Here's What It Takes to Be American Made

by Tim Healey

Published: June 28th, 2024

here s what it takes to be american made

What does it mean for a car to be American made?

We chat with Patrick Masterson from Cars.com about the company's 2024 American Made Index, digging deep into the data and the methodology used to compile the report. It's an educational look into how cars are built in this complex, globalized world.

TTAC contributor Matthew Guy and discuss why you need a ratcheting wrench and which ones to buy, and then we go over the wet-weather madness that NASCAR experienced in New Hampshire, and we also discuss some off-track stories, such as Kyle Busch running his mouth about his future.

Click here to find us -- we're available wherever you get your podcasts. As always, thanks for listening!

[Image: Tesla/TTAC.com/VerticalScope]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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5 of 34 comments

ToolGuy 4 days ago
You think I am stupid enough to comment without listening to the podcast first? First, I will listen to the podcast in its entirety -- that is how stupid I am.

Like Reply
- Lou_BC 4 days ago
  Gotta work on that passive aggressiveness. Did it come up in performance reviews?
  
  2
Akear 3 days ago
Lets be honest the US manufacturing economy is becoming a nightmare. I hear John Deer is moving more manufacturing to Mexico. "When does a dream become a nightmare" - Alice Cooper 75

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- See 1 previous
- VoGhost 3 days ago
  Things have changed in the last few years. The combination of the infrastructure bill, CHIPS act and IRA has created $hundreds of billions in investments in US manufacturing.
  
  Like
- FreedMike 2 days ago
  Domestic manufacturing output is actually up substantially from 2019.
  
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- El scotto 17 hours ago
  Sir, lots of MBAs in the 1980 said "We'll outsource to China and make so much money!" 2020 the MBAs said "What do you mean China is welding factory workers into their apartments? We need cheap stuff in containers coming off boats!" "Oh wait! the Mexicans can DRIVE a container of cheap stuff to the US border!" "Oh snap, this will take five to ten years to completely insource and take some cash. It's OK we have a trade deal!" "When do I get my management bonus?" Oh, don't forget our polite neighbors to the North, they do some great high-skilled value added work.
  
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Recent Comments

Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Wowzers!
SCE to AUX It's a trainwreck, Norfolk Southern style.
Arthur Dailey An uncle of mine purchases a 2nd generation Accord sedan. At the time, at least in Canada the hatchback Accord was seen more often than the sedan. After driving it, I became a huge fan. At the time my wife and I were both driving Civics. When I could afford to, we purchased a brand new 1986 (3rd generation) Accord sedan. That is still my wife's all time favourite vehicle of the many that we have had.The only issue we ever had was with the A/C which despite our ordering the car, was a dealer installed option, as was the norm with Hondas in Canada at that time. I eventually sold it to a co-worker. Who then sold it to one of his family members. 15 years later it was still 'going strong'. My uncle came into some money and replaced his Accord with a brand new Jaguar sedan. He had a love/hate relationship with the Jaguar. Loved it when it ran properly. Hated it ever time there was an issue, or he had to pay for maintenance/repairs/parts for it.
Buickman some stores may have still had some carbon paper on hand?
Zerofoo I would rather that car companies put the correct engine in the car to start. The "base" engine is almost always there for rental car fodder. Simplifying drivetrains would go a long way to reducing costs. If you want a smaller engine, buy a smaller car. The trend of putting small highly-stressed engines in big cars sucks. Hybrid drivetrains are even worse - complex, heavy, and certain to cause future high repair bills. All for a few MPG. Finally, to hell with CAFE standards. Just divide the fines among all the units you sell and get some lobbyists to get rid of the standards the Federal Government has no constitutional right to set anyway.