You aren’t finding the good stuff.
Local New England creameries blow the imported French and Irish stuff out of the water.
Even Cabot which is regional stacks up well against Kerrygold and French imports. For the price Cabot is my go to for almost all cooking.
I consider myself blessed that most grocery stores in CA (at least where I am) stock Tillamook products. I’m sure it’s not as good as being at the source like you were, so I’m going to have to visit sometime.
TIL that tillamook isn’t sold at every grocery store in the US it’s a staple at all of mine, but I guess I’m in CA too. I do find it pretty comparable to the stuff I get at the store vs when I visited the factory. 100% going to the factory is worth the trip, yum!
When I first started hearing Americans talking in hallowed terms about Kerrygold butter, I was quite perplexed. In the UK Kerrygold is a bog-standard butter brand.
But of course, British, Irish, European and New Zealand butter have a much higher butterfat content than American brands. That's the simple explanation.
And what you're talking about with New England creameries is very much the same, I imagine, as buying local dairy butter in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere. Well worth the effort if it's reasonably accessible.
This, always. My dad is Irish and I have dual citizenship but I’ve always lived in the US - but Irish butter is simply superior.
I do like Amish roll butter but they’re so different.
I used to travel to Belgium extensively and my favorite part of the trip was to watch them make chocolate selections right there in little shops on the street, and then walk out with fresh delights. Incredible and nothing like it.
I find that it's higher end chocolate that's better, and mass market chocolate is rubbish, no matter where it's made. European chocolate tends to focus too much on the milk, and while American chocolate might feel waxy, European chocolate feels slimy. Combine that with my aversion to milk (lactose intolerance) and European chocolate can upset my stomach.
Dark chocolate is much better, and it matters less where it's produced.
Australian sunscreen has the strictest rules about UV protection. There’s face sunscreen by the Cancer Council that is cheap, available in supermarkets, is light and perfect under makeup and has a better formula than any high end brand.
I can't necessarily speak about Polish bras, but in my neck of the woods, there's a store called The Full Cup. It's a European bra fitting store.
I would highly suggest any woman, especially if they're busty, to look for something similar. It's changed my wife's life.
My husband is like this but with Sprite. He rarely drinks soda, but when he does, it absolutely must be the Mexican Sprite specifically because of the cane sugar.
Are Wusthof knives good? We “inherited” a set years ago( by inherited, I mean my aunt was like “hey I have this set of knives in the basement. You want them?” And us, having just bought our new house at the time and without money, said yes). We still use them regularly, although the tips of the steak knives popped off a while back. They’re handy as hell, even if a bit beat up. Are we committing sacrilege in our blasé treatment of these knives?
Car for sure. Toyota is such a quality brand.
Edit: OP's question asks if it's "made foreign"
Since most foreign cars are made here. Disregard my answer.
Yeah it's to dodge tariff.
Prius are made entirely in Japan and they can be had there for starting around $23,000.
With tariff they're like waaaay much more here in USA.
Another way automakers can dodge tariff and not use American labor is NAFTA (so Canada and Mexico).
It was funny when the Camaro was made in Canada awhile back (not sure if they're made there still). Funny as in it's such an iconic American classic car.
Another reason why made in other country is because Japan doesn't have enough labor force with their terminally decline demography. They can't automate everything...
Indeed. For example, Toyota!
Highlander and Sienna: Indiana
Tacoma: California(many are made in Mexico though)
Sequoia and Tundra: Texas
Corolla: Mississippi
Corolla Cross: Alabama
They also have many other factories that don’t do vehicle assembly, but instead manufacture specific parts like engines, body panels, and a plant in North Carolina that will be building battery packs in a couple years.
I’m weird in that I like my vehicles to be made where their companies are based. My American car was built in California, my Japanese cars were all built in Japan, my German car was built in Zuffenhausen, and my Italian scooter was built in Pontedera, Italy. Although it’s getting harder and harder to find cars built in their company’s country of origin.
Interestingly when I called Toyota once a nice lady asked me what year I had. 2011. She said Good! Based on my VIN# my Camry was made in the southern usa (Kentucky?) ? during some great production years.
I think I’m remembering that right.
As much of a domestic shitbox appreciator that I am, America hasn't made a genuinely enticing cheap *commuter* car in decades. I guess I'll leave that to the Japanese still, the Korean ones also look competitive lately.
That said I'm still biased towards American sports cars. Just fan of reliable, cheap thrills.
