Just because its made here doesnt mean its helping us any, BUY AMERICAN!

TOYOTA SPINS IT THEIR WAY

November 10, 2003

If Toyota was counting on NASCAR competitors rolling over and playing dead while they sashay their imported ideals onto the scene, they don’t know Jack, Roush that is.
In a recent USA Today interview Jack Roush spoke his mind about Toyota coming to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2004. Roush had the courage to speak the truth and fans should heed his opinion. Toyota fired back with a response.

Jack Roush said, “Americans shouldn’t buy Japanese cars. When we’re faced with the prospect of having somebody come into our world and strip our economy of its essence, and go convey that for interests that are abroad, then we’re not doing the right things for our country. If we’re forced, based on the fact that we can’t be competitive or that their consumers won’t buy as many things from our manufactures and our workers as we buy from theirs, well, then there’s a train wreck coming.”

USA Today managed to round up, and dust off Toyota's available spin doctor in an effort to insult Jack Roush, whose NASCAR Cup team has won the NASCAR Winston Cup championship this season.

From the basement of Toyota headquarters, came a response in regard to a man that helped shape the NASCAR Cup series we know today. The highly spun words from the foreign transplant company outlined a commitment to “creating new jobs and economic benefit” in North America. You will be hard pressed to find a statement from Toyota that isn’t highly spun. The word “diversity” is used a lot, not so much in this response but you can catch it in their mission statements.

Jack Aust, Toyota Vice President said, “Jack Roush is a respected and formidable NASCAR competitor, but it appears he has been misinformed about Toyotas positive business impact in the U.S. and our approach to the Craftsman Truck Series. Approximately two out of three Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in North America are built here.”

So, we have Roush suggesting actual documented concerns as stated in case study after case study including one from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University but, Roush is misinformed according to Toyota. The spin comes in the form of a grouping of words suggesting, “positive business impact and economic benefit.”

OK, first off Aust, in believing that you are a Vice President at Toyota, I wonder why you insist on using the word “approximately.” See? That’s been part of the problem with your little car company. You can’t seem to put it into actual terms because, if you do, the nasty truth rises to the top like the fish wrapper USA Today located in an I-85 rest stop trash barrel.

The next problem I have with your so-called approach is the term “built here.” See Aust? That’s another term, like “assembly” your foreign car company tosses around in order to create a smoke screen for Americans in need of a job to feed their family. The UAW has known it for years and maybe its time we remind NASCAR race fans about the truth.

Lets have a look at what “two out of three” and “positive business impact” really equates to Aust. I bet two-out-of-three, I can pin Toyota to the mat.

It’s the Americanization of Toyota and if it were not for President Ronald Reagan realizing such, America would be in more trouble than we are now. Reagan understood the game Toyota was, and still is playing when he imposed auto (voluntary) trade restrictions. In January of 1981 American auto manufactures were losing billions of dollars due to the fact that imported autos from Japan were flooding the market. This was among the first legislation signed by Reagan in an effort to protect America from companies like Toyota. What Jack Aust won’t expand upon is the fact that America has import restrictions on Toyota. Anybody can drape themselves in the American Flag..Aust, that doesn’t make them American.

Bill Clinton was forced to limit the number of Lexus cars entering American ports and that’s the ONLY reason Toyota assembles them here. Also in place is a 25% duty on imported trucks. Decades ago, Toyota loop-holed the duty tax by calling their trucks “truck parts” thus by-passing the law. The U.S. felt they needed Japan in what was described as the anti-communist bloc so, the Treasury Department looked the other way.

The restriction duty on imported trucks is the ONLY reason Toyota assembles its trucks in America. It isn’t because Toyota wants to promote a positive business impact, those are empty words spun like imported cotton candy by Vice Presidents at Toyota in an effort to have you think there looking out for your family.

But they are made right here in America, how can that be bad?

Very well planned media propaganda cast upon Americans throughout the years suggested Japanese autos assembled in the United States contain so many American made parts the transplant (Toyota) company is American. Toyota went as far as to add the words “North American” to their name. This company has dressed up in the American flag to the point of being perceived as an American company.

More propaganda tossed around throughout the years was the premise that American cars were in some way inferior to Toyota, thus there is a legitimate need to have the foreign auto maker in this country.

 

If you look closely at terms describing the Toyota factory process you will notice the word “Assembly.” This is the process by which non-union workers handle parts from crates located in the factory and through the process of “assembly” a vehicle is formed. Toyota located their American Assembly plants in the “right to work” states knowing full well the UAW would be hard pressed to organize workers in any manner. Non-Union, low security, no substantial workers rights is the name of the Toyota game.

