People who believe the United States no longer manufactures anything need to check out the newest Consumer Reports “Best Cars” list. The magazine recently selected the top cars for 2011 in 10 categories. Five “best models” are made in the USA, three in Japan, one in Canada, and one in Mexico.
| Category | Manufacturer | Model | Plant Location |
| Family Sedan | Nissan | Altima | Smyrna, TN and Canton, MS |
| Small Car | Hyundai | Elantra | Montgomery, AL |
| Budget Car | Honda | Fit | Japan |
| Small SUV | Toyota | RAV4 | Canada |
| Green Car | Toyota | Prius | Japan |
| Family SUV | Kia | Sorento | West Point, GA |
| Sporty Car | Ford | Mustang | Flat Rock, MI |
| Sports Sedan | Infiniti | G37 | Japan |
| Family Hauler | Toyota | Sienna | Princeton, IN |
| Pickup Truck | Chevrolet | Avalanche | Mexico |
Four of the made-in-the-USA models carry foreign nameplates; by contrast, the one Chevy on the list is made in Mexico.
The Consumers Reports list shows that U.S. workers are able to make the best products in the world. It also serves as a reminder of the benefits of international investment. According to the Organization for International Investment, U.S. divisions of foreign companies like Nissan, Hyundai, and Toyota employ 5.6 million Americans and provide 13 percent of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Not a mystery to me. I have been seeing the quality shift for over a decade now. I also believe that we were not doing so bad prior to that either.
With all this hybrid talk as of late. I drove my 2008 Ford Focus (made here in America) from DC to VT and back just a couple weekends ago with nothing more than a 1.9L gasoline powered engine. I also drove around the very mountainous VT a bit in local towns and so on. When I got back home my average milliage read 39.9 MPG. I have over 56,000 on the car and short of a 2 peices of body trim that had to be replaced and a new set of tires, the car is as it was coming off the assembly line.
The craftsmanship is to be praised, but it is too bad that all the cars are for foreign automakers. Sigh…..
You missed the Ford Mustang!
I would be interested to know how many of the Top 10 are in Non-Union Factories.. It's easy to belive that those non-union factories would produce quality since they are not bound by union labor rules and budensom regulations.
Why should we be concerned with whether they are "foreign" automakers? Are they not employing 13% of our manufacturing workers? Is that not helping our economy by allowing people to have disposable income? It doesn't matter that the ultimate owner(s) are not US citizens or live on foreign soil. Have we let the left immerse us so deep into class warfare that we lament the tiny (insignificant) loss of Fed Govt revenue via income tax from a handful of entrepenuers? Shame on those of you with silly bumperstickers who rebuke those Americans as "un-american" for buying "foreign" cars, regardless of where they are actually made! Open your eyes folks. That is the union's way of saying "we can't make a car of the same quality as cheaply as those open shops, so I'll call you names"
We as taxpayers still don't have the loan to GM paid back, but we are sending jobs to Mexico to build GM automobiles? Hummm….does this make sense? I would think that our pro union president would want the jobs to stay in the U.S., especially since it is our money that GM is using.
Oh Boy! That was hilarious! I suppose we can all breathe a sigh of relief, now that Chrysler and GM are Government Controlled! We will never see a decent car being built in America again! Give us a piece of junk that gets sixty miles to the gallon! But they won't give us Gasoline at half price! Personally I think big cars are safer! With automatic overdrive transmissions, radial tires and special lubricants, the Big Cars efficiency problems have already been solved! What it is? What is going on? Progressives just want Americans to be pathetic! Did you see how ridiculous Vladimere Putin looked doing a demo of the new Zil?
Obama wants us all to have a YUGO looking piece of junk! Over priced because we have to pay for ridiculous Pensions for Auto Workers! Forget the whole Department Of Transportation! Abolish It! They do nothing but steal money from the Transportation Sector and pass it to their political friends! "But that's what Government is for!" I think that is what Michelle Bachman means when she says "Gangster Government!"
Generally the argument against American cars is not where they're manufactured but whether they were designed by an American company. That's why this post isn't particularly pleasing.