The 2012 Toyota Camry – All American or Otherwise?
A number of vehicle review and fan websites have recently dubbed the 2012 Toyota Camry as the most ‘American’ vehicle of the upcoming year. Unfortunately, others have responded by stating that such a declaration is simplistic and based on criteria that is less than realistic at best.
According to the websites in question, the gasoline version of the 2012 Toyota Camry is set to have at least 92% domestic parts in its makeup. The hybrid version on the other hand scores a much lower 59%, which is because the battery packs and drive components will be imported from Japan.
The argument from the opposition is that buying American is more than just a question of assembly and parts content, but should instead be determined by buying American-made products from American-owned companies with a high domestic parts content. Overall, prime consideration should be given to the ownership of the company itself, as American examples pay on average twice as much in tax to the US treasury as those owned from overseas.
As such, it has been suggested that the current criteria for how individual cars are awarded the all-American badge is narrow minded at best, leading to millions of consumers opting for vehicles that do not in fact support the nation’s economy as well as many other American automakers.
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