If Toyota says you will stand up and stay at your work station through lunch then so be it. If Jack Aust shows up at your work station and says you’re fired because you like Jack Roush and agreed with this article, so be it. You have a job with very few rights. Toyota workers can be terminated without cause at any time. Workers in a Toyota assembly plant can be fired without cause one day before completing an agreed upon length of time that would vest said worker into a retirement program. Jack Aust can gradually speed the assembly line up day by day until you are running, fire you claiming your production has slowed. Don’t believe me? Go to the Department of Labor and Industries and ask the question yourself. Toyota workers have a job in theory only. There is no paperwork to protect you.

As time passes the American public begins to believe the spin about Toyota. They see jobs’ being created as the image takes on a physical form. In today’s society it’s about having a job. Toyota preys upon that issue to a point of having you believe they are all about making America grow. In most labor circles it’s referred to as “job scared.”

You have a job paying the bills but, you seem to be tolerating an ever changing work environment of which you have no control. Toyota has you by the short hairs because of that damn mortgage and your new Ford F-150 pick-up with the Jack Roush appearance package. You become nothing more than sheeple going along with the status quo. Forget about meeting with others that share in your grief, you’re in a right to work state. A flock of awaiting sheep graze outside the gate willing to do whatever Jack Aust says.

Ask yourself this question:

Why would a foreign maker of goods not want to grow their own economy (Japan) taking care of their own people? Is this something that makes reasonable sense to you?

It’s the import restrictions placed by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton along with the 25% duty on imported trucks making this phenomenon happen. Notice we said “trucks” and not the word “cars.”

Looking at one small example of Toyota importing takes us to Portland Ore. This area is home to Terminal 6, a port of call where Toyota cars find their way from Japan to America. There are several ports servicing Toyota ships along the West Coast including Oakland, Ca. For the purpose of this article we will use Terminal 6 as our example. Terminal 6 is one location in which Toyota doesn’t have a say about labor. If it moves, a union worker moves it, period. See how Toyota conforms when they are forced to?

Remembering there are restrictions on imports from Japan, Toyota still sends totally assembled cars to America by means of very large car carrying ships. Toyota has constructed a facility at Terminal 6 which is typical of several West Coast ports. After cars are driven from Toyota ships by union workers, they go to this port located facility in order to be prepared for rail shipments around the country. The Port of Portland is currently behind an effort to deepen the Columbia River channel which will allow for larger ships. This project will mean even bigger car carrying ships will arrive from Japan with fully assembled vehicles.

In 1996 The Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 laid claim to 250,000 Japanese, Toyota cars making their way to America. In 2002 that number has increased to nearly 400,000. Although those numbers appear small in comparison to the bigger total picture, you can clearly see Toyota has increased the number of cars unloaded from ships originating in Japan. Terminal 6 is small in comparison as to what is located near Oakland, Ca.

There is a premise suggesting Toyota is watching out for America, thus being described as All-American.

In 2002 West Coast International Longshoremen closed down the ports due to labor negotiations. The All-American company, Toyota was forced to close down its Fremont California car and truck plants due to the fact they ran out of parts. Production was halted in Tennessee and a Toyota spokesman told The New York Times, “We’re really short on parts that come from Japan, starting with the engine.”

 

Toyota imports approximately 20-30 percent of its total American (assembled) inventory from Japan. So, in essence Jack Aust was correct in his estimation that two out of three Toyota vehicles are built in America. A side note to the Longshoremen strike is the fact that Ford Motor Company also suffered because they transfer 360 different parts by way of ships located on the West Coast. Daimler-Chrysler said it had no significant impact from the strike due to the fact that 94% of its products are produced in North America.

It doesn’t stop with assembled cars and trucks, it goes much deeper. We hear a lot about free trade and Toyota claims to be an example of that term. Remember the term, “positive business impact” stated by Toyota VP Jack Aust? For many years the Japanese would not allow America the same free trade that we allow them. They found ways to keep our vehicles out of their country and would not allow any manufacturing plants to be built. Remember the portion of Jack Roush`s statement about the train wreck?

The perceived notion that American business provides parts and materials to Toyota for their U.S. operations is fabrication now believed as the truth. Toyota hides behind words like “diversity” in their approach to obtaining goods and services from American companies. Diversity means Japan, and that’s where the money trail ends. Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennessee is the latest example of people being snowed by Toyota.

Bredesen recently added to the positive business impact for Toyota when he announced Bodine Aluminum would be building a casting plant in his state. Among incentives to build the plant Bodine received a $400,000 jobs creation tax credit, $1 million discount on the purchase price of the land. A big message was sent about how Bodine, a St. Louis based company will bring 200 jobs to the area but there was one thing never mentioned.

Bodine Aluminum is Toyota.

Did you really think Geoffrey Bodine owns Bodine Aluminum? No, Toyota acquired Bodine in the 90`s. Companies that supply parts to Toyota in general are owned by Toyota and/or have foreign Japanese interests directly linked to Toyota in one form or another. That’s the diversity part. We give you a job making our product of which you only produce the cheapest part of the vehicle and, we supply all the parts through foreign interests.

