An apology

[proud2BlibKansan]

Yesterday in a thread that was quite heated I made a claim I learned today was false. I would like to apologize for my error.

I claimed that the Prius I bought 2 weeks ago was made in America. The salesman told me it was (at least that's what I thought he said) and there was paperwork in the car that I misread. Today I called the salesman and he said no, he told me Toyota is planning on making the Prius here in the US but has not begun doing so yet. That's not what I remember hearing him say but I will admit my mind was on several other things the day I bought the car (like how much it was going to cost, if I could afford the payments and my higher insurance premium) and I understandably could have heard him wrong.

I spent a lot of time today thinking about this and realized there is no way any of us can pass a purity test and lives our lives 100% politically correct. I not only belong to a union, I am a very active member. But I bought a car made in Japan. The decision I made was based on gas mileage. I'm comfortable with that. So my friends who promote a cleaner environment are happy with me but those who are union activists are not.

I don't want to start a flame war on this contentious topic. I thought about just dropping this but I feel the need to apologize for my error. I will promise it won't be my last. I'll also most likely go to WalMart once in awhile even though I hate giving them my money and discourage my friends from shopping there. I'll do my best to avoid BP gas but there could be a time when I have no other choice. I will probably give my money to Koch funded companies in spite of trying not to. And I am most likely supporting dozens of other non progressive causes and companies I am not even aware of.

The only thing I can promise I will never do is vote for a Republican. That's a vow I know I can keep.

[MichiganVote]

1. Drop Walmart and all is forgiven.

[w8liftinglady]

2. well-you have officially joined the "Apology Club"...all is forgiven

I,fortunately,did mine about 4 years ago

[babylonsister]

3. You are such a sweetheart; if anyone doubted where you are

consistently coming from, they don't know you. :hug:

[bluestateguy]

4. I think we all do the best we can

I boycott WalMart, but I'm sure the retailers that I do buy from are not corporate angels either.

[underseasurveyor]

5. It's about Progress,

Not Perfection. You do many other things right... er uh I mean Left.... OOOOOoooohx( Well you know what I mean :-)

[BlueCheese]

6. It was an honest mistake, and these things are hard.

I was looking into buying some home appliances recently, and it is often pretty hard to figure out where some of them are made. Some brand names (Kenmore, for example) are made by a whole slew of manufacturers, and it's hard to find out which one it is and where their plants are. I think I ended up with all American-made machines, but it took some effort, and it may be that I'm mistaken, as you were.

By the way, are things made in developed, high-wage countries such as Japan are less of a threat to American workers than those made in sweatshop conditions in poorer places? At least those manufacturers aren't getting an advantage by driving down labor costs (as much).

[hendo]

7. Don't worry about it

It is all too common for some people here to knowingly make sh*t up and never come clean about it even when presented with evidence to the contrary.

There is also nothing wrong with buying a Japanese car in my opinion. Heck, there is no such thing as a 100% American made car anymore anyways.

[AC_Mem]

8. Proud2B

You have nothing to apologize for, you did a good thing in standing for what you believed in and saying NO MORE to a business who promoted Fox News. It was a very good thing, and it was torn apart by a flame war over whether the car was made in America or Japan and your choice to purchase it. Also lost in the argument was the fact that you are doing what you can to reduce your carbon footprint - another good thing.

Unless we live in a log cabin and live off fish we catch and grow our own food, we are probably at some point going to consume products that are not made in America. Yours was an honest misunderstanding and I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did for sharing your story.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Peace,
Annette

[alittlelark]

9. I did the exact same thing here a year or so ago.

Fortunately I was corrected quickly.

I was also sure that I had been told my Prius was made here.

-sigh-


I can also make the exact promise you did to never vote for a republican.

[Hello_Kitty]

12. Did your dealership tell you that?

I wonder if it's a deceptive sales pitch.

[hendo]

16. Could have been. Then again the guy at the dealership could have been confused

after all, Toyota does have assembly plants in the US.

