PAGE 4-C ★
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011
Made in America, or is it? It’s not always simple All parts are made all over the globe By Russ Heaps
Journal Register Newspapers
Buying an American car seems, well, somehow patriotic. Waving the flag today, however, by putting your car-buying money where your buy-American heart is, grows evermore difficult. In fact, buying almost anything American is a challenge. Once upon a time, the United States had healthy industries in textiles and clothing, furniture, steel, electronics, shoes and leather goods, among other products. Essentially the core of each of these manufacturing industries has moved off shore. You can spend an hour at Walmart or Target looking at labels and studying packaging without, perhaps, finding one that claims “Made in America.” Pinning down exactly what is American made when new-vehicle shopping is about as intuitive as successfully solving a Rubik’s Cube. Just when you think you have it figured out because one side is solved, you turn the cube to find the next side isn’t. Depending on which criteria, or side of the made-in-America cube, you study, you may well come up with a list of vehicles not supported by other criteria. Buying American when it came to cars and trucks used to be as simple as heading to a General Motors, Ford or Chrysler dealership; you can toss in Studebaker, American Motors or any number of disappeared domestic brands, too. The global economy and competition, though, have muddied the waters. Ford and GM are still firmly rooted in the United States. Chrysler is more difficult to pigeonhole. The American taxpayer owns a chunk of it, but so does Italy’s Fiat; and Fiat is making all of the decisions. Does the Fiat connection make Chrysler an Italian brand? None of its cars are assembled there. There was a day when you could say a Chevy is made in America and a BMW is made in Germany. It’s much more complicated today. Several import brands have U.S. factories assembling vehicles. While the Big Three are assembling some vehicles outside the United States, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi are making one or more vehicles in America. If a car is bolted together in the U.S. by U.S. workers, does it qualify as American made? Some would say, yes; but hold the phone! Carmakers around the world source parts from global suppliers. If a car is built in the U.S., but the majority of its parts are sourced from other countries, is it American made? In other words, what is the percentage of American content and what percentage qualifies a vehicle as American made? The federal government thought it had the answer when it issued the American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) in the early 1990s. Its goal was to prevent import brands from advertising vehicles they assembled here with basically imported parts as “American made.” Responding to a successful lobbying campaign by the Big Three domestic auto makers, Congress decreed that for a manufacturer to claim a particular model “American made,” its final assembly must take place in the United States with all of its key
parts, or roughly 75 percent of its content, being sourced from American suppliers. The AALA is a confusing mishmash of formulas with quirky elements, such as the percentage of content isn’t based on the quantity of parts, but on their value. A $9 American-made part offsets three $3 foreign-made parts. Battalions of pencil pushers at the car manufacturers are kept busy year around calculating all of this clear-as-mud nonsense. Oh, and by the way, for purposes of the AALA, Canada qualifies as part of the United States. That’s right; Canadian assembly plants and parts manufacturers are considered as American as U.S. ones; however, Mexican assembly plants and parts suppliers don’t qualify. Huh? Is the distinction lost on you? Not surprising. In compliance with the AALA, every price sticker mounted on a new car’s window displays where the car was assembled and the percentage of its American-Canadian content, as well as the country of origin for its engine and transmission. Another yardstick you may use to establish “American made” is where the profits for the sale of a particular vehicle go. Do they flow into a U.S. corporation’s coffers or to an account in Japan, Germany, Korea or elsewhere? A Toyota Camry is assembled in Kentucky, but profits from its sale go to and are reinvested in Japan. Using this criteria is fine, but following the money to determine “Made in America” leads to identifying the 2011 Acura RDX, assembled by American workers in Ohio with 70 percent
An American-made Acura RDX. U.S.-Canadian parts and a U.S.-sourced engine and transmission, as imported; while the 2011 Buick Regal, built in Germany using 21 percent U.S.-Canadian parts and a transmission from China, as American made. Even more startling is that the Chevrolet Aveo, built in Korea with only 1 percent U.S.-Canadian parts, with an engine sourced from Korea and a transmission from Japan, would be considered American made using follow-the-money. Basically, if you want to buy American the bottom line is, you need to use whichever criteria best meets your definition of American made. More than likely your chosen “American made” vehicle will be at odds with other definitions, but it’s your money, your vehicle and your choice.
A German Buick Regal.
AUTO DIRECTORY BUICK • GMC Zubor Buick GMC
1-855-286-FORD
1400 Telegraph, Taylor
734-946-8112
(3673)
CHRYSLER • JEEP • DODGE McInerney’s Chrysler Jeep Dodge 23940 Allen Rd., Woodhaven
$
27
734-362-3100
MONTH
CHEVROLET
LEASE
Rodgers Chevrolet Allen Rd., Woodhaven (at West Rd.)
734-676-9600
FORD Gorno Ford
148
*
*A/Z plan $1,695 due, conquest renewal, plus Tax, Title, Plates, Doc Fee: Security Dep. Waived. Acq fee & dest included. Must qualify for
Stk. # 3084
2012 FORD ESCAPE XLT • 2.5L I4 • Auto & Air • Sync Pkg.
22025 Allen Rd., Woodhaven
tier 0 credit approval through FMCC, prior sales excluded, picture may not represent actual vehicle. All leases based on 10,500 miles per year. See salesperson for details.
734-676-2200 Southgate Ford 16501 Fort St., Southgate
734-676-2200 Taylor Ford
10725 Telegraph Rd., Taylor
313-291-0300 Fairlane Ford
Stan Pudelek
14585 Michigan Ave., (just E of Southfields)
313-846-1122
LINCOLN/MERCURY Southgate Lincoln/Mercury 16800 Fort St. (at Pennsylvania) • 734-285-8800
USED VEHICLES Crest Ford
Southgate Ford
734-782-2400
734-676-2200
22675 Gibraltar, Flat Rock
Telegraph Chrysler Jeep Dodge 12000 Telegraph Rd.,
734-946-8200
16501 Fort St., Southgate
27
MONTH
LEASE
143
$
2012 FORD FUSION SEL
• Drivers Vision Group • Moon & Tune • Sony Sound 12 Speakers • Leather Trimmed Seats • Heated Seats
27
LEASE
734-946-8112
Taylor Ford Pre-Owned Center
Stk. # 12191
MONTH
1400 Telegraph Rd., Taylor
Art Naif
*
*A/Z plan $1,695 due, conquest renewal, plus Tax, Title, Plates, Doc Fee: Security Dep. Waived. Acq fee & dest included. Must qualify for tier 0 credit approval through FMCC, prior sales excluded, picture may not represent actual vehicle. All leases based on 10,500 miles per year. See salesperson for details.
Zubor Buick GMC
13635 Telegraph Rd., Taylor • 313-291-0300
Omar Aboul-Hosn
284
$
*
*A/Z plan $1,695 due, conquest renewal, plus Tax, Title, Plates, Doc Stk. # 2461 Fee: Security Dep. Waived. Acq fee & dest included Must qualify for tier 0 credit approval through FMCC, prior sales excluded, picture may not represent actual vehicle. All leases based on 10,500 miles per year. Ecoboost 3.5LT • V6 • Trailer Tow Pkg. • Bedliner XLT Pkg. See salesperson for details.
2011 FORD F150 4X4 SUPER CREW
14585 Michigan Avenue • Dearborn 1 MILE EAST OF THE SOUTHFIELD FWY ON MICHIGAN AVE.
www.FairlaneFord.com Toll Free:
1-855-286-FORD Sale ends 11-30-11
(3673)