Saturday, July 10, 2010

Toyotas are the most American car

File this under, press releases I get at work but I can't use, emailed to me from Toyota of Watertown:
The "Most American" Car Is a Toyota
Toyota Camry Leads all Cars Sold in Massachusetts in American-Made Parts
BOSTON, MASS (07/08/2010)(readMedia)-- Greater Boston Toyota Camry owners can now claim to own the most American-made new car available. The 2010 Cars.com American Made Index lists the 2010 Toyota Camry as the model with the most American-made parts.
Toyota dominated the annual survey from Cars.com, with the 2010 Toyota Sienna and Toyota Tundra joining the Camry on the index. Cars.com compiles its annual listing by surveying the number of domestically made parts in vehicles, the locations where the vehicles are assembled and the number of vehicles sold annually.
"When you buy a Toyota, believe it or not, you are buying an American car," said Carlos Girard, General Sales Manager of Massachusetts Toyota dealer Toyota of Watertown. "In Massachusetts, the birthplace of America, the words 'made in America' have a tremendous meaning. It makes all of us proud to work for a company whose plants provide jobs for so many Americans."
This is the second year that the Toyota Camry has topped the Cars.com list. The Camry is built in plants in Georgetown, KY and Lafayette, IN. Toyota's other top-10 American-made cars, the Sienna and Tundra, are assembled in Princeton, IN and San Antonio, TX, respectively.
The move to greater domestic production of both cars and components meets two goals for Toyota. In a climate of rapidly changing international currency rates, greater domestic production allows Toyota to control costs and price their vehicles competitively. Furthermore, by putting more Americans to work making parts as well as the vehicles themselves, Toyota is able to show they have a stake in the United States' economic recovery.
Toyota recently promoted two American managers to head their Princeton and San Antonio plants as part of their continuing commitment to increasing American involvement with cars sold in the United States. Toyota believes these moves will allow the company to react quickly to the concerns and desires of American car buyers.
"When Toyota first arrived in Massachusetts, a lot of customers were skeptical; people wondered if these Japanese cars could handle the tough, variable New England climate," Girard said. "However, Toyota has always listened to their customers, and they responded to feedback from American Toyota owners across the country as they designed subsequent models. The result has been consistent improvement and new features that make Toyota cars a reliable choice on tricky Massachusetts roads."

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