Just how ‘American’ is your car or truck?


On the day after America celebrates 239 years of independence, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) will hold a race at Daytona International Speedway. Contestants will drive vehicles that are styled to resemble the Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, and Toyota Camry, and after racing ‘em on Sunday, these car companies hope that NASCAR fans will buy ‘em on Monday.

But here’s a red-white-and-blue trivia challenge: Can you guess which member of this trio is the most American car of the three?

If you think the Camry is the most American, give yourself a fist bump and grab a cold one, because you’re absolutely right.
- According to the Kogod School of Business in Washington D.C., the Camry’s “total domestic content” measures 78.5%
- while the Ford Fusion measures 62.5%
- Chevrolet SS musters just 15.5%.


So what exactly is going on here? After all, the Camry is a Japanese midsize sedan, right?

People realize that no vehicle sold in the U.S. is 100% American. People also realize that it is almost impossible to quantify which of the parts came from where, and what percentage of the total effort involved in creating the vehicle, from the sketch on the drawing board to the final product rolling off of an assembly line, qualifies as “American.”

Therefore, consumers simplify the definition of what makes a car American, ultimately qualifying any given vehicle by where the profits from the sale will flow.

Thus, a Chevy SS built in Australia is American, but a Toyota Camry made in Kentucky is not.

Of course, the recent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merger has complicated this approach, now that the company that builds the Dodge Charger Hellcat is headquartered in London, England.

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