Bob Drake - why overseas?

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Since it was brought up, I will echo the statement that the website is about 7 years past it's prime as far as the parts listings go. I am 99% of the time only interested in '36 parts, so that's the only place I look and can comment on, but it seems like more than half of what you carry isn't listed on the site. Recently I needed a fuel neck. You don't have it listed on your site at all and I didn't have a catalog handy. I ended up placing an order with Macs online. (Unfortunately I found out the next day that it was backordered until Oct, so I immediately called you guys... who said the same thing. :( )

As an aside, how are the '36 rear fenders progressing? The blog hasn't been updated since Feb '11 (something else to consider... if you're not going to update the blog, why have it.)

Also your Facebook page hasn't been updated since April. Again, why bother having a FB presence if you're not going to use it? I bring this all up since a Drake representative is actively on the forum today promoting the running boards...
 
Be prepared for higher prices ,From one who exports to the US ,in the past out siders lusted after the USA dollar because it was the World standard and valued higher than any other currency (petroleum was sold in USD . That's changing .In the past one could pick up 20 or 30% on the difference between our dollar and yours , Lately its been $81 cents against the US , which means you can lose 15% over night .You guys have had the best ,Your old car parts are much cheaper than we pay but we are willing to pay the prices ,I come from a fruit growing town , the fruit you see here in the super market is 2nd rate ,when I was up in LA i saw the very best of our fruit label d NZ Fruit .The Chinese are on the march .The western country's have been invaded by the Green religion (lobby ) All the rules and regulations ,Tax are driving our Manufacturing over to China were they have vary little of it. Govt are wasting our taxes ,Westerners have become lazy .The Mechanics shop Were I get my WOF/road worthy certificate The young Chinese boy (student ) Who was getting job training three years ago now owns the company ,They don't know what a 40 hr week is .
 
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I have a set of Bob Drake waterpumps on my flattie. I can run 7lbs pressure and a tight belt without any leaks, and they flow marvellously. I am well pleased with them, regardless of where they came from.
I import a line of guitars from China (S.Yairi) that are the equal of Martins and Taylors at a quarter of the price. In todays economy, price is the driving factor. This line proves to me that the chinese are fully capable of making product of a high standard.
 
I worked at one of those die cast shops for 30 years. We had 1000 ton machines. We did casting for Drake. The shop started making parts for Model Ts in the early 1900s and continued making auto parts untill the 2000s when all production was sourced out to China. I was plenty willing to work long hours, but how can you compete with a country that builds a complete diecast mold for less than the steel cost in the US? Sour grapes? you bet. Bob Drake didn't let you down only the short sighted US industrial greed has. JB
 
Amen! The last shop I worked for , the owner would absorb the cost of the tooling to keep the customer and keep it in house. The first statement out of the purchasing agents mouth was " out source the mold to china". Our company had proprietary designs which would certainly have been copied and stolen.
 
Just a thought about why we don't manufacture here in the U.S. anymore. Due to the stringent EPA rules and regulations it is almost impossible to make any thing here. That is why companies went out of business and many things are made overseas. We live on a very small fragile planet. Much of the manufacturing for U.S.consumer goods is now done overseas. Most manufacturing done elsewhere does not have the pollution controls we do. Walk through Loewes, Sears or any retail store and it seems like everything is made in China. In some areas of China you cannot breathe the air. In India the ship breaking has destroyed vast areas that will not recover for decades if ever. If we would have had reasonable controls in the U.S. we would have kept the jobs and had less of an impact on the planet. So thank you EPA for destroying our jobs, our country and ironically ultimately our planet.
 
Very well said!!!

If we really try to buy American made products Manufactures will have to take notice. American workers built this country, not the bankers that only care about the bottom line and are selling our country out from under us.China owns a lot of property here . I,m sorry Mr drake can only find manufactures for his parts in China. It's to bad that we as a people take the easiest and cheapest way out( Not a shot at Mr Drake).



J Man said:
I personally buy American made products and support companies that make their products in the USA even if I do not need what they sell. I make it a point to tell others about products made in the USA. I have heard many times that it is hard to find things made in the USA but I think sometimes people just do not look. I have found many quality USA made products just by walking around a store. Many times these USA made products are the same price or even cheaper than the foreign made products sitting next to it on the shelf.

