Made in the USA. It Matters!

My New car

Well, back around late August of last year I was almost demolished by a dump truck. Luckily, the driver managed to swerve to the left and missed me as he ran through the red light. As he swerved, the truck full of dirt slowly overturned and ended up on its side. He was OK and so was I. I give full credit to his reflexes here, and I'm lucky to be writing anything much less this little story. But all of this just leads up to my experience of buying a new safer vehicle that meets my needs and is made in the USA. After this my family and I, upon reflection decided I needed to get one.

I have two large dogs, Roxie & Rollie, who I would like to be able to take on a road trip if I wanted and like the functionality of SUV's but not the size. So, the dilemma was do I get a crossover(glorified station wagon) or a small SUV? After talking to the family,* we decided a small SUV would be the most versatile.

So, the hunt begins with me looking at vehicles I deem attractive yet functional. The problem I'm having is that a lot of the vehicles, especially from the US brands are made in Canada and Mexico. Well that doesn't work for me, so since I've had a great deal of luck with my Honda and my stepmother loves her Subaru, I figure let's see what they've got. The Subaru Outback is made in Indiana so I checked it out, and it is very nice, but too much of a wagon. Next are the Hondas. The new CR-V is pretty nice but they all say "Made in Japan." As it turns out, the newer ones are being made in East Liberty, OH, but that still makes it harder to actually buy a US Made one. The other Honda SUVs are made in the USA, but I don't like certain things about them. This leads me to Acura where I find true love in the RDX made in Marysville, OH.

Now, the truth is that I really already knew most of the vehicle MFG locations because that is my expertise. That is why I'm writing this column. Even with all of my knowledge, it can still be a frustrating process. This is why I am starting a list of USA made vehicles which I will update regularly.

* Roxie & Rollie had a lot of input and approve of the final selection.

Honda & Acura-

	Models in Production at Marysville, OH:
		Acura RDX
		Accord Sedan
		Accord Coupe
		Acura TL Sedan

Models in Production:

Civic Sedan

Civic GX (natural-gas powered)

Element

Honda CR-V

Motorcycle Models in Production:
	Gold Wing 1800	VTX 1800 V-Twin Cruiser
	Shadow Sabre 1100	VTX 1300 V-Twin Cruiser
	Valkyrie Rune

Lincoln, AL Automobile and Engine Plant
Opened in 2001, this is Honda's newest North American Automobile Plant, producing the Odyssey minivan, the Pilot and V-6 engine.

Overview of Toyota's North American Engineering and Manufacturing

Posted by John-Edward Alley, Jr. at 11:21 PM in Made in the USA | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

What is Made in the USA?

Hello readers,

I often hear people say, "Nothing is made here anymore..." as if it 
were a fact. Some people seem to use this as an excuse not to worry 
about where anything is made. Others seem genuinely concerned about 
the thought. Of course, it is far from the truth. We actually remain 
the largest manufacturer and 2nd largest exporter in the world after 
Germany, which just recently surpassed us. Many of the products that 
are made here, of course, are not consumer durable products and this
is probably the main reason so many people are misled.

Although thousands of consumer products are still Made in the USA, 
finding them gets harder everyday as more and more production goes 
overseas. If people put in just a little extra effort, however, they 
might be surprised how easy it is to find products that are made in 
the USA. One thing to do is look on the packaging for "Made/Assembled 
in the USA with domestic and foreign components." ** Another is to use 
the Internet. Below I have a list of some resources that you can use 
and share with people. Also, you would be surprised how effective the 
various big search engines such as Google and Yahoo can be.

U.S. Stuff Home- Made in USA Products, Assembled in USA...
USA Made.org
Buy American
Made in USA.com
Legendary USA

**(Made/Assembled in the USA with domestic and foreign components)
One of my pet peeves is the unfairness to USA Mfrs.of regulation set by the FTC as to what constitutes Made in the USA. While these requirements are well intended, they unfairly handcuff most USA Mfrs. of products with very much complexity, because they cannot possibly make all of the parts that go into their products. If Customs were to apply the same standards to imported products that would help, but the truth is, that is not practical. So my feeling is that the requirements for "Made in the USA" should be modified to reflect a more realistic approach in the global economy. I could go on for quite awhile, but I will revisit this subject on another blog later. In the meantime please check-out these links on the subject, as well as some companies that have to deal with this.

"Made in U.S.A". Standard
USA Import Requirements
Complying with the Made In the USA Standard

Here's a sampling of Companies that make PRODUCTS in the USA and have to use the (Made/Assembled in the USA with domestic and foreign components) type of claim:

New Balance make shoes in 6 factories in the USA Many of the same made in UK are labeled as such
PING Golf Equipment most clubs except for Drivers Made in USA
munro AMERICAN womens shoes Made in USA
Allen-Edmonds mens shoes made in USA
RGM Watches
Syntax-Brillian: makes TV's in Arizona & California
BUNN My Cafe commercial grade coffee and tea pod brewer
Lexicon Home Theater
Sony special order Laptop computers like I use Made in San Diego, Ca.
many Sony TV's are made in Pittsburgh, PA as well as other products
MPC computers are all made in Nampa, ID
Fall River Shirts
Individualized Apparel
Oreck makes "America's best" vacuum cleaners and upright and soon all air cleaners in the USA

later,

Have fun with these for now and I'll be back soon...

e-mail me if you are looking for something specific @john-edward@mindspring.com

Posted by John-Edward Alley, Jr. at 11:13 PM in Made in the USA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

My 1st Posting

Hi everyone,

This Web log is intended to provide a resource for people who want to buy American (USA) made products do just that. I have been working and studying this subject for probably 20yrs or more and have an immense knowledge of the products, as well as the issues surrounding making products here in the USA and the complexities involved. I am planning on posting a few times a week, with both discussion of issues and talking about Companies that are making products here in the States.

As a teaser check out some of these companies:
Syntax-Brillian: makes TV's in Arizona & California
BUNN My Cafe commercial grade coffee and tea pod brewer
Diamond Gusset Jeans Made in USA
Diamond Apparel Golf Shirts
McIntosh: The Great American Audio Powerhouse
B & K Components, Ltd. Stereo & Home Theater Made in USA
Boltz Steel Furniture, cd, dvd, and vhs storage Made in USA
Corkpops Classic products are Made in USA
Gadgets for Wine Lovers Sparkling Wine opener
RGM Watches
Thiel Audio loudspeakers. High performance speakers Made in USA
Phase Technology indoor outdoor speakers Made in USA
Lamson & Goodnow Mfg. Co. Fine Cutlery Made in the USA since 1837
Van Staal Fishing Reels
UCO Candle Lanterns | Mini CandleLanterns | Candlelier | Camera Tripods | Camp Stoves | Clubmaker's Golf Vise
GOODE Ski Technologies
DaleBoot USA | Custom fit ski boots Made in USA
Cannondale bikes Made in USA
ATK USA Motorcycles
PING Golf Equipment most clubs except for Drivers Made in USA
munro AMERICAN womens shoes Made in USA
Allen-Edmonds mens shoes made in USA
OTABO Fine Custom Fit Shoes for men & women made in USA