leungjc78

iTrader: (1)

This is gonna sound naive and even down right offensive to some people.....

I assume the curretn/past Maximas are made in Japan, and that the 2003 and on Maximas will be built in TN.

I know I'm bias, but...IMHO...Japanese make better quality cars than the US, and I believe the quality of work is done better by the Japanese than Americans...
I don't like the idea of US making Japanese car...

Bottomline?
I prefer "MADE IN JAPAN" much more than "MADE IN USA" on my maxima.....

Feedback?
Scam all u want, I want to see how others feel.
Thanks

DieselFX82

I'm going to agree with you. I know that in Japan there factories are much more strict and better production due to this.. No Offense but us Americans are lazy. We ***** too much for breaks, or atleast I do

mattattax

I agree. That would be great if our factories could have the same standards.

Trucks are a different story. American trucks seem to be of higher quality in my opinion.

Tallyman

Me too. Chevy trucks all the way...............

MajBlue2k2

I love the cars but hate the paint!

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

I agree also that the Japanese have much stricter quality control. I have visited factories(Pulp & Paper and industrial). Their factories are spotless.

vmax8

Isn't the Smyrna, TN plant highly automated? If so, shouldn't that improve build quality because the robots are much more precise and many times more consistent (and efficient)?

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Hint. USA went to Japan to find out how to make automated machinery.

Ollie

No Offense but us Americans are lazy. We ***** too much for breaks, or atleast I do [/B][/QUOTE]

The name is UAW - "United Auto Workers (UNION)" See, how this works;

1. I get a job at the Ford assembly line.

2. I work my *** off on the line.... (I work hard so everyone else doesn't have to)

3. ...But nobody else does because there Union says "I only have to build this much between breaks - it's tenure that gets raises".

4. I make a decission (don't join the Union and work hard, when no one else does, and have my co-workers call me a scab) or (join the Union and build my 10 cars a day with a mandatory 3 break period - but ono more no less)

5. So I join the Union and build 10 cars a day for a couple years. Seeing as I've been there for a couple years, I get a mandatory raise but I still only have to do my 10 car quota.

So where's my incentive? Show up to work and get a check is my incentive. Do as little as I can to get that check is my incentive. "Quality! Well that's quality controls job.. not mine!" &
"oops, "Union Hours...It's my break time!"

KTM

12 years ago when I got my new 1990 Thunderbird SC, I found a couple random bolts, a handful of sunflower seed shells (eaten, ewww), and some discarded bits of plastic throughout the interior.

My new Maxima I just got was spotless.

Ollie

A few years ago they busted the local Ford plant in MN. A bunch of the assembly workers were on break getting stoned and drinking alcohol. They make the Ranger.

Maybe someone had the munchies or couldn't go on there "smoke" break and was eating seeds.

KTM

wouldn't doubt it. I liked the car, but it had a lot of obvious assembly quality flaws to it, loose screws, mis-aligned trim pieces, etc. The whole body creaked going up a driveway, and it ate front rotors like every 5k miles.

dmarion

Just my opinion, but I would think the quality assurance practices in Japan would be fully enforced in the USA with '03.

That said, consumers may realize cost savings (car doesn't have to be shipped thousands of miles) resulting from a local build.

Same materials + same quality controls = Another Good Year for the Maxima in '03.

Of course, if labor unions get involved, all bets are off

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

You can't really enforce them in the same way. Hard to explain. I do think alot of the usa made Japanese cars are non-union but the usa unions are trying to get them to join. (bad idea for us)

You could say the same about the Mexican made Beetles. I hear some of those Mexican made ones are crap. Same matertials and parts right?

jjs

about quality and practices....

take a look into your dealer service departments!!! Same parts, same techniques, same diagnostics, but you think an American worker can fix a freaking car right the first time?

If they can't fix 'em right, how the hell can they build 'em right?!?!?

ara662

American components Japanese components all made in Taiwan

leungjc78

iTrader: (1)

Wow....more replies than i thought! Cheers!

Anyhow.....I just think Japanese cars + plants has an edge.
I mean, imports are hurting the market so bad, that American Auto makers have to change tactics redesign their fleet...
(Ahem.....Ford Focus, anyone?)

AS for quality........imports are down right flawless.
As least I don't hear as much recalls as American ones.

If the Maxima is not longer Japanese made.......then to all u current Max owners....Cheers! be proud of your love as it's a true 'pure breed'...

I know i sound like an idiot

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Right, so far all the Japanese company plants in the US are non-union. The UAW was even trying to sue them for it. But, the emplyees keep voting 2 to 1 NOT to join.

Tony Fernandes

I don't know about the whole union thing, but aren't most Accords built here? And the Accord's reliability has pretty much stayed the same since they made the change from Japan to the US...very dependable and very high build quality. I agree that I would much rather have a car built in Japan, but a Japanese car built in the US should be okay too.

