It used to be, that if you wanted to know where something was made, you just checked the tag. Import car manufactures were imported; domestic cars were built in your back yard. Now when you go shopping do you even know where all those new cars for sale are made? When you compare new car prices do you compare who was built in the USA?
In the age of global marketplaces, there seems to be no such thing as 100% American made. So instead when we compare new cars, we can look at where the dollar goes or who has the highest percent of American parts. Since tracking the dollars spent in a global company can get murky on a model to model level, we are left with which new cars for sale have the highest percent of American parts.
Toyota's own, and Indiana and Kentucky produced 2012 Toyota Camry is the number one for most American content according to cars.com, followed by the Ohio produced Honda Accord. The first American manufacturer on the list is the Kansas produced 2012 Chevy Malibu bringing up the third spot.
Ford follows up behind the 2012 Malibu on the list with its Chicago made Ford Explorer, and the top five rounds out with another Honda, the Odyssey minivan assembled in Alabama. When we compare new cars, the most American Big 3 car produced in Michigan doesn't even appear until the eight spot with the Chevy Traverse which is a bit of a surprise.
Like two ships passing in the night, it seems some role reversal has come about. With international Big 3 support continuing to grow and Japanese imports growing on US soil in an effort to escape inflation and vulnerable supply systems. The big new car incentive was to 'buy American' but who is that anymore? It used to mean buying a solid motor city pickup or sedan but is it now instead a 2012 Camry?
There is so much gray now when you compare new car prices as to where the car is actually from. It's much like the food you see in supermarket that says 'packaged in America' but never states where the food was grown. The result is a moral judgment call for shoppers when they follow that new car incentive to the car lot that can be difficult to answer. At least for now there is one easy answer. We know where German cars come from.