Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Rand
define american car?
is it that ford built in mexico,
the hyundai built in georgia
The GM built with 20% american parts.
the subaru built in usa with japan parts...
I get kinda lost.. someone define american auto for me.
To me it is -
The VIN starts with a 1 or 2 (I think Canadians buy a higher percentage of GM/Ford/Chrysler vehicles than Americans) and the World Corporate HQs for the company is located in the US.
The argument can be made that Chrysler is no longer an American company. I don't think the sale to Diamler should have been allowed to happen.
It has been well documented that the big 3 employ many more American and Canadians than the foreign nameplates.
Not entirely true.
Many versions of the Honda Accord and Honda Civic have a 1 as the first digit of the VIN.
Many versions of the Nissan Altima have a 1 for the first digit of the VIN.
Also, one reason the Big 3 have more employees per car is because they have signed union contracts that make getting rid of people more difficult, so assembly lines don't always get automated at the same rate.
Also, when I had my Saturn ION, the transmission was made in Japan, but somehow there was enough domestic content to have a 1 as the first digit of the VIN.