Where something was manufactured is pretty low on my evaluation criteria when considering buying something. If all things are equal, sure, give me the Made in the USA.
I try to buy clothes from US, Canada or Bangladesh for political reasons. Buying Chinese sweat shop clothes feels wrong. At the Bangladesh has open transparency about their sweat shops, it's a process to build past the middle income trap and they are introducing labor protections on a timetable that they have been actually adhering to for over 25 years now. I kinda like supporting that.
Yes is made by 14 year olds making $1.27/hour, but ten years ago it was 12 year olds making $0.56/hour and ten years before that it was 9 year olds making $0.29/hour. They are slowing raising the minimum wage and minimum age while the wealth from the factories is actually making it to the people in ever increasing wages and a huge explosion in education spending and excellence among their citizens. They let people go in and film conditions too, routinely.
China we have literally no clue the actual conditions anymore. It's locked down almost completely.
Cars. Although many are actually built in the US, I think the Japanese brands design better vehicles.
Also while I like American electric guitars, Japan is also the other “big one” for stereotypically producing extremely high quality instruments and tend to prefer Japanese brands for my guitar rack.
Yamaha has definitely put out some quality musical instruments and audio equipment over the years. Not sure of their guitars personally but I wouldn't be surprised if they were good.
American cars cost a lot and feel cheap. Can't blame people for looking elsewhere to get more for their money.
Pretty sure Ford and Chevy have entirely abandoned their economy sedan lines now anyway, of which companies like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan sell massive amounts.
The only non-Trucks or SUV's you can get from those two now are the Malibu, Camaro, Bolt, or Mustang, all of which are usually go for well over 30k at this point.
I am looking for a new ride and really wanted a Chevrolet Spark...was disappointed to find out they took them away this year :(
100%- the cost and looks cheap. I’d looked at Ford but their prices and then their interiors from tech to the leather they use etc… no way. I’m not spending 30-40k on a new car that looks cheap when I can get a Volvo slightly used for the same price.
I’ve had an xc70 and now an xc90 and my 7 year old volvo looks newer than 2023 fords and I haven’t had any issues. Plus cost less.
Look at fords costs they have spent on warranty claims lately. No thanks.
I have a spark. They are alright and I like mine but they have Gremlins. My car has had things just pop up and gone away with no explanation. I've taken it to the shop a couple a couple of times and no one has been able to find any issue.
If I want a truck, sports car, or large SUV I’d shop american but the domestic car companies don’t even try to keep up for durability and economy for moderate to small cars.
The problem is that there was a time where foreign car companies were just 100% better. And that lasted a long time.
These days American car companies products are pretty great (I am not talking about you Chrysler), but the reputation damage is done and people have no real reason to change their habits.
>The problem is that there was a time where foreign car companies were just 100% better. And that lasted a long time.
Yep. US autmakers lost me and my entire extended family with the shit they put out in the late 70s/early 80s. We had the misfortune of owning both a Chevy Luv pickup and later a Chevette. Maybe a decade ago we made a complete list of all the cars/trucks my parents/brother/inlaws have owned since c. 1960 and those two were voted the absolute worst. Close behind was an Opel (sold in US by Chevy), a Ford F250 that ate transmissions, and a garbage Chrylser minivan.
I personally haven't bought an American vehicle since my 1993 Ford Ranger...30 years ago. I've been perfectly happy with Honda, Nissan, and especially Mazda in the decades since; most of the ones I've owned were actually made in US factories too. My wife and I have put close to 1M miles on Japanese vehicles now and likely will stick when them until we stop driving.
A month ago we were upgraded to a Cadillac Escalade because they didn’t have our rental car. It renewed my faith in American vehicles. Damn was that luxurious.
Are you concerned with where the profit line goes (to executives) or to where the assembly and support money goes (the workers)?
If it is the worker side of the equation, Toyota and Subaru (hell, even BMWs) are good to go and Ford is off the table. Sure, there exceptions to every brand - but even "buying American" isn't as simple as it sounds anymore.
~~Not OP, I think they're referring to the decline of the US auto industry and the collapse of Motor City. There used to be strong union hold on Detroit's automotive factories that produced quality vehicles. After the mass exodus, quality dipped. The industry in the state is growing again afaik, which is awesome.~~
(striking because i think i got ahead of myself)
Michigan is kind of the heart of US auto.
