The death of the American Auto

Part of me feels sad that the big three American auto manufacturers are in such trouble. "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet", as they used to say, were what America was about. Now, to be honest, I've only ever bought 1 "American" car in my life (a Saturn SL); at least that's what I thought until I read the January 12, 2009 addition of AutoWeek magazine.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the vehicle that is the "most" American is the Ford Crown Vic. Makes sense. Ford is as American as they get, right? The Crown Vic is only 90% American. That means that 10% of it's parts are from overseas. And, truth be told, the Vic is actually assembled in Canada, not the USA.

The second most American car? The Toyota Sienna, at 85%. The Honda Odyssey is up there, too, at 75% American. The Mercedes-Benz M-class ranks at 62% American. Nissan's pickups are 65%.

Near the bottom of the list is the Chevrolet Aveo, at only 5% American. The Saturn Astra? Three (3) percent. The Ford Fusion is only 40% American. The Chrysler Crossfire is zero percent (that's completely un-American, folks).

So, it would appear that my brother's Nissan pickup is more American than many Fords, Chevys and Chryslers. Buy American? I just might. Just not one who's manufacturer claims to be from Detroit.