Published: June 29, 2017, 10:25 AM
Updated: June 20, 2018, 6:02 PM
Made in Canada, eh!
To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday as a country on July 1, we put the spotlight on some ‘All-American’ cars that are actually built in the Great White North – perhaps including a few surprises.
By Gerry Malloy
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Demon from the north
While Canada no longer has any car brands to call its own, it has long been a source of production for the ‘Detroit Three’. For example, cars like this drag-ready 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, which is well on its way to becoming a new American muscle-car icon. It is built exclusively at FCA’s assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, near Toronto, from where it is exported to the U.S.
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Canuck Cadillac
Cadillac is the oldest American automobile brand still in production, predating both Buick and Ford. But the XTS, the luxury brand’s front-wheel-drive sedan, is made only in Canada. It’s built on General Motors of Canada’s flexible assembly line in Oshawa, Ontario.
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Home of the Magic Wagon
When the Dodge Caravan and its Plymouth Voyager sibling were introduced in 1984, they were American originals, unlike anything before them. But it was across the river from Detroit, in Windsor, Ontario, where they were built. And their successor, the Dodge Grand Caravan is still being built there.
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Can it be true?
Is there any modern car more red-white-and-blue American than the Ford GT? Probably not, except for one thing. It’s actually built in Markham, Ontario at a firm called Multimatic, which was integral to the program from the beginning because of its expertise in carbon-fiber construction as well as in auto racing.
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Chevrolet Impala, too
Introduced to the market 60 years ago as a 1958 model, the Chevrolet Impala epitomized the American dream for decades. Through most of that period, it was built in Oshawa, Ontario, and it still is, among other places.
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Chrysler 300
When it arrived on the market in 2005, the Chrysler 300 established a new design idiom, with classic American proportions that influenced the appearance of many cars to follow. But it was built, as it continues to be, only in Brampton, Ontario.
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Ford Edge
Ford cars have been built in Canada almost as long as they have been in the U.S., beginning in 1904, just a few months after Henry set up shop in Detroit. Today, Ford’s Oakville, Ontario assembly plant is the sole source for the Ford Edge crossover vehicle, which is exported from there to countries all around the world.
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Buick Regal
America’s second-oldest surviving auto brand, Buick, was one of Canada’s first. A car called the McLaughlin-Buick was the first product of what ultimately became General Motors of Canada. Today’s Buick Regal is based on a European Opel design but it’s built in Oshawa, Ontario, the same place as that first McLaughlin-Buick.
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Dodge Charger
The ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ may have made the Dodge Charger an American icon but the current model, Hellcat version and all, is made only in Canada – alongside its Chrysler 300 sibling.
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Lincoln MKX
Canada was the long-time source for one of the most iconic American cars ever – the Lincoln Town Car. It’s gone now, but there are a couple other Lincoln models made only in Canada. The MKX is built in Oakville, alongside its Ford Edge sibling.
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Lincoln MKT
The other Lincoln with a Canadian passport is the big MKT crossover, sibling to the Ford Flex.
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Ford Flex
The Flex, too, is built in Ford of Canada’s sole remaining assembly facility, in Oakville, Ontario.
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Chevrolet Equinox
Chevrolet’s hot-selling Equinox also hails from Ontario. It’s built in the former CAMI plant, originally a GM/Suzuki joint venture, in Ingersoll, Ontario, about half-way between Toronto and Detroit, although some Equinox bodies are shipped on to Oshawa for final assembly to keep up with demand.
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Dodge Challenger
It’s not just the Demon that has its origins in Canada. All Dodge Challengers, including the mighty Hellcat models like this 2018 SRT Widebody, are built exclusively at FCA’s Brampton Assembly Plant.
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Chrysler Pacifica
Like its Magic Wagon ancestors, the wholly redesigned Chrysler Pacifica, including this hybrid model, calls Windsor, Ontario home.
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Oh, Canada!
While Canada may no longer have any auto brands of its own, it can be rightly proud of the many ‘All-American’ models it produces, many of them exclusively.
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