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And maybe if American manufacturers took pride in the final product like Airstream and Prevost, etc. do then this issue would be almost moot. There still will be things that need to be fixed because we are not perfect but it would greatly move most RV's to the higher quailty side of the ledger. We can make the finest products in the world if we want, we just need to want and customers need to buy. Look at Boeing, nobody makes a better airliner and we make it. Many feel that Harley makes an excellent product, they are a sought after motorcycle in the country that makes Japanese motorcycles. We can do better, we just have to want to and find those that want to pay for it.
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It's true that we led the world in aerospace, although, sadly we've let our space shuttle program end. And it took a multinational European consortium to make a competitor for Boeing. And old muscle cars and Harleys are sought after in countries overseas. Software, music, movies, there are things that people buy, (or download for free) everywhere in the world.
I still think that quality can be more of a state of mind, or attitude, than an optional accessory that you pay for. Management incentives, honest, public feedback as a consequence for bad quality control, these things have got to help, and wouldn't mean tripling the price of the products. Marking the hole locations, for instance, instead of blindly shooting fasteners that don't hit the underlying support, might cost a tiny bit more, but labor is not even 50% of the price of typical RV.
When I look at the chassis, utilities, body materials, fixtures of even my entry level RV, it seems to add up to well over half the price I paid for it. So, advertising, distribution, dealer margin, labor, warranty work, etc. must make up the rest of it. So, forcing 20% higher labor cost through incentives and more inspections would only add a small single digit increase to the consumer. The kind of margin that is paid or discounted in the very last round of negotiations at the dealer, where they try to see if you'll pay for their document fee or whatever.
I don't think it would take a miracle, just demand, to have competition based on quality, rather than number of flat screen tvs. Now, how to quantify quality in order to compare it?
