And what defines an American vehicle anymore?
Is the country of manufacture a definition of an American vehicle? If so, my Toyota Tacoma was made in California. Mercedes M-class are made in Alabama. Hyundais, Hondas, Mazdas, Nissans, Volkswagens and Jaguars are all domestically made now. That means buying one of those cars (at least the models that are made in U.S. plants) means that it's keeping an American with a job, feeding his/her family, and feeding our economy.
Does the home country of the corporation make it an American vehicle? If so, let's toss out Chrysler since they merged with Mercedes. Sadly, they are the only member of "The Big Three" US Automakers that are actually performing well. The only way Ford and GM can sell cars is to offer deep incentives, rebates and other promotional gimmicks. Personally, I think they should engineer better-quality vehicles...
I'm as patriotic as the next guy, if not more so. However in this day and age, the US, like any other developed nation, does business around the world. That includes having workers in other countries, importing, exporting and whatnot. There really are no more "American cars", as the parts are imported from abroad. The parts for "foreign" models are made here. The line between domestic and foreign vehicles is blurred into near non-existence.
So how can anyone say a vehicle is AMERICAN anymore? It's just a vehicle. If it keeps an American in a job, I'm all for it. I proudly refer to my Toyota as an American Truck, because an American brought it down the line and built the sucker. As a result, I helped keep him/her and every other person in that California assembly plant paying their bills and mortgages and buying Christmas presents.
In reality, it's merely a truck.