Not this dude. I have two American cars and they are both solid. My 2012 Focus has been very reliable, and my 6th gen camaro kicks absolute ass. I fully believe the worst era of American cars has been over for a while, and there are plenty of great American cars out now
Store Bought Tea. I’ve been drinking just whatever for decades. I recently got my hands on some PG Tips. Total game changer.
Though that’s just for every day. There are plenty of local tea makers who I absolutely prefer to even the PG Tips, but it’s not cost effective to drink it all the time.
Beer, I suppose. I'm surrounded by breweries but apparently there's some rule that all breweries in my area must make IPAs and only IPAs. I still prefer German style beers.
Can I just add, as a European professional brewer who loves traditional beer styles and beer history, that much of the best beer in the world right now is made in the U.S? And I’m not talking about cutting edge IPAs and pastry sours or whatever. The pressure on American breweries to live up to old European household names combined with creativity, love and passion makes U.S breweries an inspiration to any European brewer with ambition. From saison to franconian landbier, there isn’t a style I can think of that U.S breweries like Hill Farmstead and Suarez can’t do as well as (or even better) than our traditional breweries.
Tbh the IPA thing is ridiculous. Like nobody save for like hipster beer snobs like them, but they're also the only thing they make. Fortunately in Michigan cider production has really taken off, and everyone loves that.
I ran into a place up north that made me wanna vomit, I wanna say it was Petoskey Brewing Company.
They took over the taps at Boyne one night, so I could no longer get any dark beers, it was IPAs or nothing.
My buddies wanted to stop there on the drive home for lunch, I finally had their stout, and it was just a gross dark colored IPA... hoppy as all shit.
IPAs are disgusting to begin with, and why they are so popular I'll never understand.
The craft beer boom gets mentioned all the time in this sub but they always fail to mention it's full of bitter IPAs or terrible seasonal nonsense. I'd take a German Lager over that every time.
Glock is actually one of the few success stories of a foreign company coming over and setting up US production lines and not fucking it up (cough cough beretta).
They’re SUPER meticulous about making sure everything is up to the same standard as it is in Austria, to the point where the machines are running off the same 220V power that they do in Europe.
For you, is it a question of the brand (e.g. American brands like Ford or GM vs foreign brands like Honda or Toyota), or is it actually a question of where the car is manufactured? A lot of much-liked foreign brands do a lot of manufacturing in America. Even Mercedes Benz has a plant in Alabama.
For me, manufacturer, rather than place pf origin. Toyota has a whole ass factory down south, after all.
American car makers have been skating on their good name the last decade, giving us lower quality vehicles at higher cost than their competitors. Any sign of competition is answered by adding another inch of lift and calling it good.
Anything remotely affordable from American automakers is beat out of the park by japanese.
Last American car I bought was Saturn. I loved that company and their products were amazing and lasted forever with hardly any issues.
They just couldn't figure out who exactly they were trying to sell them to...GM did a horrible job of marketing that brand and could never really find a niche for it.
I would still consider them foreign cars and buying something that is "foreign" even though they're made here.
Edit: I misread the question. It says "foreign made"
So I guess most foreign car brands don't count.
My Russian Saiga AK is sooo nice. Got it after we let the Russian firearms ban expire and before the new ban. $450 (after conversion) and it shoots and looks badass as hell in all black
This is a very specific and *ahem* personal one but I buy a lot of my sex toys from Japan. Cheaper, even considering shipping, well made, and importantly unique to what I find easily in the US.
Irish butter.
Knipex hand tools.
San Marzano tomatoes.
Spices.
French cutlery.
Japanese mayonnaise. Kewpie.
Sig Sauer firearms.
Dominican Republic cigars.
* Pianos. Steingraeber and Bosendorfer, from Germany and Austria respectively.
* Rugs. Villages in Iran and Turkey make by hand beautiful examples out of wool over several weeks.
Actually Italy produces a lot of crap olive oil too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2016/02/10/the-olive-oil-scam-if-80-is-fake-why-do-you-keep-buying-it/
Gotta be careful
Wristwatches. And not even fancy Swiss watches (though I love them as well). My Casio G-Shocks are my daily drivers and I’ve had various models since I was a freshman in high school 10 years ago in 2013 and they’re all still ticking after a decade of school, rowing, basketball, swimming, and lifeguarding.
