Recently Roy Parks wrote a letter to the World and in his letter he once again expressed his disdain with Americans who do not buy cars with Big 3 (GM, Ford, Chrysler) nameplates.  What Mr. Parks has failed to recognize all these many years is that the nameplate is no guarantee of U.S. content.  The major measure as to which country should get credit for the production of an automobile is content; where do the materials, parts and labor originate.

            I have a near mint condition 1989 Ford 350 dually pickup in my shed.  The truck was purchased new from Korum Ford in Puyallup.  My father, at the time, fell for the Roy Parks misstep of believing that the nameplate, Ford in this instance, would tell him where this truckwas built.  Well, it sort of turns out that with my keen eyes, I was able to discern that this particular pickup truck was actually a product of Canada.  I did further research and found that its percentage of Canadian content was significant.  When I brought this information to my father’s attention, more than 16 years ago, he removed all of the attending stickers that might tell someone else what I already knew.

            My case in point is that the highest content U.S. built automobile comes from Georgetown, KY.  This model is not one from the Big 3 automakers and it has never been built in Detroit.  This model, in fact, has held this title for about a dozen or more years.  It is the Toyota Camry.  If you used Mr. Parks information you would never have guessed this to be the case.  The United States has a thriving foreign automobile industry.  In the past 3 years new plants have been built from Indiana to the deep south.  The total value of these plants is nearly $2 billion.  Most of these plants are in the South (SC, AL, KY, etc.).  The companies include BMW, Mercedes, KIA, Nissan, Toyota and Honda; to name a few,

            Honda has its largest plant in the world turning out various models in Marysville, OH.  This plant is responsible for most of the exported vehicles from America to other parts of the world (namely Japan in this instance).  Honda proudly lists this facility as its most productive plant.  My point again is that all too often well meaning people say and do things that are actually counterproductive.  For me one of the great things about America is our ability to choose from a wide array of products.  There is a false notion that by avoiding foreign nameplates that  you are actually doing something good for America.  Clearly, that is not usually the case.  The only nameplates that I try to avoid are those of China.  My reasons there are mostly political and humanitarian.

            Mr. Parks if you by chance see this blog, I would appreciate if you do your homework in the future.  If you wish to make frivolous claims then do so, knowing that is what is being done.  Protectionist countries are usually burdened with weaker economies and inferior goods.  A vibrant competitive marketplace forces our home grown companies to compete effectively or cease to exist.  For sure that is kind of a strong remedy but in a capitalistic economy that needs to be the medicine of choice.

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