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Guide to American Car Buying

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Does Buying an "American" Car Really Help the Detroit Economy?
GM Headquarters, Renaissance Center

GM Headquarters, Renaissance Center in Detroit

Laura Sternberg © Laura Sternberg, Licensed to About.com
Will buying an “American” car, or more specifically a Chrysler, GM or Ford model, really have an impact on the Detroit economy? After all, some “foreign” car models are actually assembled in the U.S. with U.S. parts, while some big-three models are assembled in other countries.

The fact is that the hub of the domestic auto industry is located in Detroit, which means that, regardless of where a particular big-three model is assembled, Detroit benefits from its sale. For instance, the headquarters, management and support staff for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) are all located in the Metro-Detroit area, not to mention the automakers' engineering, research & development and marketing divisions. Additionally, a host of auto-related businesses -- part suppliers, marketing research firms -- are also located in the Metro-Detroit area and depend upon the continued viability of Chrysler, Ford and GM.

According to a Center for Automotive Research study, the big-three automakers directly employ over twice as many people in the United States than their foreign competitors. If indirect and spin-off employment is factored into the mix, the domestic auto industry is expected to provide the country approximately three million jobs in 2009 -- many of which are in Detroit.

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