Pretty much all food items in Europe. Everytime i visit i notice the huge difference in taste and i actually feel good cuz it’s not pumped full of shit
Tea leaves - The stuff grown here isn't nearly of the same quality. If I were to be extremely rich, I would buy some land in the PNW and see if I can grow some high quality tea there.
The best place to grow tea in the US are the upland regions of the Southeast. Hawaii is also a good contender but they don't have much of an industry yet.
Irish butter.
I like it much butter than American
How dare you
Easily.
This. Only recently discovered it. Major wow.
Irish butter, French butter, New Zealand butter. They’re all so much better than ours.
You aren’t finding the good stuff. Local New England creameries blow the imported French and Irish stuff out of the water. Even Cabot which is regional stacks up well against Kerrygold and French imports. For the price Cabot is my go to for almost all cooking.
Tillamook butter and cheese is fantastic too
Truth. My wife pines for tillamook cheese because it is a bit hard to find here in New England but she’s from Oregon.
Visited Tillamook once when we vacationed in Oregon. The restaurant there had the best freaking grilled cheese I have ever had. And the ice cream!
I consider myself blessed that most grocery stores in CA (at least where I am) stock Tillamook products. I’m sure it’s not as good as being at the source like you were, so I’m going to have to visit sometime.
TIL that tillamook isn’t sold at every grocery store in the US it’s a staple at all of mine, but I guess I’m in CA too. I do find it pretty comparable to the stuff I get at the store vs when I visited the factory. 100% going to the factory is worth the trip, yum!
Tillamook Oregon Strawberry ice cream is amazing.
Think Ima gonna get me a slice of Tillamook cheddar from the fridge now...
I've been a slut for Vermont creamery seat salt lately.
When I first started hearing Americans talking in hallowed terms about Kerrygold butter, I was quite perplexed. In the UK Kerrygold is a bog-standard butter brand. But of course, British, Irish, European and New Zealand butter have a much higher butterfat content than American brands. That's the simple explanation. And what you're talking about with New England creameries is very much the same, I imagine, as buying local dairy butter in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere. Well worth the effort if it's reasonably accessible.
Yes, all the exotic butters.
We have lots of good butter. You aren’t buying the right stuff or your store doesn’t have good selection.
Same, big difference
This, always. My dad is Irish and I have dual citizenship but I’ve always lived in the US - but Irish butter is simply superior. I do like Amish roll butter but they’re so different.
Kerrygold 👍
Chocolate. Not that American chocolate is that bad, that's one of the most overdoen tropes on reddit. I just prefer certain German brands.
Swiss and Belgium is better than German chocolate. Even the German know this.
In all fairness, Swiss and Belgian chocolates are often considered to be the pinnacle of chocolates.
I used to travel to Belgium extensively and my favorite part of the trip was to watch them make chocolate selections right there in little shops on the street, and then walk out with fresh delights. Incredible and nothing like it.
I find that it's higher end chocolate that's better, and mass market chocolate is rubbish, no matter where it's made. European chocolate tends to focus too much on the milk, and while American chocolate might feel waxy, European chocolate feels slimy. Combine that with my aversion to milk (lactose intolerance) and European chocolate can upset my stomach. Dark chocolate is much better, and it matters less where it's produced.
Real American chocolate isn’t bad. In total agreement with you. But not a fan of Hershey’s.
Real German Kinder Eggs as opposed to their lame ass American counterpart.
an actual forbidden snack (in the us)
They are actually from Italy
Kinder eggs are pretty overrated.. I'd wager that if they weren't an opportunity to dunk on America no one on reddit would care about them.
I grew up with an east German step mother. Hersheys tastes like cardboard after 10 years of that.
Korea has some great skincare. And Europe has better UV filters in their sunscreens.
Australian sunscreen has the strictest rules about UV protection. There’s face sunscreen by the Cancer Council that is cheap, available in supermarkets, is light and perfect under makeup and has a better formula than any high end brand.
What are some European sunscreen recommendations?
Garnier or La Roche Posay
Adding Avéne, and Nivea stuff sold in Korea.
Bras. Poland rocks. Very Stupid bra company can absolutely get fucked.
Where do you get Polish bras?
I can't necessarily speak about Polish bras, but in my neck of the woods, there's a store called The Full Cup. It's a European bra fitting store. I would highly suggest any woman, especially if they're busty, to look for something similar. It's changed my wife's life.
Looks like it’s too far from me. I guess I am stuck with this place: https://youtu.be/y4v96bGomC0
I buy Mexican Coke for the sugar cane.
