Quality & price will always win out, regardless of where it's made. If it's second rate it simply won't sell.

Our problem in the west is that we're living in the past - the orientals can do a lot of things better & cheaper these days.

I remember buying a brand new Harley jacket on vacation in California in the early 90's - couldn't wait to get home and show it to my buddies - until one pointed to the label 'Made in Korea'. I corpsed!

 

When our wages are the same as theirs, we'll be able to make them cheaper also.

 

"..Unions lift wages for non-union members by creating a higher prevailing wage.
Even if you aren't a union member, your pay is influenced by the strength or weakness of organized labor.
The presence of unions sets off a wage race to the top.
The absence sets off a wage race to the bottom..."
- Eric Lui, American author, lecturer, policy advisor.

..or put another way, no unions = no Middle Class.
It doesn't get any simpler than that.
Around here, even the non-union guys (the smart ones anyway) are against right-to-work laws, because they know it will only mean smaller paychecks for them...

I'm a proud 35-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
American by birth - Union by choice.

 

Oh man....Chrysler is the worst of the big 3. Sorry to hear of your problems.

 

Jam u said brother.IBEW Local 9.

 

If we were all rich.....we would.

 

...this thread is still alive? ****.

 

I can honestly tell you that the folks at H-D hear what everyone is saying about this subject, at one time (only a couple short years ago) we would see more and more non-US manufactured items, mostly in clothing, then P&A. Every dealer meeting it will come up in one form or another about keeping H-D products stateside (manufacturing) and from what I am told, we will start seeing U.S.A. made jackets, t-shirts, shoes and boots and more P&A, hopefully at a fair price.

 

Then HD can start selling US Made clothes in the HD-India dealerships. LOL

 

it's not always being cheap, sometimes we are just going for a look or a sound and its cost prohibitive come on $700 for a set of pipes is a little out there for most of us to handle after shelling out 15K plus for the bike. i went the cheap route but some oem muffelers on ebay and will be modifying them to help get me that harley sound i want but not everyone has that option these aftermarket companies have got to calm down on these prices imsorry but about a hundred dollars in parts and chrome does not justify a $700 price tagi dont want to hear the research and development excuse that is not true...