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Comment by jqpabc123 | Hacker News Reader

A Chevy Silverado is as American as apple pie, right? Or at least, this is how it's marketed.

Final assembly of these vehicles is done in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Regardless of the final assembly point, the powertrain (engine and transmission) is likely to have been built at the GM plant in Silao, Mexico.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/1-full-size-american-pickup-tru...

Bottom line --- the typical consumer really has no idea what he is getting when he buys "American". The people selling it typically don't really know either but they will gladly tell you whatever they think you want to hear.

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> Bottom line --- the typical consumer really has no idea what he is getting when he buys "American". The people selling it typically don't really know either but they will gladly tell you whatever they think you want to hear.

The Monroney Sticker that is on the vehicle lists the following:

US/Canadian parts content (by percentage)

Other countries that are major sources of parts content (by percentage)

Final Assembly Point (City/State/Country)

Country of Origin for the engine

Country of Origin for the transmission

Yes, but what to believe when "American" vehicles actually have *less* "American" content than "foreign" ones?

For example, in 2023 Ford averaged 52% "American" content while Honda averaged 67%.

Which is more "American" --- a Ford Ranger or a Toyota Tacoma? (Hint: Monroney says it's not the one most people would guess.)

https://kogod.american.edu/autoindex/2023

The only real response is that it's not the Monroney's job to tell you whether a car brand is "American" or "Not American".

At this point, just about every auto manufacturer that sells vehicles in the US is a multinational corporation with huge operations in dozens of countries. It's all a branding exercise now.

BTW - Honda of America does so much work in Ohio that they could probably completely cut ties with Honda in Japan.

It's all a branding exercise now.

Thank you for finally agreeing with my original premise.

Sure.

I'm just pointing out that regardless of branding, the quality of the products is (1) not equal, (2) still correlated with where the vehicle is assembled.

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