USA Today Named “Really American” Cars

Anthony Fontanelle
March 24, 2007

Globalization has been increasing steadily and this has made the distinction between American cars and foreign cars. In the U.S. market, Asian and European brands are making their presence felt. American car makers on the other hand are extending their reaches to other regions of the world.

With these things going on, it is hard to find out which vehicle is really American. This attribute plays a major role for American car buyers who are loyal to the homegrown brands like Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler. The line between foreign car and American cars has been blurred though by globalization.

Asian and European car manufacturers are producing their vehicles in the United States. On the other hand, American car makers produce their vehicles in other parts of the world. These then would be later be shipped back to the United States to be sold.

To add to the confusion, there are American branded vehicles produced in the United States but owned by a foreign company like in the case of Dodge being owned by DaimlerChrysler AG based in Germany.

To help patriotic Americans find out which cars in the market are really American, USA Today the American newspaper with the widest circulation named “which cars are really American”. USA Today ranked vehicles for the 2007 model year by U.S. or Canada Content Percentage depending on where they are produced, and, of course, the brand name among others.

Topping the list of the most American car are four models from the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Edge, Econoline, Expedition, and the Lincoln MKX got the highest percentage rating of 95 percent. The Ford Crown Victoria got a 90 percent rating along with other models including the Ford F-150, Mercury Grand Marquis, the Chevrolet Impala and Silverado, and the GMC Sierra.

The list shows that the market offers no totally American car which means that globalization is doing its work and even an EBC pad cannot stop it.

Other car which posted 85 or above percentage rating came from the Big Three’s various brands. The Cadillac DTS was rated to be 87 percent American by USA Today. Vehicles which received 86 percent ratings are the Buick Rainer, Chevrolet Express Savana, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy/XL, GMC Savana, Hummer H3, Pontiac G6, and the Saturn Aura. All of these models are produced in the United States.

Models which got 85 percent rating from USA Today are the Dodge Viper, the Ford Freestyle, the Lincoln Mark LT, the Lincoln Town Car, the Buick Lucerne, the Cadillac XLR, the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chevrolet Colorado, the GMC Canyon, and the Saturn Ion.

More and more car makers from other countries building facilities in the United States, and U.S. car manufacturers setting up plants on different countries, the distinction between an American and a foreign car will get even more blurred. For some Americans, this poses a serious problem when choosing a new car to buy.

Source:  Amazines.com