‘Buy American’ Is Braking Out

A man who complained about faulty brakes on his 1992 Buick got an apology, but not the one he expected. It came directly from the auto worker responsible for the mistake.

“I would never have believed it. I’m just amazed,” said John F. Jacobs, 48, an electrical engineer. “It appears to be that they’re paying attention to quality control.”

Rich Richardson, a foreman in the Flint, Mich., plant that built Jacobs’ LeSabre, believed that he was calling a dealer when he dialed Jacobs’ number last week. When he realized that he had the car owner on the phone, he decided to go ahead with the call anyway.

“I thought we ought to talk to him. The defect was so important that I thought we ought to tell him we are going to see it never happens again,” said Richardson, 47.

Jacobs told Richardson that he had traded in a 1985 Toyota van for the Buick, and Richardson decided to call auto worker Mike Wilson, who had installed the brakes, to the phone. Jacobs said both men apologized profusely for the mistake.

“I’m just glad the man bought an American car,” Wilson, 41, said. “If we can keep a customer for life then I have a job for life, and keeping jobs in this country is very important.”