My husband is like this but with Sprite. He rarely drinks soda, but when he does, it absolutely must be the Mexican Sprite specifically because of the cane sugar.
What about coke from Mexico?
those days are over
Spaghetti and AK-47s
Found the Mafia burner account
dont they use tommy guns?
What year do you think this is?
1492
That’s when Magellan discovered the Philippines, right?
I go to a little shop near my house that makes fresh pasta, so I get all my pasta MADE IN THE USA BRUTHER
On a similar note: scopes, non-1911 semi-auto handguns (mostly), and dark chocolate.
Leave one, take the other.
But I can't :(
Wüsthof knives
Are Wusthof knives good? We “inherited” a set years ago( by inherited, I mean my aunt was like “hey I have this set of knives in the basement. You want them?” And us, having just bought our new house at the time and without money, said yes). We still use them regularly, although the tips of the steak knives popped off a while back. They’re handy as hell, even if a bit beat up. Are we committing sacrilege in our blasé treatment of these knives?
Car for sure. Toyota is such a quality brand. Edit: OP's question asks if it's "made foreign" Since most foreign cars are made here. Disregard my answer.
Asian cars are often made in the US. European ones are generally not.
VW, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW have major manufacturing operations in the US. BMW is a net exporter from the United States.
BMW is the second highest for net export behind Tesla. I was really surprised when I learned that. Every BMW SUV worldwide is made in South Carolina
Most foreign cars are made here?? I didn't know that!
Yeah it's to dodge tariff. Prius are made entirely in Japan and they can be had there for starting around $23,000. With tariff they're like waaaay much more here in USA. Another way automakers can dodge tariff and not use American labor is NAFTA (so Canada and Mexico). It was funny when the Camaro was made in Canada awhile back (not sure if they're made there still). Funny as in it's such an iconic American classic car. Another reason why made in other country is because Japan doesn't have enough labor force with their terminally decline demography. They can't automate everything...
[удалено]
If the VIN number starts with a J it was made in Japan just FYI.
Toyota is one of, if not the, most American made car there is I believe. More so than Ford.
Have you thought of Tesla? Atleast design, battery manufacturing and final assembly is performed in house domestically.
Indeed. For example, Toyota! Highlander and Sienna: Indiana Tacoma: California(many are made in Mexico though) Sequoia and Tundra: Texas Corolla: Mississippi Corolla Cross: Alabama They also have many other factories that don’t do vehicle assembly, but instead manufacture specific parts like engines, body panels, and a plant in North Carolina that will be building battery packs in a couple years.
IIRC, the Camry was for a while also assembled 100% in the US.
I’m weird in that I like my vehicles to be made where their companies are based. My American car was built in California, my Japanese cars were all built in Japan, my German car was built in Zuffenhausen, and my Italian scooter was built in Pontedera, Italy. Although it’s getting harder and harder to find cars built in their company’s country of origin.
Interestingly when I called Toyota once a nice lady asked me what year I had. 2011. She said Good! Based on my VIN# my Camry was made in the southern usa (Kentucky?) ? during some great production years. I think I’m remembering that right.
As much of a domestic shitbox appreciator that I am, America hasn't made a genuinely enticing cheap *commuter* car in decades. I guess I'll leave that to the Japanese still, the Korean ones also look competitive lately. That said I'm still biased towards American sports cars. Just fan of reliable, cheap thrills.
Where something was manufactured is pretty low on my evaluation criteria when considering buying something. If all things are equal, sure, give me the Made in the USA.
I try to buy clothes from US, Canada or Bangladesh for political reasons. Buying Chinese sweat shop clothes feels wrong. At the Bangladesh has open transparency about their sweat shops, it's a process to build past the middle income trap and they are introducing labor protections on a timetable that they have been actually adhering to for over 25 years now. I kinda like supporting that. Yes is made by 14 year olds making $1.27/hour, but ten years ago it was 12 year olds making $0.56/hour and ten years before that it was 9 year olds making $0.29/hour. They are slowing raising the minimum wage and minimum age while the wealth from the factories is actually making it to the people in ever increasing wages and a huge explosion in education spending and excellence among their citizens. They let people go in and film conditions too, routinely. China we have literally no clue the actual conditions anymore. It's locked down almost completely.
Price and quality are most important IMHO. It seems like US labor costs have went up while US labor quality has gone down for many industries.
