As a fact, the nations who export their very best efforts will do well (Germany,Japan)..

France and England do not seem to have what it takes to export successfully.
Here in the good ole USA a great many of us want either something different or something superior , hence all the Japanese and German cars (I am talking about 30 years ago more than today)...Now Germany is having problems and we have gone global....
France seems to be a lot more nationalistic than we are and protects(or tries to) their own car industry against imports - particularly Orientials...
Why ? A Frenchmen can explain this better than I..
Malaysia ,as a developing country, is a different ball of wax...all automobiles are foreign,I think..
Please explain "local cars"... And I do not know how they feel about the Japanese.... and their products...

here in the u.s. we only have 2 american car companys and they really are not american as they sell cars built everywhere in the world. so all in all we dont have any true local or true american companys. so the only true american built car would be some custom job turned out by a private builder. maybe like a saleen s-7 which very few are sold to everyday drivers.

US, I like small but some luxury and the you can't find an American car like this. So European cars offer the combination.

my husband and I always buy Japanese cars because we think that they offer the best value for the money. We are on a tight budget so the so called "rice burners" work very well for us. If Detroit would offer the same value we would probably buy American.

What is your definition of "imported" vs. "local"?

Is the Honda, Toyota, Nissan or VW made in the USA an import or a local? Is the Dodge, Ford or GM made in Canada or Mexico and shipped to the USA an import or a local?

Good question machiem. I didn't even want to address that. My father-in-law offered to buy us a car with the proviso that it be an American car. We bought a Plymouth and it turned out to have been made in Canada

The Plymouth made in Canada was assembled in a country that has a similar standard of living and wage scale as ours, as compared to a car made in Asia or Mexico. At least people in Canada can afford to purchase American products, not so for Mexicans, Koreans, Chinese, or other low paid auto workers. They never will make enough to purchase enough new cars or other products from the US to even start to balance the trade deficit we have with these countries.

Does it make any sense to pay almost as much for a Hyundai made by workers making far less than American workers producing vehicles with similar quality and features.

GG

Does it make any sense to pay almost as much for a Hyundai made by workers making far less than American workers producing vehicles with similar quality and features.

What if the Hyundai is made in Alabama (as the Sonata is)?

Hi Steve,

How much of that Sonata is actually made here? I'm not sure of what foreign branded vehicles are actually made here as opposed to those made in their home countries and exported to the US, but I would guess that it's a big part of our trade deficit.

My comment contained the point comparing American made to foreign made, even though it may not have been obvious.

GG

How much of that Sonata is actually made here?

That's actually a good question for our bill_h to answer, since he has relatives at the factory. I haven't yet found a number for the Hyundai, but the Mazda 626 had a 75% domestic content as of 1998 and the current Toyota Camry is running at around 85% domestic content. So at what point does a vehicle become an "American" product?

And of course, you could buy a Mazda6, like I almost did. Made by the good Japanese folks in Michigan. Engine heads (maybe only the design?) and transmission were Japanese. The rest was US sourced. Can't tell the players without the scorecard on the window sticker content list.

Origin is a joke. If you notice, the "Buy American" campaign hasn't had an official spokesman for years. There really isn't an "American" car but why should that matter? What I need is to be assured that I'm buying a quality product that will be supported when something inevitably fails. Not having to wait for some obscure part like a bolt to be flown in from Timbuctoo just because Ford* outsourced a trim piece.
*Substitute your car company of choice.

It all comes down to management. Are they picking good suppliers, not just the cheapest ones. Will they endeavour to change if there's a problem? Actually, the domestics seem to be *really* bad on that. Same problem, year after year, on the same model. Will management give you hassle and the runaround if a problem persists? Some car companies are better at it than others.

Buy what you need, not what you want; do your research carefully, and don't get suckered by slick talkers. This is a great time for the auto industry. The chances of you getting an excellent vehicle for a good price is very high. And that's the US market in a nutshell.

Europe should be pretty similar. Asia OTOH. Well there's a story. It's all about tariffs and protectionism. Local/domestic production versus off shore dream cars. To the States it's hard to believe that a Jeep Grand Cherokee would be someone's dreamcar but in China, with taxes, duties and tariffs that thing is over $100,000 US! And there's a market.