Mike728

Mine came in through Portland, OR. We probably get a variety of East/West coast, though, being in the Midwest.

SW17LS

Yeah, definitely depends on your region. They certainly don't all come into the port of LA...

txes

This is an older article, but you can get the basic idea about port based manufacturers.

John

TOYOTA’S DOCK-BASED SYSTEM
When a new RAV4 or Prius rolls off the Toyota assembly line in Japan, it is not yet ready to be sold. After a sea voyage of up to several weeks, it arrives at one of Toyota’s five US ports of entry. Here it is cleared through customs, cleaned, and, depending on the most recent market trends, customized and fitted with a variety of accessories. It is also joined by Camrys assembled in Kentucky or Ontario and Tacoma trucks built in Fremont. Mixing loads to meet regional preferences, workers then dispatch the imported and domestically assembled vehicles to dealers around the region.
The dock-based approach makes the port facility a key node in the overall produc- tion and distribution network. The dock becomes an extension of the factory, with a substantial degree of independence. In Toyota’s case, this reflects both the company’s internal structure and its overall production strategy. In the 1960s and 1970s, Toyota established a system of multistate regional distributors in the United States that were responsible for arranging port operations and servicing regional dealers. Eight seaports, including the container hub ports of Long Beach and New York, served two company- owned and eight independent regional distributorships.
When Toyota first entered the US market, its imports were low-cost, large-volume models. With low profit margins and the added disadvantage of delay from a long sea voyage, it risked making vehicles that could not be sold profitably. So Toyota created a business model that relies on lowering costs to maintain profitability. By working closely with its suppliers and using just-in-time production techniques, Toyota could be more flexible than the major American automobile firms, while producing at relatively large volumes. The independent regional distributors helped increase the firm’s flexibility. They would take standard vehicles and experiment with different accessories to meet specific regional tastes, such as adding air conditioners to vehicles sold in southern states. In this way they helped Toyota more closely match supply and demand.

Slackbus

The RX has been made in Canada for almost 10 years, and the plant has similar quality to the Kyushu plant. I'm sure that the Kentucky plant will have strong quality control at launch while it improves its processes.

wasjr

I would think quality will be fine. This plant has been building the Camry & Avalon vehicles for several years and I believe Toyota will be especially careful with the initial quality.

Re unions, as mentioned Toyota in non-union. The UAW is in the process of making another run at Nissan's MS & TN plants. The UAW is taking another approach with VW in Chattanooga. The Chattanooga plant is the only VW plant worldwide that is not unionized. In some European plants there are "work councils" with union and management representatives. Th UAW is trying to get a work council established in Chattanooga.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Construction of Lexus' first US assembly line underway

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/09/l...line-official/

LexBob2

Thanks for the information. We knew it was coming, but this makes it official and adds a time frame.

Arty101

Yes, it was only a matter of time. Now we know.

Sevn86

If it's true, there goes quality.

LexBob2

Hopefully Lexus/Toyota will keep the focus on quality. The Avalon has a good record and Acura's are produced in the U.S. and are always rated high for quality and reliability.

lesz

I've owned Toyota/Lexus and Nissan/Infiniti vehicles made both in the US and in Japan. While the quality level of all the vehicles, whether made here or in Japan, has been very high, unfortunately, those built in Japan have been just a notch above with respect to the quality level of the little details in areas like fits and finishes. I'm pleased that I own an ES that was built in Japan.

SW17LS

You've never owned a Lexus made in the US because there has never been a Lexus made in the US.

They make the RX in Canada...I don't see a bunch of posts in the RX forums lamenting the fact that their RX's were made in Canada, or any types of quality or reliability issues stemming from that.

Toyotas and Hondas have been made in the US for years...where is the drop off in reliability or quality? The issues with Toyotas over the last few years have been in material quality, not build quality. The factory has no control over that.

Any difference you perceive or attribute to a Lexus being made in Japan or the US is mental. Lexus cares very much about quality, they wouldn't choose to build the car in the US if they couldn't do it right.

lesz

That is why I said Toyota/Lexus and Nissan/Infiniti. Yes, all 3 of my Lexus vehicles were made in Japan, but I've had multiple Toyota vehicles made in both the US and in Japan, and I've had Nissan and Infiniti vehicles built in both countries.

And I stand by what I said about differences in quality. They may be subtle, but they are there. For example, the finishes of the vehicles built in the US have had more orange peal, and both interior and exterior fit of panels has not been at quite the same level. There have also been differences with regard to the absence of small squeaks and rattles.

With a total sample size of over 15 vehicles, I'm quite confident that the differences that I perceive are not "mental". With the vehicles built in Japan, I have not had a single instance of, after purchase, having to take a vehicle back to the dealership to fix or adjust something that should have been caught with quality control at the factory. With the virtually all of the vehicles built in the US, I have had to have something "fixed" after taking ownership of the vehicle. Perhaps, had I had a sample of 1000 cars, I would have come to a different conclusion, but my experience would make me, if I had a choice, pick the vehicle manufactured in Japan over one manufactured in the US. I wish that were not the case, but it unfortunately is the case.

SW17LS

But the point stands, you have never had a Lexus built in the US. Toyotas are not built to the same standard as a Lexus.

I've had plenty of rattle problems with Japan built Toyotas and Lexus vehicles also BTW. My Japanese built Prius was the worst rattle trap I have ever owned, and had a manufacturing defect in the dash pad.

lesz

Feel free to have your preferences based on your experiences. And I'll feel free to have my preferences based on my experiences.