Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

First, let me preface by saying that we NEVER said the pond water cars were unsafe, or faulty, or whatever else you may have thought you read. In fact, we have seen parts from over-seas, and they are some nice pieces. My concern is this… Is the American manufacture getting a fair shake? I don't think so. If you set down at a poker table, each player should be dealt the same amount of cards. But it seems that the American manufactures are being dealt short. What about over-head? I am not talking stocking parts on the shelf. I am talking about true over-head. What about Liability Insurance? Workman's Comp? Has your Health Insurance gone up? Do the pond water manufacturers have any of that? I'm sure your heating and electric bills at home have gone up. It has here, too. And when I pull into the gas station every week, I pay the same higher gas prices as you do. This American manufacture, Eagle Chassis, and it's employees are everyday people just like you...trying to make a living. Hey, I shop Wal-Mart! I shop at Wal-Mart because it is inexpensive. We are as guilty as the next person. We prefer inexpensive to high dollar, just like you.

The bearings in your birdcages come from over-seas. Nuts and bolts that you put your car together with, where do you think they come from? Yes, some of our tools are made in China. We have to use them or you would complain even more about "high prices".

Eagle Chassis is not a "hurry-up and get the car done" shop. We prefer to build a quality custom piece that you want. Myself, I am a car builder and racer from the 70's. I know what it's like. I had to build my own parts instead of buying. I started this business for the little man. There is no more enjoyment than helping a fellow racer do it right the first time… and there is nothing more important than getting the right information when you are on a budget.

And who exactly are you? Do you work for them or what?

Eagle1 your debate should be sent to your local government representative. Cost to manufacture in the USA cost more than importing. Nearly every commodity in our country fits under your topic. It has nothing to do with who we chose to support, its who can we afford to support. The bottom line is people look for savings. If you cant offer it and someone else can, thats where many of your past customers end up.

not to rag on you because you have a fine product and a good following of supporters.

but, there will always be flack thrown out when someone makes and/or sells something at a substantial cost savings. no matter where it is made. it has happened before. even if a small operation desides to just make lets say front axles. they could be made in the good old usa. and if that operation got good volume prices on raw material and had good quality people making the part,even if it was a one man show, and could sell that part direct to the racer the bigger companies would try to knock it. there would be the claimes that it was inferior and unsafe.it has happened before. if someone makes a brake rotor or spindle or seat or wing tower and they can sell enough of them cheep enough the bigger companies  will cry fowl. even if they are better.but if the bigger company could get the maker to sell to them for less than the time and materials it took the bigger company to make the part themselves, that same part would be pushed like crazy to the racer for the same price the bigger company's original part was. you can't tell me that is not true and that it has not happened.

you may have never said the other parts were not safe. but you have asked if we thought cheeper front ends were of the same quality.  you may have a higher overhead. you may have to comply with the US insurance ect. but an importer who has a wharehouse and not a mfg shop may not. and just because the stuff that is imported can be sold for less does not mean that it is of less quality. it may or may not be. but that is up to the seller to show the buyer. we all like to buy at wall mart. but where do the clothes come from and who makes them? and what kind of working conditions do the people making them work under? and is workmans comp and other fees being given to these people. do we all even think about it?

Angelina Jolie goes to other countries to adopt underprivilaged kids to take them out of poverty. well maybe some folks want to spend less money on parts and give some guy a job in another country so he won't have to give his kid up for adoption. we all have our own ways of doing things.

if duc fu over in china is a welding MF and can weld as good as joe welder over here and makes good parts doesn't he have a right to have a job that will put food on his table? and if the company he works for produces parts that are comparable to our parts over here should they not be allowed to make them? if we could get parts from aussie land for cheeper and they were the same would we?if you could find a way to have someone make parts for you just as good but for less than it costs you now would you? you bet you would. you could probobly find an exporter to do for you the same thing that others are doing offshore. but you already have money invested in people and equipment. and maybe you want to have more control over your product. that is fine. but all this crap about slamming stuff just because it comes from out of the country is bull. i am just as upset that we can't compete with that stuff in price. with all the illegals in here you think we would be able to. but even the illegals want to be paid the same as the rest of us nowadays.lol.

sad to say you are going to have to figure out how to compete. like you said some of the tools you are using to make your parts come from china.lol.

it is sad that we can't price the american made stuff to compete with the imported stuff. but now you see why the major companies in the world are outsourcing.

In Iowa, our minimum wage went up over a dollar an hour yesterday and will go up over another dollar on the first of the year.

this inflation runs uphill as well.

we wonder why we are not competitive in a world economy yet seem to support the cheapest items, WHILE raising our overhead.

I have no doubt as to the quality of the chinese made items, my thought goes back to Nikita Krushev, when he told the USA that communism would take over America without ever firing a shot.

We all laughed then.

It is a shame that we have leaders in our country who support the principles of communism.

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If American manufacturers become a thing of the past, we wil be talking about the good old days when you could see the car being built. The playing feild needs to be leveled. I have a mechanical invention that would be successful, yet I'm weary of the sharks pool I would have to approach.

In a previous and related post, Eagle1 stated .... "You wanted a less expensive front end, we provided you with one. Eagle does not make it, but we gave you want you wanted. Do you honestly believe the less expensive front end is of the same quality?".

A) Aren't you basically outsourcing yourself? Aren't you doing exactly what you are complaining about (putting your own employees out of work)?

B) Why would you sell a self-admitted front end that is not "of the same quality" as yours?

How come nobody was whining about American goods being shipped to Europe for sale in the 70's, 80's, and 90's?

People are only whining now because the shoe is on the other foot.

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