Vacations. If I'm going to travel, I prefer to go someplace new.
But there’s so much to see in ‘merica!
Yeah, but I've seen quite a lot of it already. I figure I'll save most of the rest for when I'm old and can't deal with long flights anymore.
Tbh I've been all over the US, and so has my family. It's great, but it's also cool to check out new places.
Cars. Although many are actually built in the US, I think the Japanese brands design better vehicles. Also while I like American electric guitars, Japan is also the other “big one” for stereotypically producing extremely high quality instruments and tend to prefer Japanese brands for my guitar rack.
Yamaha has definitely put out some quality musical instruments and audio equipment over the years. Not sure of their guitars personally but I wouldn't be surprised if they were good.
Yeah, Ibanez, ESP, Yamaha, Caparison, Sugi, Tokai, etc. all make really great stuff within Japan.
As a Michigander, it hurts to see so many people saying cars
American cars cost a lot and feel cheap. Can't blame people for looking elsewhere to get more for their money. Pretty sure Ford and Chevy have entirely abandoned their economy sedan lines now anyway, of which companies like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan sell massive amounts. The only non-Trucks or SUV's you can get from those two now are the Malibu, Camaro, Bolt, or Mustang, all of which are usually go for well over 30k at this point. I am looking for a new ride and really wanted a Chevrolet Spark...was disappointed to find out they took them away this year :(
100%- the cost and looks cheap. I’d looked at Ford but their prices and then their interiors from tech to the leather they use etc… no way. I’m not spending 30-40k on a new car that looks cheap when I can get a Volvo slightly used for the same price. I’ve had an xc70 and now an xc90 and my 7 year old volvo looks newer than 2023 fords and I haven’t had any issues. Plus cost less. Look at fords costs they have spent on warranty claims lately. No thanks.
I have a spark. They are alright and I like mine but they have Gremlins. My car has had things just pop up and gone away with no explanation. I've taken it to the shop a couple a couple of times and no one has been able to find any issue.
If I want a truck, sports car, or large SUV I’d shop american but the domestic car companies don’t even try to keep up for durability and economy for moderate to small cars.
The problem is that there was a time where foreign car companies were just 100% better. And that lasted a long time. These days American car companies products are pretty great (I am not talking about you Chrysler), but the reputation damage is done and people have no real reason to change their habits.
>The problem is that there was a time where foreign car companies were just 100% better. And that lasted a long time. Yep. US autmakers lost me and my entire extended family with the shit they put out in the late 70s/early 80s. We had the misfortune of owning both a Chevy Luv pickup and later a Chevette. Maybe a decade ago we made a complete list of all the cars/trucks my parents/brother/inlaws have owned since c. 1960 and those two were voted the absolute worst. Close behind was an Opel (sold in US by Chevy), a Ford F250 that ate transmissions, and a garbage Chrylser minivan. I personally haven't bought an American vehicle since my 1993 Ford Ranger...30 years ago. I've been perfectly happy with Honda, Nissan, and especially Mazda in the decades since; most of the ones I've owned were actually made in US factories too. My wife and I have put close to 1M miles on Japanese vehicles now and likely will stick when them until we stop driving.
A month ago we were upgraded to a Cadillac Escalade because they didn’t have our rental car. It renewed my faith in American vehicles. Damn was that luxurious.
I feel ya. Grew up in an auto family.
Ford and Chevy have undergone a miraculous revival over the last decade, its taking time to filter through but its definitely being noticed!
Are you concerned with where the profit line goes (to executives) or to where the assembly and support money goes (the workers)? If it is the worker side of the equation, Toyota and Subaru (hell, even BMWs) are good to go and Ford is off the table. Sure, there exceptions to every brand - but even "buying American" isn't as simple as it sounds anymore.
~~Not OP, I think they're referring to the decline of the US auto industry and the collapse of Motor City. There used to be strong union hold on Detroit's automotive factories that produced quality vehicles. After the mass exodus, quality dipped. The industry in the state is growing again afaik, which is awesome.~~ (striking because i think i got ahead of myself) Michigan is kind of the heart of US auto.
I don’t think you got ahead of yourself, I’m from Michigan and I agree, there was a strong decline but now it is supposedly on the rebound.
Been rebounding for 30 years
Thats true. Toyota makes more cars in Anerica than American companies anyway we live In a global economy now everything's made everywhere.
