O.C. Welch is an American car dealer in South Carolina and Georgia who ordered five radio commercials which aired on about a dozen Savannah, Georgia, radio stations December 8, 2008. The ads made racial slurs about Asian-made cars, calling them "rice-ready".Island Packet: O.C. Welch's 'rice' ad draws fire from Japanese-American group (December 12, 2008)
Big Three vs. Foreign Cars
In terms of employment, the main difference between the Big Three and foreign car companies in the United States is where the research and development is conducted. At the end of 2007, Detroit had close to 240,000 U.S. employees, and foreign car companies had 113,000. The Big Three had 24,000 U.S. research engineers in 2007, while only 3,500 foreign-car research and development jobs were in the U.S.CNN: What makes a car American? (December 12, 2008)
Quotes
"One thing I want to ask you, with those Japanese cars, even when they're brand-new: How come they don't smell like a new car? Those cars are rice-ready. They're not road-ready. And all you people who buy all your Toyotas and send that money to Japan. When you don't have a job to make your Toyota car payment, don't come crying to me. All you Walmart shoppers, all you import buyers, when are you goign to wake up and do something for the United States of America?"—O.C. WelchYouTube: Controversial Car Dealer Radio Ad (Time: 2:14)
"How do you tell a worker in Kentucky who's producing a Toyota that his job is worth less than another American autoworker's?"—Toyota spokesman Xavier DominicisMotor Trend: Ford Dealer's Advertisement Protesting Auto Industry Loans Deemed Racist (December 10, 2008)
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References
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YouTube audio version of WTOC news story is 2
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Fewer than 50% of auto parts on some of the Big Three cars are made in the U.S.CNN: What makes a car American? (December 12, 2008)
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80% of Toyota's Camry, Sienna and Tundra are made of parts made in the U.S.CNN: What makes a car American? (December 12, 2008)
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56% of the Toyota's vehicles sold in the U.S. are made in the U.S.CNN: What makes a car American? (December 12, 2008)
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The Big Three employed almost 240,000 people in the United States in December 2007CNN: What makes a car American? (December 12, 2008)
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Foreign makers had 113,000 U.S. employees at the same timeCNN: What makes a car American? (December 12, 2008)
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