<VV> Country of Origin - Virtually No Corvair, but interesting

[aeroned at aol.com]

Our Impala was built in Oshawa, Canada. I think that's OK since their mayor is a Corvair owner (including one of those expensive Stingers) and a real nice guy. 

Ned


-----Original Message-----
From: Sethracer at aol.com
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Sent: Sun, Nov 14, 2010 10:59 pm
Subject: <VV> Country of Origin - Virtually No Corvair, but interesting


 

or reference not all Corvairs were built in the US. Canada, Switzerland,  
exico, Denmark, Belgium and Venezuela all assembled Corvairs. All Corvair  
ngines - except maybe that Porsche designed prototype (just kidding) - were 
made in the USA as were all stick and automatic transmissions. Just for 
un, I  checked the sticker from my wife's 2009 Saturn Aura. US built and both 
ngine  and transmission of US origin. Cool! (Especially since both my wife 
nd I are  also of US origin) <grin>.  - Seth  
rom America On Line Autos - Written by Craig Howie 
t used to be pretty obvious which cars were built in the U.S. (Detroit's 
ig  Three of Ford, GM and Chrysler) and which weren't (everything else). 
hen in the  1980’s the Japanese started building cars here, which made for 
ome interesting  arguments about what constituted an “American” car. But in 
oday’s global  economy, it's even harder to answer the question: Is your car 
ade in  America? 
any consumers looking to buy an American-built vehicle are having a hard  
ime finding one that's assembled here with 100-percent American-built  
omponents. That’s because it's actually impossible, at least if you’re talking 
about buying a car from the major carmakers. 
ade In U.S.A. (Partly) 
or example, while Jeep's Patriot may be built in Belvedere, Ill., its  
ransmissions originate in Mexico, Japan and Germany. Similarly Ford's  
ichigan-assembled Mustang may be as American as mom, Marines, and apple pie,  
ut 
ts transmissions come from China, France, the U.K., and Mexico. Chrysler's  
T Cruiser isn’t even built in the U.S. – it’s assembled in Toluca, 
exico,  though its transmission is U.S.-sourced. GM, meanwhile, builds its 
hevy 
amaro  in Canada and its GMC Sierra pickup in Mexico. 
onfusing? Yes. But that’s not the start of it. BMWs are now built in the  
.S. and so are some Mercedes vehicles (in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and  
ance, Alabama, respectively). With Japanese carmakers having established  
ultiple assembly plants across the U.S. and American car companies 
perating  plants in Canada and Mexico lines are blurred further. 
o what makes a car American? It's a rancorous debate that's sure to rumble 
on, but consumers can make up their own minds based on information that’s  
ppeared on the labels of every new car for sale for years. This states 
here  the vehicle was assembled and where the engine and transmission 
riginated. 
ark Birmingham, an industry analyst at the Center for Automotive Research, 
said consumers who want to buy American primarily should look at where the 
vehicle is assembled, as often that indicates a large presence not just in 
manufacturing. 
There is something to be said for buying a Detroit ‘Big Three’ label,” 
e  said, “in the sense that all of administrative, development and 
hite-collar  work is indirectly supported." 
ho Builds What Where? 

ord’s Fusion, Fiesta, and Lincoln MKZ models are built in  Mexico, while 
he Edge, Flex, Lincoln MKX, and Lincoln MKT are built in Canada.  Other 
orth American models are built in the U.S.
According to NHTSA documents provided to AOL Autos, Ford’s compact Focus is 
assembled in Wayne, Mich., with 90 percent of its parts sourced from the 
.S.  and Canada, but its transmission originates in Germany. While the 
aurus is  assembled in Chicago, Ill., about 65 percent of its parts are of U.S. 
origin.  But its engine and transmission are both built in the U.S. 
he F-Series pickup truck, that most iconic of domestic vehicles, is  
ssembled in Kansas City, Missouri, and Dearborn, Michigan, but with just 55  
ercent of parts made in the U.S. or Canada. More than 15 percent of its parts  
ome from Mexico, although all of its engines and both transmission systems 
re  built in the U.S. Some transmissions for the Mustang (assembled in 
lat Rock,  Michigan) come from China. 
M vehicles assembled in Canada include Chevrolet's Camaro, Equinox and  
mpala and the GMC Terrain, while vehicles built in Mexico include Cadillac's  
RX and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet's Aveo, HHR, Silverado, and GMC's Sierra. 
M  vehicles built in the U.S. include Buick's LaCrosse, Lucerne and Enclave, 
Cadillac's CTS, DTS and STS-V, Chevrolet's Cruze, Corvette, Malibu and 
ahoe,  and GMC's Yukon. 
ccording to figures from IHS Global Insight, of the GM vehicles assembled  
omestically, several Corvette engines are built in Canada, with several  
ransmission variants originating in Mexico. Its Chevrolet Silverado 
assembled  in Fort Wayne, Indiana) carries U.S.-built engines across all 
odels, 
ut  several transmissions are built in Mexico. For the Cadillac CTS assembled 
n  Lansing, Mich., several engines originate in Canada and Mexico, and the 
transmissions for various models in the CTS range come from Japan, France, 
Mexico, and the U.S. Some engines for GM's Chevrolet Cruze, assembled in  
ordstown, Ohio, come from Szentgotthard, Hungary. 
hrysler says about 61 percent of the components it uses for its Chrysler,  
odge and Jeep lines come from the U.S., while about 20 percent come from 
exico  and Latin America, about 10 percent from Canada and just under 10 
ercent from  the rest of the world. It maintains large production facilities 
cross the U.S.,  but also builds its 300 and Dodge Challenger and Charger, 
n Canada, and the PT  Cruiser in Mexico. 
f the Big Three's foreign competition, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia all  
roudly trumpet their domestic-built credentials. (Honda was the first 
apanese  carmaker to build a car plant in the U.S., in Marysville, Ohio., in 
979, and  more Honda vehicles are now built in the U.S. than in Japan.) 
oyota builds its  Camry and Avalon models in Georgetown, Kentucky, its Sienna 
nd Highlander in  Princeton, Indiana, and has large plants in Huntsville, 
labama, and San  Antonio, Texas. Hyundai builds the Sonata and Elantra in 
ontgomery, Alabama,  and shares a plant in West Point, Georgia, with Kia, which 
recently celebrated  the 100,000th Sorento rolling off that line. 
issan and VW both have longstanding ties to Mexico, with plants in  
guascalientes and Cuernavaca (Nissan) and Puebla (VW). Nissan assembles its  
mall cars like the Versa in Mexico and its larger truck and SUV lines in  
myrna, Georgia. VW imports all its vehicles into the U.S., though it will be  
pening a new plant in Tennessee. 
ercedes-Benz assembles its ML-, R- and G-Class vehicles in Vance, Alabama, 
with a U.S./Canadian parts content of 62 percent, but both its engines and 
transmissions are unsurprisingly sourced from Germany. BMW, meanwhile, 
ssembles  its X-series SUVs in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with mostly German 
componentry. 
lectric carmaker Tesla's bodywork is completed by Lotus in England, and 
hen  shipped to California for assembly. It will jointly develop electric 
ars with  Toyota at the NUMMI plant in Northern California. 
t's a little surprising that some excellent automotive products are born 
f  such a mix and muddle of production systems. But today's intertwined 
lobal  economy – and car market – ensures that no matter where it comes from, 
oday's  cars mostly are built to high standards. 
therwise, Americans wouldn't buy them.
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