I work for one of the Big 3 and thanks to the decline of the American auto industry I have had to move 3 times (at my 4th plant now) to keep my job. Sadly many of the parts put into cars are a combination of USA and foreign parts, even the foreign brand vehicles assembled in the USA fall into this category. Here is the important thing to remember, American based companies pay taxes on their profits to the USA (GM, Ford Chrysler). Foreign based companies pay taxes to what ever country they are based out of (Toyota and Honda = Japan, VW = Germany, Kia and Hyundai = Korea). So even when you purchase a foreign nameplate car assembled in the USA you are still sending your money to another country. When you buy from the big 3 your money stays here. Also, no matter what car you have you have the potential to have issues with parts. it does not matter what company it comes from. One example is all of the recalls that were issued last year. Sometimes you can just get bad batches of parts that can be caused by human error or even the machine that replaced that person's two coworkers.

Mr. Drake mentioned that he has to have the running boards that are vulcanized (?) made in China as nobody in the use has the machines to do it (if i read it right). Why is it that the Chinese company was able to get their hands on this machine? They either had to buy it from a company that had one or they made it. the old machinery is out there. I have seen pictures of the press that Brookville uses to make parts, it is the most ancient presses I have ever seen but obviously someone out there had one to sell since Brookville was able to get it. There are tons of old factories out there with nobody in them full of machinery that could be making products or adapted to make similar products.

As a whole we need to bring manufacturing back to the USA. There are many products that can be made here affordably but profits are more important. In a neighboring town with a population of less than 5,000 there are 2 factories that have closed with another one on it's way out within 6 months. The one that will be closing is due to it's operations being consolidated with another facility. Most of the people will be general laborers but some of them will be skilled craftsmen that could make anything you would want if given the chance and the right equipment. This is why I find it hard to believe when someone says that they can not find anyone in the USA to make a item. It sounds more like an excuse.
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32phil said:
Just a thought about why we don't manufacture here in the U.S. anymore. Due to the stringent EPA rules and regulations it is almost impossible to make any thing here. That is why companies went out of business and many things are made overseas. We live on a very small fragile planet. Much of the manufacturing for U.S.consumer goods is now done overseas. Most manufacturing done elsewhere does not have the pollution controls we do. Walk through Loewes, Sears or any retail store and it seems like everything is made in China. In some areas of China you cannot breathe the air. In India the ship breaking has destroyed vast areas that will not recover for decades if ever. If we would have had reasonable controls in the U.S. we would have kept the jobs and had less of an impact on the planet. So thank you EPA for destroying our jobs, our country and ironically ultimately our planet.
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I travel to Asia quite often. We, in the US live in this bubble. We seem to think that all of these environmental laws are going to save the world. Beyond our borders, however, very few countries really care. Japan is trying. To some extent is S. korea. But, In most of the Asian countries, the local factory still has the stream of oozing green stuff flowing into the local river.
I lived in japan for a few years. They are going through the same problems due to governmental restrictions. A lot of thier manufacturing has gone to Indonesia.
 
32phil said:
Just a thought about why we don't manufacture here in the U.S. anymore. Due to the stringent EPA rules and regulations it is almost impossible to make any thing here. That is why companies went out of business and many things are made overseas. We live on a very small fragile planet. Much of the manufacturing for U.S.consumer goods is now done overseas. Most manufacturing done elsewhere does not have the pollution controls we do. Walk through Loewes, Sears or any retail store and it seems like everything is made in China. In some areas of China you cannot breathe the air. In India the ship breaking has destroyed vast areas that will not recover for decades if ever. If we would have had reasonable controls in the U.S. we would have kept the jobs and had less of an impact on the planet. So thank you EPA for destroying our jobs, our country and ironically ultimately our planet.
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REALLY?! Just how misguided can you take this? Did you skip class the day we covered how rising labor costs, including pensions, drove manufacturers to seek cheaper labor sources? Perhaps you were sick for the discussion of how corporations decided to provide shareholder dividends instead of re-investing in capital improvements and modern technology? Then, of course, there was the sociology class where we all discussed how the American consumer was forced to shop at Walmart because the government convinced us that what we all wanted was cheaper and cheaper. Forget quality or satisfaction with what we had, we always need something newer and flashier.

The sad fact is that we, the people, did this to ourselves. While not perfect, the EPA is a large part the reason you can drink your water safely, take a deep breath without choking,canoe on a river that won't catch fire and be reasonably certain your children and grandchildren's bodies don't become repositories for heavy metals and pesticides- and yes that does come with a price.

This thread has reached warp speed silliness, is far away from Model A Fords and needs to be closed down.
 
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