Monday, 2 July 2007
Made in America: Forbes Autos highlights top ten domestically derived vehicles
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Forbes Autos has compiled a list of the top ten “most patriotic” vehicles based on the percentages of American-made parts found in each. The associated article highlights the fact that modern cars and trucks are built of components from all over the world, and that brands alone do not indicate origin. For example, the Chevrolet Equinox SUV uses an engine from China, a transmission from Japan and is assembled in Canada. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Sienna minivan is fitted with an engine and transmission built in West Virginia and is manufactured in Indiana.
The following list identifies each American-made car, its percentage of domestic content and final assembly location:
1) Lincoln MKX; 95 percent; Oakville, Ontario, Canada
2) Chevrolet Malibu Maxx; 86 percent; Fairfax, Kansas
3) Pontiac G6; 86 percent; Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
4) Saturn Aura Green Line; 86 percent; Wilmington, Delaware
5) Chevrolet Corvette convertible; 85 percent; Bowling Green, Kentucky
6) Chevrolet Corvette Z06; 85 percent; Bowling Green, Kentucky
7) Ford Freestyle; 80 percent; Chicago, Illinois
8) Lincoln Mark LT; 80 percent; Dearborn, Michigan
9) Cadillac STS; 75 percent; Lansing, Michigan
10) Mercury Montego; 75 percent; Chicago, Illinois
What’s notable is that the Lincoln MKX and Pontiac G6 are actually assembled in Canada, despite containing large percentages of American parts. Also, both the Ford Edge and Ford Five Hundred are excluded from the list, even though the Edge shares many components with the Lincoln MKX and the Five Hundred is similar to both the Ford Freestyle and Mercury Montego.
Source: Forbes Autos
Image: Lincoln/Mercury media [2008 Lincoln MKX]
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