[ingac70]

22. Salesmen know where what they sell is made....

they know how to read VINs. More like lie on purpose to make a sale.

[hendo]

23. Yup, you are right about the VIN

Learn something new every day. I just don't want to jump on the assumption that the salesman necessarily had ill intent.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_information_in_a_VIN_number_mean

[hendo]

24. Duplicate

deleted

[alittlelark]

18. I bought it 3 years ago - I cannot say for certain.

I certainly left the lot thinking I had bought a high mileage American Made car....

...but I cannot tell you how I came to think that.

[grace0418]

10. Some of the folks on that thread were pretty cruel in their need to be right.

And as I pointed out in the thread, I'd like to know how they all manage to stay so squeaky clean in all their purchase decisions (never shopping in non-union stores, never buying food picked, prepared or packaged by non-union labor or products produced in sweatshops overseas) that they have the right to cast stones.

Good on you for apologizing. I wonder if any of them would do the same.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. If you're not perfectly politically correct . . . . .

. . . . you're just like the rest of us!

:hug:

I read that thread. The nastiness exceeded the political incorrectness.

[Tace]

13. Ha! I Always Buy American Cars... Er...

...except I bought a BMW 20 years ago... for the engineering, yeah, that's it, the engineering (It was the best to drive.)

I hike around in a pair of hand-made Italian hiking boots. I also own a few Italian men's suits, from a maker I will not name, but they are real nice (I don't fit in them anymore, but that's a different story.)

Anyway, good luck with that Prius. I could use one right about now. : )

On Edit: There's a good reason rich people wear nice Italian shoes. That is all.

[ingac70]

14. The salesman probably did tell you that.

Shysters.

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. ^5 p2B

It was an honest mistake though.

[NYC_SKP]

17. The Camry is made in Kentucky, my friend has a Kentucky built Camry Hybrid.

In Hybrid green, picked up at the plant she said.

http://www.motherproof.com/news-rants/story/toyota-camry-tops-cars.coms-american-made-index/

I'm sorry that you were deceived or mistaken, as the case may be.

No need to apologize, and thank you for trying to do the right thing.

:hi:

[Pithlet]

19. If anyone claims they're 100% "politically correct" in their choices, they're full of it.

And on DU, hell anywhere on the internet, it doesn't matter what you do. Someone will find fault with it. It almost never seems to matter that most of us who are genuinely here and aren't trolling are doing the best we can to make the world a better place. All of us aren't going to make the same choices but collectively it balances out. As a group we're a hell of a lot better than the opposition, even if some make choices others wouldn't. It's silly and pointless to nitpick at each other. I thought the way you were treated was silly and pointless.

[Wednesdays]

30. It's also how one words things...

Some of them could have said, "Hey, next time why don't you consider getting a Ford Fusion. They get great gas mileage AND they're union made!" instead of, "Thanks for your union-busting, you worthless SCUM!"
:hi:

[Historic NY]

20. No problem...

:grouphug:

[blondeatlast]

21. Well, that's it. Regardless of your tireless work keeping us informed of the assault on public

education, there is no excuse for that kind of behavior, ma'am.

Except for the Fact that you are human (and that thread was a nasty little mofo, I have to say).
All is forgiven--keep fighting the good fight for our young'uns! :hug:

[NJmaverick]

25. A car salesman lied?

:wow:

[Romulox]

26. Posters claims are brought into question by the following thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7912529&mesg_id=7912529

[Wednesdays]

28. That thread was long before this apology thread

And long before the contentious thread mentioned in the OP.

[Romulox]

31. Right. Which makes denial of the knowledge of the contents of that thread less than convincing.

The OP was same in both cases.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

27. Face it...

Some "American" cars are manufactured in Asia and some Asian cars are assembled in America. It hard to buy a car that's 100% American any more -- maybe even impossible.

But when in doubt, look for the Union Label.

[PBS Poll-435]

29. If your VIN starts with a "J" it is made in Japan

2 - Canada
1 - California/West
3 - Mexico
4/5 - Midwest