You all know what I'm about; and while it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me whether a car is "American" or not, I still feel you always have to keep your perspective. And the domestic parts content, at least to me, is not necessarily the only real gauge of what makes a car "American" or not. Come to think, though, the F-150 and Chevy Silverado are both still crapshoots in terms of being "American," because Ford and GM (not to mention Chrysler, which has a Dodge truck plant in Saltillo, Mexico,) have plants outside the United States where your truck concievably could come from. And let's not forget about places like Ford's Windsor, Ontario engine plant, which has been producing engines for eons. Or the German Getrag or ZF gearboxes frequently used with diesel engines or in performance vehicles; I know for a fact that the manual trans in the new Jeep Wrangler is Mercedes Benz-sourced. Same goes for a lot of vehicles, some of which have assembly plants for the same vehicle in different countries.

As much as any car, particularly the ones people want most, are about supply and demand, the birth of any car is also influenced by factors that very much ask the question, "how can we get it done, so people will buy it?" And frequently that means parts and assembly sourced in other countries. The bottom line is, what are you about? The fact that the Chrysler 300C is assembled in Brampton, Ontario, the fact that Chrysler Corporation is based is Auburn Hills, Michigan, or the fact that you feel the Chrysler 300C is so cool, you've just gotta have it? Speaking of which, I saw an ad for the Chrysler 300 the other day, emphasizing that this particular vehicle is frequently seen as a "blank canvas" for almost any modification or personalization you could imagine, Lamborghini-style scissor-opening doors included, as the ad showed. The coming Dodge Challenger, which I wouldn't hesitate to put near the top of my "must-have" rides, will also be assembled in Brampton. Please, my own brother works for a German-based company that makes paint ovens for every manufacturer you can name. I work with Germans and Japanese, teaching them not only English, which matters to them as much as it does to Americans, but about how to cope, and what it means in a lot of senses to be an American. You think about that the next time you want to presume that we're not all part of one world.
THE FOLLOWING WAS EXCERPTED FROM AOL.COM
The definition of what makes a car "Made in America" is always up for debate. Nevertheless, Cars.com takes a stab at determining the Top 10 vehicles made in America every six months with its American-Made Index. Vehicles that make the list are judged on three criteria: sales numbers, domestic parts content (DPC) and the location of their assembly. Only vehicles built inside our borders with a domestic parts content above 75% are eligible, and the more domestic parts the better. You would expect vehicles like the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado to rank high on the list, and they do grabbing the No. 1 and 3 spots, respectively. The Dodge Ram, however, was not eligible because its domestic parts content is less than 75%. The Toyota Tundra, meanwhile, improved from 10th place to 4th place thanks to higher sales and a DPC that increased to 80% for the 2008 model. What's more interesting, however, are the models that fell off the list, which include the Toyota Camry and Ford Focus. In the past, the Camry often occupied the No. 2 position on the AMI. The two-door Camry Solara, however, sales for which are grouped together with the sedan, saw its DPC drop to 65% for the 2008 model, thus making the Camry itself ineligible. The new 2008 Focus, meanwhile, carries a DPC rating now of 65%, again below the threshold of eligibility. When representatives from both Toyota and Ford were asked by Cars.com about the parts content of these vehicles and why it changed, neither could give a definitive answer, but we can say what they can't. The fact is that automakers have to buy components from suppliers that meet their needs, which includes a good price. They're free to shop around the world for those components, not just in the Stars and Stripes section of the store. So while interesting, this list shouldn't be regarded as casting judgment on any particular vehicle for its DPC unless you believe that every vehicle sold in the U.S. should be built in the U.S. using components from the U.S. Now that's not very realistic, is it?