Tony

JAKE02

I agree to a certain extent, that japaneese products usually exceed their us counterparts however, 80% of toyota camrys are made in KY and you dont exactly hear of them falling apart vs. the 20% made in Japan....who knows maybe smyrna will paint their maximas better......
JAKE02

BuddyWh

Sorry... but I think you are wrong. Honda, Toyota AND Nissan have been manufacturing cars in the US for decades that are the equivalent of their Japanese counter parts. In the case of Honda, US built Accords are "exported" back to Japan for sale.

Japanese autos are designed to make assembly easier and less problem prone. The concepts employed, Taguchi, DOE and "poke yoke" sounds funny... they are based on the idea that any design is undertaken with full realization it will be manufactured by error prone humans so it must be robust: either impossible to put together wrong or works just as well if it is assembled wrong. And poke yoke is their term for "idiot-proofing" manufacturing processes. The Japanese have been employing these concepts since the 60's, when these designs and processes are implemented here even (so-called) lazy, careless, Americans will build excellent cars.

The one thing that can kill successful high-quality manufacture is wide spread willfully poor workmanship; like what could happen when a union wants to make it impossible to be succesful. I think that is doubtful as they know the company will shut down and move the jobs they want overseas so they will use other means to improve wages and working conditions. Too, Japanese management fosters a less adversarial relationship with their work force so they have much better luck with union relations

American auto companies have been learning and (slowly) implementing these concepts; that is why they have improved so much over the last 10-15 years especially. The problem here is the arrogantly conservative American engineering and management infrastructure is very slow to change. Even new grads, infused with these concepts in college, are corrupted when brought into this culture and made to conform. It is slow going... that's why GM started Saturn. Clean sheet design and culture to break away from old school.

I summarily reject the notion it is the worker that is ultimately responsible for the quality, it is the management, culture and design that is responsible. I am confident Maxima's made in the US will be as good as any Japanese-built Maxima.

BuddyWh

timby01

a friend of mine bought a chevy truck and a little while after he bought it he heard rattling coming from the door one day he decided to take the panel off to see what was rattling and low and behold a bud can was the cause of all the noise i nearly peed my pants when i saw that

mattattax

Why is it that American built trucks are like Japanese built cars (regarding quality comparisons)?

BuddyWh

As I said, nothing can overcome WILLFULL workmanship defects, and this will happen thanks to American management's adversarial relationship(s) with their workers.

and secondly... I've heard this story so many times, by so many different people, from so many different parts of the country, I wonder how Miller brewing has enough cans left to sell me a six pack. It may have happened, once, but it has more Urban Legend than truth to it.

Look: if you worked in an actual factory, and it doesn't have to be an auto factory, you'd understand how the dynamics work. People actually want to do well in their jobs, it is innate and if given the tools, environment and a chance, they will.

And, by the way, don't get the impression I am all pro-Japanese. Their management style with respect to their hourly factory workers is far superior to American. But to middle management and technical, i.e., "white collar", they are horrendous. They expect unGodly amounts of (uncompensated) overtime, and (to us Americans) unrealistic levels of dedication and perfection in such highly structured work that it kills creativity at lower levels. Literaly: in a meeting you don't speak unless spoken to, and you NEVER openly disagree with your superior. We watch too much Simpsons to get along well in their corporate culture... they will NEVER see ANY humor in a Dilbert.

BuddyWh

sympatico

Union is corrupting the economy. Every year, they demand raise of 50 cents per worker from each company. A company goes bankrupt as a result of having to spend an extra 50 cents for each worker.
The 50 cents per worker is either the company makes it or loose it.

dmarion

...is that, by they way they're structured, there is little or no room for individual performance incentives. Why would worker "A" bust his butt while worker "B" works at a minimal performance level and at the end of the day, they get the same union raise negotiated with management?

Give workers an incentive for individual (and team) performance, and I'll show you a better end product.

Give all workers the same raise regardless of their performance, and I'll show you an American car.

While I'm at it, if I was worker "A", I'd probably find a better non-union job where performance has its rewards.

freeze2k2

Dont think id want my car being built the week after superbowl sunday

GimmeTorq

based on ownership...

1991 Acura Integra (Honda, JAPAN) - flawless operation, construction and reliability. Scheduled maintenance was expensive though. Still on the road.

1993 Ford Escort GT (Mazda powertrain , assembled in Mexico with USA parts) - For this year, the Ford Escort GT and the Mazda Protege shared lots of mechanical components (powertrain, suspension). It's been very reliable, with no major issues and it still running great. Built quality was good, for a car at this price level but the quality of materials (plastics, cloth) is only average, at best.

1997 Mercury Villager (Nissan powertrain, assembled in TN by Ford) - Nissan Quest twin. Without any doubt, the worst vehicle I have owned. Quality of material and built quality is subpar. Rattles and noises like you wouldn't believe. The worst paint job I have ever seen (even compared to my Ford Escort). And fuel pumps that keep dying on you...
It still running but so far the most expensive onwership experience.

I keep preferring vehicles designed and assembled in Japan.

irvine78

iTrader: (2)

well, if u look at it...both Accords and Camrys are made in USA, yet they're as reliable as ever...so i guess as long as they're not Ford or Chevy, it's a-ok.

2M0A0X2

VERY TRU!! i believe taht too, and everyone else here seems to too