Any dealer can tell you, a vehicle is a sentimental purchase. Consumers want to buy the car or truck they connect with on an emotional level, because of its styling, the memories it evokes, or whether it is domestic or imported.
But in the past decade, as the car industry has grown increasingly globalized, it has become difficult to identify what makes a car ‘American.’
Does it mean the vehicle is built in America by American workers? International nameplate brands operate more than 70 facilities, plants, distribution centers, and offices in the United States. Currently, 47 different international nameplate vehicles are built in the U.S. Analysts have predicted that as early as next year, more than half of the vehicles assembled in the United States will be built by Asian and European companies
Does it mean the manufacturer is a responsible corporate citizen? Toyota, for example, has invested more than $17 billion in the U.S. and employs over 35,000 workers. And since 1991 they’ve given more than $464 million away to American charities.
Or is an American car simply one that Americans want to buy? So far this year, international nameplates account for 55.2 percent of all vehicles sold in the U.S. Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, Kia, BMW, VW, Nissan, Volvo, Subaru – these, and many more international makes, have become some of the most popular in America.
Every year, cars.com releases its American-Made Index, which seeks to determine the ten vehicles retailed in America that are the most ‘American.’ The findings are based on where the vehicle is assembled, where its parts are sourced, the cost of those parts, and popularity by sales. For five years, the Ford F-150 has topped the list. This year, a new vehicle took the American-Made crown. The Toyota Camry.
The Camry is built in Georgetown, Ky., and Lafayette, Ind. It is joined on the American-Made list by the Honda Odyssey, built in Lincoln, Ala.; the Toyota Sienna, built in Princeton, Ind.; the Toyota Tundra, built in San Antonio, Tex.; and the Toyota Venza, built in Georgetown, Ky. If you’re keeping count, five of the ten most American-Made cars would traditionally be considered “foreign.”
Maybe it’s time for a paradigm shift.
The old prejudices no longer apply. More than ever, international nameplate dealers embody what it means to be an American business retailing an American product. We employ hundreds of thousands of Americans, support local charities and youth sports teams, and pay significant local, state, and federal taxes. We have become, along with the Toyota Camry and apple pie, an integral part of the American tapestry.
Amazingly, Washington, D.C. is behind the curve on these developments. It’s still hot news in that town when a paper can gleefully report that a political appointee drives, gasp, a Honda. As a community of dealers, we need to educate lawmakers on just how American we really are. AIADA remains dedicated to getting this good word out, and promoting international nameplate dealers before Congress and the White House. To learn how you can get involved, click here.
Russ Darrow
Russ Darrow, AIADA Chairman
Any dealer can tell you, a vehicle is a sentimental purchase. Consumers want to buy the car or truck they connect with on an emotional level, because of its styling, the memories it evokes, or whether it is domestic or imported.