25% of all Castle Products in March

[lincpimp]

I for one always try to buy a product that employs american workers or at least has an american based company behind it. The car issue is difficult, cause some import brand cars are made in the US but they money generated goes back to Japan, and the parts are foreign too. I own a few ford products, and do not really see the benifit to buying import vehicles. I am biased due to owning a body shop, and having worked on cars all of my life!

[glassdoctor]

I've had mostly Fords over the years... six different ones...

I currently own 5 cars.... 4 of them are "American" brand... one was built in Japan but the parent company is Amercian lol

Durango
Astro Cargo
Escort GT
F150
Mazda 5

Out of all of them only one is probably actually 100% American.. my 1978 F150

Would be nice if Ford offered a 25% off for March... oh yeah... you can get that anyway with some of the huge rebates :D

[Takedown]

The MMM wait reminds me so much of the wait on the PS3 when it first came out. It took forever then right when it came out you could'nt find them instock anywere and on ebay they were uber expensive. Like $2000!

[ClodMaxx]

Originally Posted by lincpimp

I for one always try to buy a product that employs american workers or at least has an american based company behind it.

i agree with you 110%, linc. my dad retired from GM - he worked there for almost 40 years, and that money is what raised me and my brother, put both of us through school, and is what pays his dr. bills now etc. The advertising agency that i work for has had Mazda for a client for 10 years (we came up with the 'zoom zoom' campaign) and i get a supplier discount on any mazda i want, along with other incentives - but i won't buy one. they're great cars, but US companies are having a difficult enough time competing and it's costing US jobs...BIG time.

i think it's absolutely horrid that something like that happened to Castle. they're proof that an american company can thrive and prosper, and make incredible products - what america is all about - and then something stupid like this happens to them. i'll continue buying Castle products - but not during the month of march. (thanks anyhow though, castle)

[jhautz]

Originally Posted by ClodMaxx

i agree with you 110%, linc. my dad retired from GM - he worked there for almost 40 years, and that money is what raised me and my brother, put both of us through school, and is what pays his dr. bills now etc. The advertising agency that i work for has had Mazda for a client for 10 years (we came up with the 'zoom zoom' campaign) and i get a supplier discount on any mazda i want, along with other incentives - but i won't buy one. they're great cars, but US companies are having a difficult enough time competing and it's costing US jobs...BIG time.

Doesnt Mazda sell a re-badged Ford SUV? You could buy that... But being a GM man that might seem even worse than going Japanese.

[glassdoctor]

I admit I have not exactly researched this... but on the Mazda thing: Many of the cars are build in the US by US workers... and Mazda is a "division" of Ford who owns Mazda. So is a Mazda really not an American car? (Some Mazdas are build in Japan, like my 5... but I'm talking about the majority which are built in the US)

Interesting at least....

Also... on a similar note, I bought my Escort GT back in 1993.... and it's half Mazda too. It uses the drivetrain from the Mazda Protege.... and now it's still running great with well over 200,000 miles with nothing more than oil changes for the most part.

[ClodMaxx]

ford owns a portion of mazda, but it's still a foreign company. but when mazda does well, it doesn't save ford jobs when ford isn't doing well. it only saves mazda. well... and my job, as they're a client of the company i work for.

the 'big 3' are going through some tough times competing with honda, nissan, toyota and mazda. ford apparently is going to offer buyouts for all 50,000+ hourly union employees so they can hire people to do it cheaper.

[jhautz]

Ford builds the truck and they just put the mazda badge on it I believe.

[ClodMaxx]

the mazda tribute is the same as the ford escape, yes.

I've owned a '95, '97 and '02 Mazda PU trucks recently and was told they are built in NJ in a Ford factory but by Mazda workers. The story I got is Mazda makes less than Ford workers and they pass the savings along on the cost of the truck. In '95 I compared 2 identically equipped Ranger/Mazda SE pickups and the Mazda was ~ $2000 cheaper.

The only difference was in optioning - Ford allows (or used to, haven't looked lately) real flexibility in picking and choosing what goes on the truck. Mazda offers only 3 "packages", take it or leave it.

[JERRY2KONE]

You see that is exactly the problem with our country today. We are so spoiled that we don't care about the big picture anymore. All we care about is what we can get out of it. We buy foreign cars because we have become so acustomed to getting everything we want, at any cost, and right now. Even if it means that we are selling out our power in the world order to every country that can do it Cheaper, Faster, and give it to us right now. Soon there will be no auto makers left in the USA, because we won't stop buying from the other guy. In the long run of things to come there will be nothing left but foreign auto makers right here, telling us that we are making American vehicles because we are building them. Even if all of the profits goes directly to them. Regardless of weather or not the USA car is as perfectly made as the other car, we should be spending our money on the our own soil, The good old USA. I am not trying to single anyone out, or piss anyone off. I am merely making a point that WE are selling this country out one car at a time. WE are allowing foreign countries to purchase companies right out from under our noses, and ease their way into controlling our fait. If we continue to follow the path we are on at this moment I hate to see where the USA will be in the next 50 to 100 years.

[pb4ugo]

Yes Mazda is completely owned by Ford. Mazda's HQ are now in Irvine, CA. Can you get much more American?

What about a Toyota? Built in America (most models), designed in America, is it American? The workers everyone seems so concerned about are supported right here in the USA. Bottom line profit dollar (which isn't as much as you may think) goes to Japan, but is that a bad thing when the bread and butter money stays here?

Is it different when an American company sources assembly, components, or complete products from overseas? The workers here aren't supported, but the executives are.

I guess the point is, I will buy what seems like the best value. I really want it to be an American product, but if America can't be competitive, they will soon learn to be.

[ClodMaxx]

Originally Posted by pb4ugo

Yes Mazda is completely owned by Ford. Mazda's HQ are now in Irvine, CA. Can you get much more American?

ford only owns 33% of mazda. no one 'completely owns' anyone anymore. the lines have been blurred. i believe mazda's US HQ is in CA - but they're still headquartered in Hiroshima, Japan.

ford may try to model their company after mazda, including sharing powerplants and 1 vehicle, but mazda still acts independently from ford. the CX-7 and CX-9 were created solely by mazda - the CX-9 was technically built off the mazda6 platform... the edge, ford's closest comparison, doesn't share much.

i am sorry for bringing up the car company point/debate - i didn't mean for this thread to head in that direction. the point i was trying to make is that i feel for castle and their plight.

[NovakTwo]

25% off MSRP.....Castle will be laughing all the way to the bank!

Tower's standard pricing is 35-40% off MSRP.

When Novak published (5-10-07!) restitution information in a similar legal situation, we offered 100% refunds to certain customers who felt that they had been misled by the "Made in USA" claim.

One Hundred Per Cent.

[DrKnow65]

Lawyers are ruining lives every day. They should all wear big red dot's and be considered unprotected by human rights. Shoot them, stab them, turn them into hood ornaments and fish food. Then when they are all gone let the court system center on common scense.

Sorry for Castle, even the people who win cases get screwed by the lawyers...