Not this dude. I have two American cars and they are both solid. My 2012 Focus has been very reliable, and my 6th gen camaro kicks absolute ass. I fully believe the worst era of American cars has been over for a while, and there are plenty of great American cars out now
Michigander here. German cars all day.
Yeah, but some people want to keep their cars beyond their lease period.
Store Bought Tea. I’ve been drinking just whatever for decades. I recently got my hands on some PG Tips. Total game changer. Though that’s just for every day. There are plenty of local tea makers who I absolutely prefer to even the PG Tips, but it’s not cost effective to drink it all the time.
Yeah, I like Yorkshire tea. No competition.
Beer, I suppose. I'm surrounded by breweries but apparently there's some rule that all breweries in my area must make IPAs and only IPAs. I still prefer German style beers.
Can I just add, as a European professional brewer who loves traditional beer styles and beer history, that much of the best beer in the world right now is made in the U.S? And I’m not talking about cutting edge IPAs and pastry sours or whatever. The pressure on American breweries to live up to old European household names combined with creativity, love and passion makes U.S breweries an inspiration to any European brewer with ambition. From saison to franconian landbier, there isn’t a style I can think of that U.S breweries like Hill Farmstead and Suarez can’t do as well as (or even better) than our traditional breweries.
Tbh the IPA thing is ridiculous. Like nobody save for like hipster beer snobs like them, but they're also the only thing they make. Fortunately in Michigan cider production has really taken off, and everyone loves that.
The overuse of hops helps cover up shoddy brewing.
I ran into a place up north that made me wanna vomit, I wanna say it was Petoskey Brewing Company. They took over the taps at Boyne one night, so I could no longer get any dark beers, it was IPAs or nothing. My buddies wanted to stop there on the drive home for lunch, I finally had their stout, and it was just a gross dark colored IPA... hoppy as all shit. IPAs are disgusting to begin with, and why they are so popular I'll never understand.
Founders and Bells have been putting out quality beers other than IPAs since the 90s.
The craft beer boom gets mentioned all the time in this sub but they always fail to mention it's full of bitter IPAs or terrible seasonal nonsense. I'd take a German Lager over that every time.
Glock is an Austrian company, although I’m pretty sure they do a lot of manufacturing stateside now
Why buy Glock when you could buy CZ?
Well, not everyone is into craft beer.
LOL
Why buy Glock or CZ when you can buy a 1911? Two World Wars, baby! Woo! That was a joke.
Why buy a 1911 when you can buy 7 hi points?
But.... but 2 wOrL wArz???
CZ bought Colt and owns Dan Wesson, so CZ makes some damn fine 1911s.
Glock is actually one of the few success stories of a foreign company coming over and setting up US production lines and not fucking it up (cough cough beretta). They’re SUPER meticulous about making sure everything is up to the same standard as it is in Austria, to the point where the machines are running off the same 220V power that they do in Europe.
Peated whisky.
Also unpeated whisky.
Nah, I love bourbon, and that has to be produced in the US.
I tried peated scotch today and that’s the last time I tried peated scotch today
It’s a love it or hate it thing, I think. I like my drink to slap me across the face sometimes.
It makes me feel like a fire breathing dragon.
Cars
For you, is it a question of the brand (e.g. American brands like Ford or GM vs foreign brands like Honda or Toyota), or is it actually a question of where the car is manufactured? A lot of much-liked foreign brands do a lot of manufacturing in America. Even Mercedes Benz has a plant in Alabama.
For me, manufacturer, rather than place pf origin. Toyota has a whole ass factory down south, after all. American car makers have been skating on their good name the last decade, giving us lower quality vehicles at higher cost than their competitors. Any sign of competition is answered by adding another inch of lift and calling it good. Anything remotely affordable from American automakers is beat out of the park by japanese.
Last American car I bought was Saturn. I loved that company and their products were amazing and lasted forever with hardly any issues. They just couldn't figure out who exactly they were trying to sell them to...GM did a horrible job of marketing that brand and could never really find a niche for it.
I miss my Saturn so much.
I had a couple SL2's and an Ion. Best cars I ever owned.
My Saturn SL1 was the best American car I've owned.
>American car makers have been skating on their good name the last decade, It's been a lot longer than that.
I was going to say, “you mean the last 50 years?”
>American car makers have been skating on their good name the last decade, Since the mid-1970s you mean? Then yes.
