Is That An American Car?

USA Today ran a story yesterday that raises the question of what makes a car “American”?

Consider, for example, that according to the article and related table, vehicles made exclusively in Canada are the Chrysler 300 and Pacifica, Ford Edge and Crown Victoria, Chevy Impala and Equinox, Acura MDX, Lexus RX350, and the Honda Ridgeline.

Vehicles made exclusively in Mexico include the Ford Fusion, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chevy HHR, VW Beetle, and the Nissan Sentra. (All small cars – coincidence?)

And those made only in the USA include the Mazda 6, Subaru Legacy and Outback, Saab 9-7X, Honda Odyssey, Hyundai Santa Fe, Nissan Altima and Titan, Toyota Avalon and Sienna, and the Acura TL. Most of the Accords and Camrys sold in the US are made in the US, with imports from Japan coming in due to product demand and local capacity constraints.

Does it need to be a US based company, like GM or Ford? Or does Chrysler count, even though they are the US division of a German company (at least for now)? What about “Honda of America Mfg., Inc.” or "Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Inc.", both US-based divisions of Japanese companies? Does it need to be a company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, like Honda and Toyota? Do the profits from the vehicle need to "stay in this country" for it to count as an American car? Should the wages paid to the US employees in manufacturing, sales, R&D, etc., count? Would this make the Toyota Camry more "American" than the Chevy HHR? What about the Chevy Aveo, which is made in South Korea? Is a company like Volvo "American" because it is owned by Ford? What about Saab, since it is owned by GM, and one of their vehicles is made in Ohio - just like the Accord?

Should we consider the impact of oil usage from national security and environmental perspectives? Does that make it more "American" to drive a Chevy HHR (23 MPG city/30 MPG highway - made in Mexico) or a PT Cruiser (21/26MPG, also made in Mexico) or a Toyota Prius (60/51, made in Japan)? Does your answer change if it was a Toyota Camry Hybrid (40/38, made in Kentucky)?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these issues - all different shades of grey.

Review: 2007 Great Designs in Steel Seminar

The 2007 Great Designs in Steel Seminar was held on March 7 in Livonia, MI, with over 1700 people in attendance. This seminar, sponsored by AISI and held annually since 2002, is billed as “the premier forum for the latest trends and applications in automotive steel technologies.”

AISI continues to raise the bar, as this was another excellent day of presentations, exhibits, and informal meetings. In addition to displays on steel fuel tanks, steel wheels, and laser welded blanks, there were teardowns highlighting the high strength steel parts contained on the BMW X5, Chrysler Sebring, and the IMPACT truck.

Over the next few postings, I’m going to give the highlights of some of the presentations. But the theme is clear: Advanced high-strength steels (like dual phase and TRIP steels) are being used now in selected applications, and are being increasingly specified in future vehicles to capitalize on their potential for weight savings, cost savings, and safety.