Say what you want about Donald Trump – and I’m sure that you have a lot to say… but, he kicked Ford’s butt and Ford responded.
(CNN-Money) Ford’s heavy duty pickup trucks which used to be built in Mexico started rolling off an assembly line in Ohio this week. 
That’s good news for the 1,000 Ford workers in Ohio, who might have otherwise been out of work.
It’s also good publicity for Ford, which has been under fire for investing so much in Mexico. In April, the automaker said it would invest $2.5 billion in transmission plants in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Guanajuato, creating about 3,800 jobs there.
Ford’s south-of-the-border strategy has drawn heavy criticism from groups such as the United Auto Workers union and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Avon Lake, Ohio, plant produced its first batch of Ford’s full-size F-650 and F-750 pick up trucks on Wednesday.
“Our investment…reinforces our commitment to building vehicles in America,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “Working with our partners in the UAW, we found a way to make the costs competitive enough to bring production of a whole new generation of work trucks to Ohio.”
President Obama’s move to “radically transform America” never included trying to keep jobs in the US, and the 91 million Americans who are not in the job market are mute testimony to that. The so-called unemployment rate that the Bureau of Labor Statistics quotes is a mishmash of ‘worked numbers’. It doesn’t reflect reality. And none of those 91 million who aren’t working pay any taxes.
“How does that help us?” Trump said about the Ford investment in Mexico while campaigning in Michigan this week. “Mexico is becoming the new China.”
I’m not a huge fan of Ford, but I’ll say one thing for them, my 2014 Ford Raptor is one heck of a fun ride. I’ve drifted away from buying American and the massive federal subsidies that GM feasted off of has turned me off that company. To Ford’s credit, they didn’t take the free cheese. They need to take a bow for that and for responding to Trump’s call NOT to outsource jobs to Mexico.
If they keep it up, I might buy another Ford vehicle when I’m in the market.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

24 COMMENTS

  1. I saw that yesterday and actually thought it was a joke. After doing some research, I have to say, "Whoa."

  2. If this could somehow apply to 80% of the jobs we outsource to different country, we would no longer have an unemployment problem…

  3. I'm not a ford fan either. I've owned one, but have driven dozens over the 30 with the telephone company. They never felt right, but GM keeps pissing me off. So maybe I'll have to take another look. I've been buying American only for the last 25 years, I like that Ford is doing its part too.

  4. The last Ford that I owned before the Raptor was in 1979… But I do like the Raptor. AND Ford seems to be trying to do the right thing (to the extent that an auto manufacturer can).

  6. My first car was a 1972 Ford Pinto and even though I loved that car, we always found Fords to be higher priced. As a married couple, our first new car together in 1987 was a choice between a Ford Bronco and a Crevy Blazer. We chose the Crev because she was much cheaper. And yes, it was a Crevrolet… the lettering on the back was misspelled. We kept her anyway.

    I want jobs to stay in America because I want American youngsters and teens to stop being so snooty and take the jobs they feel are beneath them. There's nothing wrong with learning a trade or working your way through college. How many sociology and poly sci majors can our economy sustain?

  7. American companies employing Americans? Novel concept, but I have to say that I like my '08 F150 a lot. it's no nonsense and it works. That doesn't mean I don't want a Raptor.

  9. There will always be a need for people with degrees to manage fast food chains and to take drone government jobs that require a degree.

  10. I think that Ford's F-150 (a Raptor is nothing but an F-150 with a big engine and a few more goodies) is a very good vehicle. And I'd rather see it made here than Mexico.

  12. I think that Ford is trying to figure out what their next move is, giving a sop to Trump in the hopes of keeping their name out of the Mexican mud.

  13. Good Lord…..a company with a conscience?

    What next, honest politicians?

    Just kidding! Even though I've always been accused of being a "GM Man", I will always lust after a 1965 GT350…..

  14. Traditionally I preferred GM as well…until the Obama bail out, the Volt debacle and the rest of the unholy stuff that went on. Since then I ridicule people (including members of my own family) who buy them, calling the vehicles "Obamas".

  15. As a car salesman/sales manager/used car manager I loved Fords. We spent, getting a used one "front line ready" half of what we spent on GM and three quarters what we spent on Mopar. Bigger grosses, fewer customer complaints, and our true customer, the lender, would step up a bit on Fords, especially pickups.

  17. As much as I admire the new Corvette, and the bad-ass Cadillac, I'd really have to do some soul-searching before I'd buy another GM car, specifically because of the bailout, and how the stockholders and bond holders got the shaft.

    I think the only new performance car I'd consider, if I were in the market for one, would be a new Mustang.

  18. I'm a Ford guy, too. I am currently on my 4th F-150 pick up, and one of my first cars was a 1964 Ford Falcon station wagon. A beater, but a pretty solid car back in the day. I have also owned 16 (yes, that's sixteen) Ford Model T's (sold 15 of them). Most solid car ever, they are bullet proof.

  21. Good for Ford. Only new vehicle the cowman & I ever bought was a Ford F 150, drove that thing a long time. Bought my old Explorer gently used and drove it for 20 years… dang I miss ol Bessie!

  22. Yes, but you're driving a new ride again…one capable of driving to visit the farm/Great Plains relatives, and returning unscathed.

  24. Yes, I've certainly considered that, the Vanquish. But isn't it a bit cliche? Everyone has one. (see the e-mail that I sent in this regard). The ride has a presumption of narcissism that goes along with it and the lack of "James Bond Insurance" when you wrap it around a tree or drive it off a cliff while chasing somebody.

Comments are closed.