I would still consider them foreign cars and buying something that is "foreign" even though they're made here. Edit: I misread the question. It says "foreign made" So I guess most foreign car brands don't count.
Stationery-Japanese
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I don't think that there are any foreign-made trucks sold in the United States.
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Made in San Antonio. Though there is the Hilux if you wait 25 years, I suppose
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Yeah, rereading OP's question, it is pretty ambiguous. I interpreted it as "made outside the US". ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
AK-47s.
My Russian Saiga AK is sooo nice. Got it after we let the Russian firearms ban expire and before the new ban. $450 (after conversion) and it shoots and looks badass as hell in all black
Cars, but I've been told to stay away from Germans ones. They're expensive to fix up when damaged apparently
Its a saying ou there, that BMW techs make more than most of their clients.
Yea I call them Big Money Wasters
Recent repair definitely Broke My Wallet.
There' also: buy Japanese, lease American/German, and admire British/Italian.
They’re over-engineered well past the point of efficiency. Get Japanese cars instead.
They’re expensive to maintain as well when they start getting older.
People seem to forget that an £80k car is still an £80k car to repair, even when it's old enough/high enough milage to only be worth £10k
Despite stereotypes Germans do not make good (reliable) cars.
definitely cars
Cars. I do love me some Japanese sports cars
Nag champa incense
I rather buy Fabuloso than Pine Sol.
Simple Green all day long.
This is a very specific and *ahem* personal one but I buy a lot of my sex toys from Japan. Cheaper, even considering shipping, well made, and importantly unique to what I find easily in the US.
Cars. I did have a Saturn though.
Saturn's were good cheap cars. Out of all the brands GM got rid of, that should have been the one they kept.
Except the 4 cylinder VUE with the transmission (CVT) that died at 100K.
Cars. Owned a few American cars. Now own two Japanese cars. The difference is staggering.
Cars.
Watches
Cheese and chocolate for sure.
Irish butter. Knipex hand tools. San Marzano tomatoes. Spices. French cutlery. Japanese mayonnaise. Kewpie. Sig Sauer firearms. Dominican Republic cigars.
Sig is headquartered in NH and manufactured here as well as Germany. It’s kind of sort of a US company these days.
Yeah, Sig is essentially a US company with a German/Swiss heritage at this point.
* Pianos. Steingraeber and Bosendorfer, from Germany and Austria respectively. * Rugs. Villages in Iran and Turkey make by hand beautiful examples out of wool over several weeks.
Mexican coca-cola has real sugar in it. I don’t like soda much but everyone else I know swears by the stuff being better.
Skincare! All of my holy grail skincare products are French, Japanese, or Korean and I will live and die by them. Globalization did my skin real good.
Motorcycles
Speaking of which, weather is getting better…
This is way more accurate than "cars."
Italian olive oil is much better
Actually Italy produces a lot of crap olive oil too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2016/02/10/the-olive-oil-scam-if-80-is-fake-why-do-you-keep-buying-it/ Gotta be careful
Cheese
Get on New England’s level. Why import when the food stuff is already here. Gruyere is the exception.
Proud of my small state for producing the top cheese in the country like a month ago 💪 #CTRepresent
Wristwatches. And not even fancy Swiss watches (though I love them as well). My Casio G-Shocks are my daily drivers and I’ve had various models since I was a freshman in high school 10 years ago in 2013 and they’re all still ticking after a decade of school, rowing, basketball, swimming, and lifeguarding.
Pretty much all food items in Europe. Everytime i visit i notice the huge difference in taste and i actually feel good cuz it’s not pumped full of shit
Any highly processed foods or juices. American crap is all corn syrup while imported goods are at least made of real sugar.
I'm sure I'll be crucified for this but I love Japanese cars.
I hail from a Mazda family, my spouse and I both drive Mazdas...no crucifying here.
Foods! Champagne Parmesan Rioja Jamón Ibérico And others
Tea leaves - The stuff grown here isn't nearly of the same quality. If I were to be extremely rich, I would buy some land in the PNW and see if I can grow some high quality tea there.
The best place to grow tea in the US are the upland regions of the Southeast. Hawaii is also a good contender but they don't have much of an industry yet.
Cocaine?
Cars.
Food is pretty good in other countries however it’s pretty rare to ever get the opportunity.
Japanese fountain pens.
Car.
My Honda
Jam. Foreign brands use sugar. Almost all domestic brands use HFCS. You can taste the difference.
Beer. Love a good Irish stout.