now Autolite... made in China... poor quality...

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Johnny248

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Opened up a box of Autolite plugs, and was pretty disappointed to see that now they too are also being manufactured in China. And out of the box of 4 two, two of the plugs just looked to be lesser quality than they used to be. I have never been an Autolite user or fan, however I noticed that the terminal was not seated flush inside the insulator, and the side electrode was not very well aligned with the center electrode.

Anyway, I would not be surprised if we see Honeywell moving filter manufacturing to China also. China Fram...

So I guess why someone would want to buy these plugs when they can purchase a high quality Japan made plug (most of which are, do see some USA built also) NGK plug. Autolite and Champion are about as American-associated part since the early times of automobiles. I guess whatever it takes to save a buck these days.

And this is not a stereotype China=Junk rambling. There are many products which are made my reputable manufactures that are produced in China, but still have high build quality. So I don't necessarily boycott all Chinese products, but when they quality is not there, it makes me look elsewhere.
 
It is sad, we need to do something about this or all of our jobs will be overseas. I don't understand why we can't make the product here. Especially with low employment. We need to Tax China's goods coming in more or, Have big penalties (tax wise) for moving manufacturing jobs out of the USA or Canada.
 
That is very sad to hear. I get more and more disillusioned every time I open a parts box and find it is made in China or when I hear another company that used to provide high quality American-made parts has moved operations and jobs to China or some other country.

I use Autolite 3923 copper core plugs in my truck, and this news about Autolite makes me want to go on out to local parts stores and see if they may have any American-made 3923's left for sale. I would buy up a couple dozen to keep for future use if they had any US made plugs in stock.

This is sad, just very sad news. More Americans out of work. If I can't find any US made 3923's now I will either have to take my chances on Chinese-made plugs or try some other plug. Champion is the OE supplier for plugs in my Dakota. I wonder if they are still made here in the USA?
 
Originally Posted By: chubbs1
I don't understand why we can't make the product here.


One is union labor costs.
Another is Government action, such as EPA regulations.
 
Someone who worked for Autolite told me they payed well and made plugs for Motorcraft and I forget who else. They wanted him to go to Mexico to help them set up production and he refused. Now they are making them in China. I guess Mexico wasn't cheap enough to sell them in the US for the same price when they were made here with good jobs and good quality. Someone is getting very rich at others' expense. It's just a big rip off.
 
Originally Posted By: chubbs1
It is sad, we need to do something about this or all of our jobs will be overseas. I don't understand why we can't make the product here. Especially with low employment. We need to Tax China's goods coming in more or, Have big penalties (tax wise) for moving manufacturing jobs out of the USA or Canada.


It's not just China and manufacturing jobs. It's also white collar jobs - basically any job where you sit behind a desk is outsourcable. Most U.S. tech (software and hardware) are doing 3x to 5x more hiring in India than the U.S. In fact, they are laying off U.S. workers and hiring Indian workers to take their place. My company just laid off 50 U.S. Engineers and will replace them with engineers in India.

So why is everyone so dumbounded that there are no jobs? Isn't the answer obvious?
 
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Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: chubbs1
I don't understand why we can't make the product here.


One is union labor costs.
Another is Government action, such as EPA regulations.


+1 Add a draconian tax system into the mix that punishes business for being successful with a system that rewards failure and you have all the ingredients to ignite a mass exodus.

As far as Autolite goes they can shove them!
IMO if we don't step up and stop buying Chinese and other cheap goods whenever possible we are assisting in putting the U.S. on the road to becoming a third world nation.
 
Back in the "Made in USA" days I've had junk Autolite and Champion plugs as well. 1 of 4 Autolite Copper/Regular/Steel I used to use would loosen itself out of the engine and always had bad fuel economy (26mpg vs 29mpg), and the Champion platinum's outer and center electrode were never aligned, never gapped correctly, etc.

Made in USA plugs may have good metal quality but the quality control of "good enough" were usually pretty bad to begin with. I still use them, but I personally gap and align every one of them before putting them in, but why should I when NGK and Denso are pre-gapped and well aligned to begin with?

You do get what you pay for, when Autolite and Champion are only $1-2 a plug to begin with, you get $1-2 quality instead of the $2-4 a plug that NGK and Denso charge for.
 
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The Autolites I used better not go to China. I will stop buying them then. I have used the Mexican and USA ones with no complaints.
 
Originally Posted By: AdRock
I hope that doesn't mean that Motorcrafts are now made in China. If so that just sux.


Last set of Motorcraft plugs I bought were made in Mexico.

If we don't start speaking with our wallets and specifically purchasing goods manufactured in North America, there is no motivation for these companies to not continue to outsource us into oblivion.
 
Originally Posted By: 1345
Are there any spark plugs not made in china or mexico any more? My autolite ap 985 plugs are made in mexico.


NGK has a factory in West Virginia that makes O2 sensors and plugs. I'm not sure which ones specifically but I have a friend who works there and could ask him.
 
We have lost our souls to the Chinese... Its a shame they sit on combined (main land china and hongkong) on $3T of our money while our elected representatives sat on the side cheering leading these deficits.

We cannot blame the chinese in eating into our food, we need to blame ourselves and the CEOs who get paid big dollars to ship jobs outside.
 
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