According to Car Economics and Business Group Director Sean McAlinden, most transplant vehicle parts are imported from Japan. Most of the rest are sourced from North American facilities owned by Japanese supplier companies. Highest in U.S. (sourced) content for Toyota is the Camry at 70-75 percent. McAlinden points out that the first 25 percent of the figure range equates to sales and marketing expense. That premise drops the Toyota Camry to 50-55 percent in regard to sourced parts.

The engine of a vehicle represents a reasonable portion of its total value. There’s a large number of Japanese engines assembled in America but how American is a Japanese engine assembled in an American plant with a majority of Japanese imported parts? The labor cost to assemble Toyota vehicles in America equals five to ten percent of their total value.

Starting to see what Jack Roush was talking about? You can come out from under your desk Aust, they know the truth now.

There are still cars and trucks considered 100% American. Don’t be fooled by comments suggesting, all the Detroit car companies import parts and use foreign labor, it’s incorrect. The Ford Taurus is made in Chicago and Hapeville, Ga. The Chevrolet Silverado pick-up is built in Indiana and Michigan plants. The Ford Explorer and Chevrolet Trailblazer are made in Midwestern U.S. factories.

You be the judge my friends, which Jack is telling the real story? Which Jack is hiding behind the American flag in an attempt to fool the public?


Toyota Supplier Diversity Statement:

Toyota is committed to having a supplier base, which more closely reflects the diversity of our customers and the diversity of our team members who build Toyota vehicles in North America. Having a diverse supplier base enables us to contribute to the economic well-being of all segments of the U.S. population. Also, we recognize that partnering with suppliers who provide a diversity of ideas - in addition to delivering manufacturing support, goods and services - creates a significant competitive advantage for Toyota.

Did that paragraph of nothing make sense to you? That’s how they talk at Toyota in an effort to pull the imported wool over the eyes of unsuspecting Americans.


Additional Note:

NASCAR held its Touring Series national championship Saturday night at the Irwindale Speedway. The event, sponsored by Toyota produced Austin Cameron as event winner in the Grand National Division. Jack Aust from Toyota was on hand to congratulate Cameron on his deserved victory.

In the USA Today interview with Jack Roush, winner of the Winston Cup title as car owner suggested concern over lavish Toyota spending. I don’t think Roush has much to worry about after seeing how things went in Irwindale.

Toyota gave Austin Cameron $30,000 for winning the race and allowed him the use of a Toyota Tundra pick-up for one year. How cheap can you possibly be Aust? Toyota is so cheap they couldn’t even give the kid the truck they had to lend it to him for a year.

Dewalt Tools, sponsor of the Jack Roush owned No.17 Ford Taurus driven by Matt Kenseth gave a dry-wall worker from Seattle $25,000 and a new Chevrolet Silverado pick-up for driving a few screws into a wood plank last week in Phoenix.

That move in Irwindale was one of the cheapest deals of all-time. It cost Toyota next to nothing to produce that foreign piece of junk and, it more than paid for itself with the many commercials shown during the event. Aust, you beat all I have ever seen and I have been to two World Fairs and a rodeo.


Acknowledgments:

(Case Study 507.2 John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Forbes, Jerry Flint article, Cars and Currency 6/23/03. Follies, American Companies, Alan Tonelson 10/8/02. Consumer Guide article, What is an Import, Gary Witzenburg 2/24/03.CNN Money article What is an American car 6/27/03. USA Today article Chris Jenkins 11/6/03. Port of Portland Ore marine manifest totals 96-03.)

 

hmmm....I guess all that means Toyota won't be on your Christmas card list this year huh??

 

yeah, that and Im glad I didnt buy any of my Yodas new.

 

I could go into a lecture about free markets, but first can you tell me where 2000 Trans Ams were made?

 

F-ing Canada, I also didnt buy that car new. If I had to buy a new car right now, It would be the Cobalt SS or the SRT-4. Just because I cant afford to buy a new C6 or Silverado.

 

on a good note, the Blazer was made in the U.S.!

 

It's the same thing they did 20-30 years ago. Flood the market with their cheap throw away transister radios and tv's. Since then its been their cars.

Good read but it's not really new news to some people.

 

Tough shit, Jack. America's economy is based on a "free-market system." This means companies, American and foriegn, must compete for market share/profits. Some will survive, some won't.

When GM fired thousands of employees and left entire town destitute, it was all in the name of remaining competative in the market. Well, here they are years later and it looks like that brilliant scheme didn't do jack for them. If Toyota was losing market share to GM, folks would be praising the American consumer and economy. When Toyota beats us at our own (fundamentally flawed) game, they're evil Jap bastards who shouldn't be allowed to compete.

So I say tough titty. The system sucks and it's no fun to lose--that doesn't mean American companies should have it both ways.