Why is it so much more expensive to buy a car in American than it is in Japan? -

In America, you re going to pay $12,000+ for a new car, and that s if you don t like power windows or air conditioning. But, in Japan you can buy a new car with all the bells and whistles for like $10,000. I know Japanese cars are expensive here because of the cost to ship them here, but don t they make those cars in America? Also, if American cars are made here, why are they not significantly cheaper than foreign cars?

I have 3 letters that answer why American cars aren t significantly cheaper. U A W As for the price difference between cars here and in Japan, I m not sure. My guess would be exchange rate, or cheaper manufacturing costs but I am not entirely sure. I wouldn t be surprised if there are some surcharges on Toyota/Honda/etc. because they are foreign companies even though most of the manufacturing is done in the US. As a side note, Japanese quality has fallen in recent years and American quality has gone up. To the point where Toyota is no longer an automatic Consumer Reports Best Buy.

Many factors come into play. Exchange rate of currency is a daily one. Also labor rates. Like for instance China pays their people nowhere near the labor rate of unionized people in the U.S.A. same was and still is true for Japan (they don t have unions) And Japan is legendary for reliability with it s cars. American cars are not. America has been playing catch up for years to improve it s quality. It s a sad omen that GM and Chrysler are on the brink of the industry they created. Electric cars are not around the corner (volt) and given Gm s recent history nobody wants to be the first guinnea pig to buy them. Mercedes bought Chrysler and gave em up, The Gov bailed out Chrysler and here we are again with them about to go belly up. IMHO if GM bails out Chrylser they both will go belly up and that will leave a very shaky Ford.

Have you ever heard of cheap foreign labor??? In Japan, a dollar an hour...USA -$ 20. per hour w/ union.

American cars are not cheaper in America because whoever is in control of GM and Ford motor groups dont understand the American people, or do they? They pump out continuous overrated automobiles and try and work the quot;built in Americaquot; angle to try and persuade people to buy them. Japenese cars are FAR superior mostly because the manufacturers understand what people want and what it takes to make a quality car. The American auto industry try and block out the overseas car companys by making them charge more to try and undercut them with quot;cheaperquot; yes still overpriced American cars. i saw a commercial for the new Cadillac Escalade hybrid that gets an quot;awesomequot; 20 MPG (on the highway, it still only gets around 12-14 in the city). This isnt worth anything as people want to drive cars that are 40 MPG cars more like the Japanese variety. The Government keeps giving Ford and GM money to stay alive, and they CEOs dont understand why Americans dont buy more of them. its because they arent what people are looking for. People dont want to buy a new Dodge Charger that quaffs gasoline, nor the new Chevrolet Camaro thats about to come out that probably chugs gasoline like a frat boy on a friday night. American car companies need to wake up and smell the Japanese coffee. Then again, Americans need to continue understanding that they need overseas cars to fit their needs. Pay the extra to buy Japanese and hopefully the American car companies will realize their mistakes.