<p>Starbright/schmoomcgoo:</p>
<p>I purchased my last couple of vehicles the same way although I used kbb.com and edmunds.com to get the dealer invoice price for free. I hate dealing with car salespeople.</p>
<p>Thank you, Onward for updating us. I’m sure you took a careful look around, and selected the model that fits your needs. I thank you too for buying an American model. I’m not in the appliance manufacturing business, but I am an American that needs to have a job and wants to keep working.</p>
<p>
The only Viking appliance I have is a toaster and I recently got a letter telling me it was being recalled because people were getting shocked by it. I had to call a number and ask for a new toaster, which I did. The rep told me to cut the electrical cord from my old toaster and send it in to Viking. I forgot to do that, but got a new toaster in the interim. Along with the toaster there was a letter that I was to return to Viking. It was a form letter that the consumer signs and says the he/she promises to remove the cord from the defective toaster and not use it. LOL I’m using the new toaster–took the old one to the garage and there it sits. Not sure what to do with it; I never had a problem with it, but don’t want to take a chance on it. I could probably take it to the transfer station, but I’d have to pay a fee to leave it in the metal recycling pile.</p>
<p>Younghoss, as far as I could tell, the only sure connection I found between Kenmore and buy-American is that Sears, the retailer, is American (which like every major retailer only survives by selling a range of products from around the globe). </p>
<p>The Sears’ Kenmore brand is produced by lots of different manufacturers, not necessarily American ones nor necessarily built in America (it depends on the specific product and model). Even then, defining who makes the profit, where its assembled etc. is complicated. </p>
<p>In contrast, the Bosch has had major manufacturing plants in North Carolina and Tennessee for the past decade. I don’t want to put those 1000 employees out of work either.</p>
<p>Protectionism in an era of globalization and interdependent economies…so difficult to following those money trails (especially when companies will milk the buy-america mentality as much as they can).</p>
<p>Perhaps you have more recent info that I do, starbright. A couple yrs ago, I read kenmore turned over exclusive rights of such appliances to be manufactured by Whirlpool, which last I heard was headquartered and mainly produced in Ohio.
If that is no longer true my apologies.</p>
<p>I may not have Younghoss. And you might be right about the exact location of manufacturing Kenmore dishwashers. But I can’t find it and maybe you can. Keep in mind Whirlpool includes so many brands too! This is the problem, hard to nail down. I frankly couldn’t care less about going out of my way to assist a particular global corporation that just happens to have HQ in the US. </p>
<p>Every company will hype in PR it’s devotion to the US, and underplay it’s manufacturing locations, relocations and such outside the US. These companies can’t care less where they do business aside from how it impacts the bottom line. If they can get economies from foreign manufacturing but still suck the consumer into the whole nationalism thing, best of both worlds for them. It’s their legal obligation to maximize shareholder interests. </p>
<p>Bits off the web in five seconds (thus not exactly deep and accurate research ):</p>
<p>Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a Fortune 500 company and a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances,with annual sales of approximately $19 billion, more than 70,000 employees, and more than 70 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Gladiator Garage Works, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Consul, and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.</p>
<p>Whirlpool has approximately 37 plants throughout the world. Each Whirlpool plant manufactures a different product which are divided into product categories</p>
<p>BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Whirlpool, just completing a US$100-million spin cycle of sorts at seven of its U.S. plants, has now turned its manufacturing-expansion focus to Mexico…And Whirlpool’s further noted that some of the Mexican operation’s work will be relocated from the U.S., including “some models currently manufactured at the Ft. Smith, Ark., operation.” Whirlpool’s Ft. Smith facility employs some 4,500 workers and ranks as the city’s largest employer. </p>
<p>Whirlpool Has Plants in Four Mexican Cities</p>
<p>Maytag’s Mexican Relocation (same as Whirlpool)
Demonstrates Labor-Cost Differential
Maytag has taken a similar path. The Newton, Iowa-based appliance maker over the last two years has announced the relocation of a U.S. refrigerator plant and two parts plants to Reynosa, Mexico. Labor costs were a dominant factor in those decisions, company officials said</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad/starbright</p>
<p>I got my invoice prices for free from cars.com (though I have paid for the 3 month service from CR in the past). Cars.com even gives the invoice prices on options and locates dealers. I watched a video on youtube called “How to buy a car without getting screwed” for instructions on the “competitive bidding” thing. The video is pretty helpful in terms of helping with mindset. (e. g. you will feel like an @$$#*%&, but…) I got interior wood trim for by saying, “take it out” once. I still remember my first new car negotiation: I got a MSRP $14,350 car for $10,670. I do enjoy the game (although I do feel like what the video said)!</p>