17th Jul 2009, 10:32

I grew up in the South, which has been enjoying a Renaissance lately in manufacturing. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, and Hyundai all have plants in that region employing 10's of thousands of workers.

The problem isn't squarely tied to people buying "import" cars, but rather states like MI, IN, OH, PA, and WI who have a legacy of industry controlled by unions. That and high state business tax. This in turn makes manufacturing in those states prohibitive. Thus why employees in those states have been suffering for decades.

Secondly if this really and truly is about supporting US workers, then you should remove the Ford Fusion, Buick Lacrosse, and probably Dodge Avenger from the from that list.

The Fusion is built in Mexico. The Lacrosse is built in Canada. Incidentally, the new Lacrosse about to hit showrooms was partially designed in China. The engine in the Dodge Avenger is actually a derivative of an older Mitsubishi engine and is built in Mexico.

Continuing on, the new Camaro was designed in Australia and based on a Holden platform. It will be built in Canada. The Chevy Aveo line is imported from Korea. The Pontiac G8 was designed and built in Australia. The soon to be released Chevy Spark was designed and will be built in Korea.

I could go on, but just because you buy a car with a US branded badge on it doesn't mean you're directly helping middle class families, which is what I assume you're meaning to indicate. I pay pretty close attention to where things are actually made. I care more for the little guy. My Toyota Tacoma was made in Fremont, CA. A good percentage of the Denso components are made by Denso USA in TN. A little over 64% of the truck has US sourced parts under the hood. But more importantly, the plant it was made in supports US workers. Given the choice between a car made in Mexico or a truck made in the US, I'd choose the later.

Lastly, only old people buy Buicks. Hardly a contender here.