The U.S. car industry: not just Detroit anymore

Foreign carmakers have constructed massive plants in the South that now produce one-third of all cars manufactured on our shores.

“A lot of these Southern senators don’t see the Big Three as their constituents, but they do see Toyota, Honda, BMW and Mercedes as their constituents.” –Newsweek’s Daniel Gross on why Southern senators vote against the auto bailout

The U.S. auto industry used to be synonymous with Detroit and the Big Three. But now fully one-third of all car manufacturing in the United States is done by foreign companies like Toyota and BMW with giant manufacturing plants in the Souther United States. With the economic well-being of their states so closely linked to foreign car makers, it’s really no surprise that so many Southern senators opposed the auto bailout. Daniel Gross, Senior Editor at Newsweek, explains.