All American?

I've been thinking about buying a new car for a while. Finding an American made car with a styling I loved would be a bonus.

An American car, that means Chevy, Chrysler or Ford, right? Maybe, maybe not. I just came across Cars.com's American-Made Index for this year. The number one "American" car... a Toyota Camry. In fact Honda or Toyota fill five of the ten spots in cars.com's top ten list. I think I'm confused. 

The Toledo built Jeep Liberty has a domestic parts content of 76%. So it seems even American cars aren't all American. Gosh, I wonder if my apple pie is still American.

Comments

[Mike Driehorst]

Adam,
The "American automaker" has been fuzzy for awhile, it seems. My first car, a used 1985 Ford Tempo, was made in Ontario. I don't know the U.S. v foreign contents ratio. At the time, my dad drove a Honda Civic, made in Marysville, Ohio. I bet those workers or that region does not mind making money by making Honda cars.

While I know the profits go to HQ, and transmissions and other key parts don't always come from the country where the parts are assembled to make a car, the definition of an American car, even if made by American workers, is not clear.

At the end of the search, go with what offers the best value (price, comforts, mpg, where made,performance, etc.) for you.
Good luck!
-Mike