In the later two or three decades of the 1990s it became popular to snub your nose at someone driving a foreign car if you were driving an American car.  You don’t see this anymore because there really is no distinction anymore.  Many American cars are made in foreign countries like Canada and Mexico, or use foreign engines and other parts.  Many foreign cars are manufactured right here in America, employing thousands of Americans, using American made parts as well as imported parts.  There is just no way to tell anymore if someone is actually driving a foreign or an American car.

The first foreign auto manufacturer to build a plant in America was Honda.  That plant is still in operation in Marysville, Ohio and employs much of the city.  In fact, if you live in Marysville, Ohio you notice the snubbed noses when you are driving anything but a Honda, which is largely considered a foreign car.  There is nothing foreign about a Honda in Marysville, Ohio.  It is more foreign to use a credit card than to drive a Honda.  The same is true in cities and towns across America where foreign auto manufacturers have built plants and are giving jobs to so many Americans so that they, too, can use their credit cards and pay the bills.

The focus is now on driving the better car, no matter where it is made or what label it has on it.  Fuel efficiency, reliability, durability, safety, and handling are the focuses on automobiles today.  Luxury and great gadgets are secondary.  Where the car came from might be a deciding factor between two cars before pulling out the credit card for a down payment. 

Hybrids are fast becoming the most talked about and popular cars in America.  When hybrids first hit the market in the United States none were American cars.  American car companies are now making hybrids, too, but they seem to be following behind the foreign car companies. 

Diesel power is much more efficient than gasoline, and the newer diesels in Europe are outperforming the gasoline cars, too.  Europeans are enjoying the best of both worlds, but for the most part the diesel cars sold in America don’t have the performance of a horse drawn carriage.  Apparently it has something to do with the sulfur in American diesel fuel, but if Americans want to save the environment then they should clean up the diesel fuel so that Americans can choose to drive diesel cars if they want to.  Word is that this diesel cleanup is in the works in America.  Will the diesel cars follow the cleanup and allow Americans to use their credit cards at the pump less often?  That remains to be seen.