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June 22, 2009 5:32 PM PDT

Are you really buying American?

by Wayne Cunningham

New York Times online tool

An online tool from the New York Times shows where new cars are assembled.

(Credit: New York Times)


GM and Chrysler's troubles seem to have quieted the crowd that consistently suggests buying anything other than American cars is not patriotic, at least temporarily, but a new tool put online by the New York Times shows the concept of an American car is muddy, at best. Your truck may sport a bow-tie, but that doesn't mean it wasn't built in Mexico. And although your sedan's hood might be adorned with a stylized T, its major parts and final assembly may have as little to do with Japan as Texas barbecue.

The New York Times' tool shows which car models are assembled in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In addition for U.S. assembled cars, it shows where the engines and transmissions were built, and whether the factory uses union labor.

The impulse to buy American has gotten a lot more complicated than it used to be.

(Source: New York Times via Autoblog)

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by xDaveRL June 22, 2009 6:57 PM PDT
No brainer, is a stronger American (GM, Ford, Chrysler) based company better for the USA then a stronger Foreign (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Kia) company. GM, Ford, Chrysler employ close to a 100,000 engineering/design jobs in America, the foreign companys employ a small fraction. Also, the intangibles of America once being the center of the automotive industry -- looks like we lost the war.
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by hightechfanboy June 22, 2009 7:38 PM PDT
as long as is assembled here in the states there's at least some more jobs available for americans.
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by monkeyfun14 June 22, 2009 8:25 PM PDT
"Are you buying American?"

Why the hell does it matter if the machine is made in the US it still adds to our GDP.
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by 76skyhawk October 18, 2009 4:36 PM PDT
A toyota, made in america, with parts from america, still does not add up to the money going to Japan from the profits.
a chevy, made in mexico, with parts from mexico, still has more money for us than a toyota
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