I recently had an accident that totalled my beloved Ford Focus (I was really quite fond of that car). My wife wanted to get a minivan and I would take her Mercury Mariner. So we decided we were going to buy American. We looked up which minivans are made in USA. Guess which ones are? Sadly, only Toyota, Honda and Nissan have American-made minivans. When we went to the Toyota dealership, I was impressed that not only was the Sienna assembled in USA, a full 80% of the parts, including the engine and transmission are made in USA also. I would much rather buy a car made mostly by American workers where the profits go abroad than buy a foreign-made car where the profits come to the US (I hope you’re listening, Ford & GM). The percentage of profit from such big-ticket items is usually quite small, around 5-8% on average, so the lion’s share of the money stays in the US. I wonder what percentage of each Apple ipad or iphone’s cost stays in the US and what part goes to China to make them?
So remember, when shopping, just because the company is an American company doesn’t at all mean that the product is made in USA. Frequently, you will find foreign companies manufacturing in the US, while American companies are getting their products made abroad. Or you may have an American company with a foreign-sounding name, so don’t discount those either.
So far, we love the Sienna. It’s the 2012 XLE with the navigation system and other perks, so it’s quite luxurious. It drives quite nimbly and the fuel efficiency is decent considering the size of the vehicle.
Hey, great to read your post about your minivan. I just did a five part series on my blog, simply-american.net, discussing what cars are made in America, and factors to consider when making your American car purchase. The posts date from last week. Please stop by for a visit if you have a minute. All the best, John Briggs
Hey, nice work on the blog. I’ve been doing more and more research to try and ensure that I’m skewing as much of my purchasing towards made in America products as possible, and blogs like yours help. I think you’re spot on with looking at the actual location of assembly and parts sourcing as opposed to the location of the company headquarters – a nominally American car built in Mexico isn’t helping our economy anywhere near as much as a nominally Asian car built in Kentucky, and I say this as a Southeastern Michigan resident. One important point that can be added is that the “profits” don’t really all leave the country – if the automaker is publicly traded (and Toyota is), then people all over the world are likely sharing in the “profits.” It’s more important to look at where the jobs are located, as you did with your purchase.