Yes the japanese hire americans for minimum wage to assemble the cars, but the engineering and design is done there. We lose our technical expertise when we buy their cars. The guy who is driving his toyota and complains that he can't find an office job anymore. Guess why? The japanese (yes I know it is derogatory) value the engines (mostly assembled in Japan) and design of the cars at a very high component of the cost of the car and therefore they pay no tax in the USA. People have to realize when we buy japanese cars we are exporting jobs. Jobs that used to pay taxes here. Don't b*tch about social security going broke and schools under funded when driving a japanese car. Balance of payments is our entire economic problem.