One of the reasons I'm not organizing a Georgetown plant tour is hoping that Prius production would start in Mississippi. If Georgetown picks up Prius production, my plans could change.

To the best of my knowledge, the only place that has a plant tour showing hybrids being made is Georgetown KY. I understand the Ford plant building Escapes in Kansas City has no tours and the former GM White Plains transmission plant for two-modes is also closed to public tours. Then the Ford Fusion plant is in Mexico?

So if you want to see how a hybrid is made, Georgetown KY is your only choice. I've been through it three times and every time learn something new. If you get a chance, do see it:



Bob Wilson

Hey! There's some PCD folks in that group.

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Many of us in Mississippi are, and have been for some time, aware of the Toyota plant near Tupelo. Furthermore, we were aware of Toyota's decision to delay installation of the assembly line equipment in the completed buildings before it was picked up by the media. Note that I say "assembly line equipment" as the brick and mortar facility, which Toyota owns, was completed mid-summer last year.

Consequently, those of us in Mississippi who are interested in this feel that Gov. Barbour's comments are more credible than the apparent mis- and out of context quotes of the Toyota Vice President.

Personally, I think once folks scarf up the highly discounted Chrysler and GM products from closed dealerships, and the cost of oil rises from $70/bbl, the Prius once more will become the preferred car. If so, then Toyota will decide to install the assembly line and start producing the Prius in Misissippi.

I for one am happy that my ultra-high-tech auto was made in Japan, rather than the deep south. It's a sad stereotype, but a marketing reality. I hope Toyota brings extremely high quality control standards when Prius production moves to North America... this would help kill that (hopefully unjustified) perception.

I feel the exact same way with my Prius and Impreza. Actually I bought a Impreza instead of a Legacy for this reason. It's sad to say but it's true.

Have there been any statistics published that differentiate quality and maintenance issues of European and Asian models assembled in the Southeast US versus the same or similar models assembled in their corporate home countries, or in other areas of North America?

Nissan had a tremendous quality disaster with their Mississippi plant for the Titan/Armada/QX56. They were some of the worst quality vehicles around and the Infiniti QX killed that lineups quality records. It was so bad NIssan sent a team of top engineers to the MS plant to study what was the issue. One of the conclusions was plant workers were wearing too much jewerly.
NIssan has now promised to move the next generation QX56 to Japan and it will be built off the Nissan Petrol and not the Armada anymore.

A Mississippi hybrid = wood/mule power. :banplease:

Being built in Mississippi is definitely not a selling point for me. Technology, quality, reliability, etc. are not consistent descriptors of the state's regressive bent. I've stopped in the Tupelo region enough times that I've learned not to expect much from the area.

Haley Barbour credible? If he claimed the sky was blue I would be highly skeptical.

With the right quality systems in place even American labour can be used to build a quality product. I hope I'm right.

American labour has not been the problem in most situations (usually it is the corporate mindset at the heart of the problem.) But the Deep South takes a more laid back attitude and has more educational challenges to deal with. It can be somewhat demoralizing when you live there. People put up with levels of "service" and quality there on a regular basis that would be unacceptable most places in this country. It's pretty noticeable on a long drive from the central Gulf Coast to the Upper Midwest.