[Cpt. Foresight]

A report from the BBC has pointed out people don't really know where there cars come from. That means that the Envision is likely in the clear as the first Chinese-made car imported into the USA.

The BBC cites a Cars.com survey which tallied 28% of people questioned as saying they would only buy an "American made" car. Those same people did not know that the Volkswagen Passat is built in Chattanooga, TN, or that the BMW X5 is built in Greer, SC. Did they even know that the Chevrolet Trax was built in Bupyeong, South Korea.

And forget where the cars are produced, what about where they are designed? Subaru and Kia have design centres in the US. In other words, a import brand can be designed and built in the US. You should also consider where all of the components are coming from.

So the Envision may be imported from China, but where was it designed, where do all the parts come from, and how does it compare to every other vehicle sold in America.

 

[Napoleon]

The problem is people don't care, or is it a problem? It's only a problem when it's made somewhere they wouldn't want it to... like China.

 

[Cpt. Foresight]

I only think its bad when production is moved from North America to China, but if a company is selling products to China and builds a factory there to do so, that seems fine. And then if they later want to sell to US and have extra production capacity, it only makes sense to import from China. I just hate when a factoy here is shut down and the production is moved to China or something like that.

 

[General]

Most people don't really care about where it's produced unless it china. They just have a bad reputation when it comes to quality and manufacturers build there to get around the high import taxes on cars.

 

[Cpt. Foresight]

They do have a bad reputation, but the Envision is the outlier as it has won awards for best quality in the Chinese market.

 

[Napoleon]

Hopefully that reputation sticks and lasts over the long haul and not just with the Envision but with other Buick products since the last thing they need while trying to establish the brand is to set themselves up for failure.

 

[Cpt. Foresight]

I think Buick needs to become known for something. Quality, Value, Affordable Luxury. Something that makes them distinct.

 

[Napoleon]

Yeah that's going to be the problem, slowly they seem to be developing an imagine, the Envision seems to help establish that and what I can get from it is they stand for value. Surely they won't try to hit the level Cadillac is at.

 

[General]

They do have a bad reputation, but the Envision is the outlier as it has won awards for best quality in the Chinese market.

Yea, but what are they comparing the Envision to when it won the award? China home brand cars aren't known for quality or safety. I'll hold my judgement until after the crash test results are out and people have owned it for at least a year first.