???
I looked at an 05 Maxima SE that's door was so badly fitted, that it literally looked as if it were ajar, by a lot. Same car had a fender to hood gap that almost touched on one side, and had a HUGE gap on the other? Can not believe it was considered acceptable.
Really have to say from a fit and finish, and quality materials standpoint, the Japanese made Gen 3 Camry's were the best ever built IMO.
SS
Yes, that makes sense. Fit and finish would be the biggest difference. I assume Toyota would still manufacture its main components, such as the engine, tranny in Japan and then ship out to other countries to assemble the whole car. I wonder what parts are different when assembled in other countries.
US made Camry's (TMMK) use engines made at the plant, and some transmissions made in the US. I seem to remember that Toyota WV was the first plant outside of Japan to produce automatic transmissions.
Toyota at least, is very strict in how it treats it's US parts suppliers. My wife is an executive for an OEM parts maker, and Toyota is by far here toughest customer. Parts with even the smallest, non-critical cosmetic defect are rejected. They are completely obsessed with cost savings, and efficiency, and I do believe, try to make the best vehicles possible.
I know Toyota can produce data saying that quality differences between US and Japanese made vehicles is non-existent, but my experience has taught me otherwise.
US made Camry's (TMMK) use engines made at the plant, and some transmissions made in the US. I seem to remember that Toyota WV was the first plant outside of Japan to produce automatic transmissions.
Toyota at least, is very strict in how it treats it's US parts suppliers. My wife is an executive for an OEM parts maker, and Toyota is by far here toughest customer. Parts with even the smallest, non-critical cosmetic defect are rejected. They are completely obsessed with cost savings, and efficiency, and I do believe, try to make the best vehicles possible.
I know Toyota can produce data saying that quality differences between US and Japanese made vehicles is non-existent, but my experience has taught me otherwise.
SS
That was a very interesting link. Learned quite a bit about Toyota's made in the states. I think they said 75% of its parts originate in North America. Seems like everything is built at the plant, including the engine.
This is not a bash against the USA. However, after reading the above posts it might be relevant.
This article refers to the new Toyota plant that was chosen last month for Woodstock Ontario, which is near all the other Canadian Toyota operations.
Which brings us to the story of Toyota's choice. There has been fierce competition among states hoping to attract a new Toyota assembly plant. Several Southern states reportedly offered financial incentives worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But last month Toyota decided to put the new plant, which will produce RAV4 mini-S.U.V.'s, in Ontario. Explaining why it passed up financial incentives to choose a U.S. location, the company cited the quality of Ontario's work force. What made Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, who claimed that the educational level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech equipment.
But there are other reports, some coming from state officials, that confirm his basic point: Japanese auto companies opening plants in the Southern U.S. have been unfavorably surprised by the work force's poor level of training. There's some bitter irony here for Alabama's governor. Just two years ago voters overwhelmingly rejected his plea for an increase in the state's rock-bottom taxes on the affluent, so that he could afford to improve the state's low-quality education system. Opponents of the tax hike convinced voters that it would cost the state jobs.
I hope the work force in northern Kentucky is up to par. I'm sure they are.
Last edited by articsteve; 04-16-2006 at 01:31 AM.
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