Sonus - German engineering made in the USA?

Radarryan

Radarryan

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I picked up my first Sonus products in my last order (clay with lube) and was surprised when I read on the bottle "100% Made in the USA". I thought that Sonus was a German company that made ad-ons for P21S, etc.

It seems I was duped by marketing (truth be told I rather have "Made in USA" over "Made in Germany, China, etc. - support the US and our manufacturers/workers - okay I'm done being political :) )

The best of both worlds, I suppose, would be a German engineered product, made here in the USA (BMW in SC comes to mind!)

Wanted to get everyone's feedback - are they German or a "German-inspired" product? For what it's worth I know they are owned by Four Star and licensed under Sonus USA, but what are the roots of the car care line?
 
Oh come one, P21S is US product as well. Many, many products try to capitalize on the perception of German precision, etc. Such as Wolfgang, Blackfire (from back when the brand was owned by CMA and competed with Blackfire), P21S, the Menzerna USA products.

Sure, when the Sonus brand was invented, it was supposed to sound like Sonax, which had a market presence here (and was gone for a while, only recently to return). I'm just saying don't just pick on Sonus, there are a slew of products like this.

Oh, your question, I wouldn't even say "German-inspired", it's purely marketing, but don't blame anyone at PBMG, it was the original owner of the brand that developed the marketing.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Oh come one, P21S is US product as well. Many, many products try to capitalize on the perception of German precision, etc. Such as Wolfgang, Blackfire (from back when the brand was owned by CMA and competed with Blackfire), P21S, the Menzerna USA products.

Sure, when the Sonus brand was invented, it was supposed to sound like Sonax, which had a market presence here (and was gone for a while, only recently to return). I'm just saying don't just pick on Sonus, there are a slew of products like this.

Oh, your question, I wouldn't even say "German-inspired", it's purely marketing, but don't blame anyone at PBMG, it was the original owner of the brand that developed the marketing.
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It wasn't my intention to "pick" on Sonus and I apologize if it came off that way. I am all about using the best product for the job; where it is made is secondary or tertiary to if it accomplishes the task.

If they are able to sell more products by developing a marketing campaign to capitalize on a German sounding name, then more power to them! I hate when people are criticized for being successful!
 
I don't think they have a marketing campaign that does that. Oh, I see the phrase that got you--"From its modest roots creating add-on products for P21S and Klasse, Sonus has grown..." They didn't make any products FOR P21S or Klasse, the original owners of the Sonus brand sold and promoted "the perfect shine" which was their name for KAIO followed by KSG, and topped with P21S wax. They developed some companion products to sell with that, like detail sprays, and eventually polishes and clays and even a machine polisher, along with pads and towels, etc. They had their own forum and store, and Sonus was their house brand.

Then one of the original owners threw himself into developing the Ultima line, then decided he didn't like the car detailing product biz anymore and sold everything off. Before PBMG owned the Sonus brand, it had been transferred to Four Star; make what you will of that.
 
Ahh, it makes sense now! Thank you for the education! (Cue music: The More You Know!)
 
This is not the complete true story. If you like the product, keep using it.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Then one of the original owners threw himself into developing the Ultima line, then decided he didn't like the car detailing product biz anymore and sold everything off. Before PBMG owned the Sonus brand, it had been transferred to Four Star; make what you will of that.
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Sonus is part of Premium Finish Care and is not affiliated with PBMG's line of products. We proudly carry Sonus, but we do not manufacture it. :dblthumb2:

The Pad Man said:
This is not the complete true story. If you like the product, keep using it.
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Exactly. :props:

I'm a huge fan of German-engineered products that are manufactured in the USA - take for instance several models from Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes. That's a mirror of what goes on with a lot of car care brands, including Wolfgang. While a few key ingredients are still sourced from Germany, the majority of the manufacturing of Wolfgang products takes place in the USA. This brings cost down while providing jobs in the USA.
 
Nick@Autogeek said:
Sonus is part of Premium Finish Care and is not affiliated with PBMG's line of products. We proudly carry Sonus, but we do not manufacture it. :dblthumb2:
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I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood the press release about the acquisition of the ACC store, or perhaps my age-addled brain didn't process that apparently the Sonus line stayed with PFC along with Ultima.

EDIT: And I wasn't trying to knock the Sonus brand, I have lots of Sonus bottles on my shelves, I was just making more of an observation that many brands we associate with being "German" are in actuality made in the US...I just recently learned the P21S story, I didn't realize that Dr. Wack hasn't been involved in the US product for quite some time.

EDIT EDIT: For that matter, I wasn't trying knock any of these brands, I have them all, I was just saying it's a standard marketing technique, and not just with car products, nothing to have a canary about. I'll get this foot out of my mouth sometime.
 
Nick@Autogeek said:
I'm a huge fan of German-engineered products that are manufactured in the USA - take for instance several models from Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes. That's a mirror of what goes on with a lot of car care brands, including Wolfgang. While a few key ingredients are still sourced from Germany, the majority of the manufacturing of Wolfgang products takes place in the USA. This brings cost down while providing jobs in the USA.
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We think the same.


Great Japanese engineering and reliability; Made in Ohio: Honda Accord....
 
I think the same too. I have a 2012 ML350 that was manufactured in Alabama and it is perfect in every way - the best car I've ever had and I have been driving for 50 years. I attribute that to "German engineering". The transmission and motor are developed, engineered and made in Germany but then shipped here for assembly. In fact, the Alabama plant makes all the ML series SUVs for Mercedes world-wide and are the biggest employer in that part of Alabama with further expansion plans underway. I have the best of both worlds with the excellence from Germany and the Mercedes tradition and knowing all the while that many, many Americans have good paying jobs as well. Don't ever knock or shortchange "German engineering" because they still have something most American's lost a generation or two ago - pride in workmanship.
 
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