I've needed a new car for a long time, and Abbey has been insisting that we do it sooner rather than later, because of the furious baby who's taking a baseball bat to the economy. Tariffs were a big part of her concern. We ended up buying a Hyundai EV last weekend. Just in time.
Yesterday, Our President has announced a 25% tariff on "imported passenger vehicles (sedans, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, cargo vans) and light trucks, as well as key automobile parts (engines, transmissions, powertrain parts, and electrical components), with processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary." There's some mumbo jumbo about imports from Canada and Mexico - with whom we have a free trade agreement - and this is all supposed to start on April 2.
Trump made the announcement about the tariffs on imported passenger vehicles tariffs while standing next to Elon "Nazi salute" Musk, who makes cars in the United States.
I'm old enough to remember when American cars were American cars. Then parts production began being outsourced to Mexico (remember NAFTA?) and slowly the sweet urgings of the market resulted in pieces of every car being made in many different countries, and often being assembled in a country nowhere near the corporate base. I remember first learning that Pontiacs were assembled in Korea, and then that Hondas were assembled in the United States. In the oh teens, our niece worked at a VW factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
But now it's anybody's guess. Here's a list of "American" cars that have their final assembly overseas, and have to be imported for Americans to buy them:
Buick
Cadillac
| Model | Location of Final Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyriq | China, U.S. | Research | Shop |
| XT5 | China, U.S. | Research | Shop |
| XT6 | China, U.S. | Research | Shop |
Chevrolet
| Model | Location of Final Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Blazer | Mexico | Research | Shop |
| Blazer EV | Mexico | Research | Shop |
| Equinox | China, Mexico | Research | Shop |
| Equinox EV | China, Mexico | Research | Shop |
| Silverado 1500 | Mexico, U.S. | Research | Shop |
| Trailblazer | South Korea | Research | Shop |
| Traverse | Mexico, U.S. | Research | Shop |
| Trax | South Korea | Research | Shop |
Chrysler
| Model | Location of Final Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacifica | Canada | Research | Shop |
| Pacifica Hybrid | Canada | Research | Shop |
| Voyager | Canada | Research | Shop |
Dodge
| Model | Location of Final Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornet | Italy | Research | Shop |
Ford
| Model | Location of Final Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronco Sport | Mexico | Research | Shop |
| Edge | Canada | Research | Shop |
| Maverick | Mexico | Research | Shop |
| Mustang Mach-E | Mexico | Research | Shop |
GMC
Jeep
Lincoln
Ram
Do you find it ironic that MAGAmobiles like the Ram 3500, the Ford Bronco and Mustang, and the Chevy Blazer are all made in Mexico? And that at least three models of Cadillac are made in China?
Anyway - a tariff on all your houses!
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