I have a friend who is really really into antiques and keeping his house "period"

He has and uses a 1930s GE refridgerator in his kitchen.

Just one of these:

My Grandparents had one of those in use until the late '80s when they sold their house and moved in with my parents. The fridge still worked fine at the time.

To show how you deep the level of ignorance goes, Ontario's reverered Premier, Dalton McGuinty was asked by reporters the other day what we (Ontarians) can do for the economy, since the manufacturing base is getting decimated. His response: 'buy a refrigerator.'

I have to laugh at that because I have not had a refrigerator working since Wednesday, when I discovered the (less than) 5 year old Frigidaire (built by Electrolux, in - you guessed it, China) food compartment was warm. After throwing about $50 worth of food, I read McGuinty's remarks.

IS HE KIDDING ME? I have a 5 year old POS refrigerator that isn't working. If I bought another one, it will ony benefit the Chinese. Is Electrolux even an North American company any more? Probably not. Just like IBM sold their manufacturing base to Lenovo, we are f$#king ourselves. If I bought a new refrigerator, perhaps the store would make $100 to circulate around the local economy (assuming they don't all drive home in their Hondas and Hyundais, that is), the shipper will make some money, but the entire fridge was made in China. If we're lucky, maybe some profit will return to Georgia (where the sticker says Electrolux is located), but I suspect they aren't American owned any more.

The ugly truth is, the clear and unmistakeable CRAP coming out of China is so inferior that it is SCARY. I don't want to buy anything made in China, but I don't have a choice. As I have found time and time again recently, none of these products are built here any more.

In 20 years, if China decides to invade us, it will be the first war ever fought without a shot. By that time we will all be living in log cabins (assuming we haven't sold all our lumber to China by then, that is), because none of our mechanical devices will be working and we will all be working 72 hour weeks mining and hewing to pay back the debts we owe to the Asian banks.

I, for one, would pay double for a f$#King fridge, if it was built in North America.

My friend Joyhn replaced his 35 year old American made fridge with a chinese made fridge...which lasted two years....

Chinese made stuff is the sh!t...literally.

chris

My friend Joyhn replaced his 35 year old American made fridge with a chinese made fridge...which lasted two years....

Chinese made stuff is the sh!t...literally.

chris

Usually I see most of of the old stuff last 20-25 years..

My parent's washer and dryer last 22 years...

We have a 55 year old GE that is still working after surviving the move. Our 2 year old one needed a new circuit board.

My parents just had their two-year-old GE microwave repaired, as the thing kept randomly shutting off.

Guess where it was built?

Mexico. Same as the gas range; not sure about the fridge. Thanks, NAFTA!

And this isn't a cheapie model, either - it's a full-up, stainless-finish, 1600W Profile version.

I'm curious to see how long it lasts - as well as the one in my apartment, which is similar but (apparently) cheaper.

By the way, for those who would complain about my car: I bought it used (at a Ford dealer), and it was built in Flat Rock, Michigan. I don't make any apologies for owning a Japanese vehicle; it fits my budget, suits my intended use and has required (fingers crossed) not much more than routine repairs over the four years I've had it. (Of course, I baby every car I come into contact with, but still.)

Like I've said in other threads, I will be getting a new Camaro as soon as they arrive. Consider it a triumph of the American auto industry that they've managed to provide a product that I can be proud to own - not that I wouldn't have appreciated any number of their previous efforts, but I've only been driving for 12 years or so and had mostly hand-me-down vehicles up to my purchase of the Mazda.

I do agree about the inability to purchase anything American-made. I recently built my own computer (the one I'm using now), with some dismay at the number of components that can (apparently) only be sourced from China or its neighbors. American brand names, sure, but all with foreign countries listed on the back. Didn't we used to be the world leaders in computer technology at some point, or did I miss that along the way?

One final point: I swore off shopping at Wal-Mart long ago, for the simple fact that they seem to have no particular devotion to this country - only to themselves and their shareholders. Problem is, for as much noise is made about Wal-Mart basically being a Chinese outlet store, it's hard to find any other place that sells products made elsewhere.