Just What Is an 'American' Car?

Lawmakers hoping to give a boost to the American economy by investing in the auto industry might get as much bang for their buck by sinking money into Honda or Toyota as they would Ford, Chrysler, or General Motors, the Wall Street Journal notes. The auto industry has become too global to categorize as “American” or “foreign.”

A Toyota Sequoia, for example, is 80% domestic parts, and a better “Buy American” vehicle than the Jeep Patriot, which comes in at 66% domestic, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The most “American"? The Crown Victoria, at 90%, but it’s assembled in Canada. And as for GM: It has more employees and sells more cars overseas than it does in the US.
(More auto industry stories.)