Published: June 26, 2018, 12:55 PM
Updated: July 4, 2018, 1:18 AM
All-American icons
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on new vehicles imported to the U.S. from several key countries, including Canada. But are American buyers willing to pay such a preposterous penalty for these ‘All-American’ icons that happen to be built in the Great White North? The list they include may hold a few surprises!
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The Demon is Canadian!
The last of an intentionally-limited run of Dodge Demons rolled off the assembly line recently, adding to their allure, and their collector value, as well as enhancing their stature as American automotive icons. But what many don’t know is that said assembly line is part of FCA’s massive assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, near Toronto. That’s right: the demonic Demons were Canadian!
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So are all Dodge Challengers
It’s not just the Demon that has its origins in Canada. All Dodge Challengers, including the mighty Hellcat-powered modern-day muscle-cars, are built exclusively at FCA’s Brampton Assembly Plant, from which they are exported to the United States… where they will be subject to any tariffs applied to Canadian vehicle imports.
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A Canadian Cadillac?
Cadillac is the oldest American automobile brand still in production, predating both Buick and Ford. It doesn’t get more American than that. But the luxurious Cadillac XTS 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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And of the Pacifica
Like its Magic Wagon ancestors, the wholly redesigned Chrysler Pacifica reintroduced as a 2017 model, also calls Windsor, Ontario home. Add one more to the list of popular vehicles potentially subject to an import tariff.
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Even the Impala?
Introduced to the market 60 years ago as a 1958 model, the Chevrolet Impala was pure “baseball-hot-dogs-and-apple-pie American.” But, from the very beginning and through most of the period since then, it has been built in Oshawa, Ontario, among other places. And it still is!
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Say it’s not so!
Is there any modern car more red-white-and-blue American than the Ford GT? Probably not, except for one thing. It’s Made in Canada! Yep. It’s actually built in Markham, Ontario at a firm called Multimatic – not just the race cars but all the production cars too. Multimatic was integral to the GT program from the beginning, especially for its expertise in carbon-fiber construction.
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The Chrysler 300, too?
The Chrysler 300 became an instant American icon when it burst onto the scene way back in 1955. The nameplate returned to the market in 2005, after a hiatus of several decades, and it 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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And the Ford Edge
Ford cars have been built in Canada almost as long as they have 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 around the world – including the U.S.A.
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And the Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet production in Canada dates back to before the brand became part of GM and for much of that period it has included Chevrolet trucks. It still does, as final assembly of some Silverado pickup models takes place in Oshawa, Ontario.
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Ditto the GMC Sierra
The same applies to the Silverado’s sibling, the GMC Sierra, which since 2017 has rolled off the Oshawa plant’s multi-vehicle Flex line.
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Plus the Dodge Charger
The ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ may have cemented the Dodge Charger as an American icon but, like its Chrysler 300 sibling, the current model – Hellcat version and all – is made only in Canada, at FCA’s Brampton plant.
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And the Chevrolet Equinox
Chevrolet’s hot-selling Equinox also hails from Ontario. It’s built in the CAMI plant, originally a GM/Suzuki joint venture, in Ingersoll, Ontario, about half-way between Toronto and Detroit. The GMC Terrain was built there too until its production was siphoned off to Mexico – another country threatened with Trump’s 25% tariff.
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And the Lincoln Nautilus
The Lincoln brand may have been named for the iconic American president, but Canada was, for a long-time, the sole source for another American icon, the Lincoln Town Car. It’s gone now, but there are a couple other Lincolns made only in Canada, including the newly-named Nautilus, successor to the MKX, which is built in Oakville, alongside its Ford Edge sibling.
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The Lincoln MKT, too
The other Lincoln with a Canadian passport is the big MKT crossover, sibling to the Ford Flex.
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And the Ford Flex
The Flex, too, is built in Ford of Canada’s sole remaining assembly facility, in Oakville, Ontario.
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Still friends?
As both Canada and the U.S.A. approach their annual birthday celebrations, July 1 and July 4 respectively, the long-time open border for trade in new vehicles between the two is under threat. And along with it, one of the world’s longest-standing friendships and the economic well-being of both countries.
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