My New car

Well, back around late August of last year I was almost demolished by a dump truck. Luckily, the driver managed to swerve to the left and missed me as he ran through the red light. As he swerved, the truck full of dirt slowly overturned and ended up on its side. He was OK and so was I. I give full credit to his reflexes here, and I'm lucky to be writing anything much less this little story. But all of this just leads up to my experience of buying a new safer vehicle that meets my needs and is made in the USA. After this my family and I, upon reflection decided I needed to get one.

I have two large dogs, Roxie & Rollie, who I would like to be able to take on a road trip if I wanted and like the functionality of SUV's but not the size. So, the dilemma was do I get a crossover(glorified station wagon) or a small SUV? After talking to the family,* we decided a small SUV would be the most versatile.

So, the hunt begins with me looking at vehicles I deem attractive yet functional. The problem I'm having is that a lot of the vehicles, especially from the US brands are made in Canada and Mexico. Well that doesn't work for me, so since I've had a great deal of luck with my Honda and my stepmother loves her Subaru, I figure let's see what they've got. The Subaru Outback is made in Indiana so I checked it out, and it is very nice, but too much of a wagon. Next are the Hondas. The new CR-V is pretty nice but they all say "Made in Japan." As it turns out, the newer ones are being made in East Liberty, OH, but that still makes it harder to actually buy a US Made one. The other Honda SUVs are made in the USA, but I don't like certain things about them. This leads me to Acura where I find true love in the RDX made in Marysville, OH.

Now, the truth is that I really already knew most of the vehicle MFG locations because that is my expertise. That is why I'm writing this column. Even with all of my knowledge, it can still be a frustrating process. This is why I am starting a list of USA made vehicles which I will update regularly.   

* Roxie & Rollie had a lot of input and approve of the final selection.

Honda & Acura-

	Models in Production at Marysville, OH:
		Acura RDX
		Accord Sedan
		Accord Coupe
		Acura TL Sedan

Models in Production: Civic Sedan Civic GX (natural-gas powered) Element Honda CR-V Motorcycle Models in Production: Gold Wing 1800 VTX 1800 V-Twin Cruiser Shadow Sabre 1100 VTX 1300 V-Twin Cruiser Valkyrie Rune Lincoln, AL Automobile and Engine Plant Opened in 2001, this is Honda's newest North American Automobile Plant, producing the Odyssey minivan, the Pilot and V-6 engine.       Overview of Toyota's North American Engineering and Manufacturing

Comments

[Leisa Dreps]

Both of you were really lucky that everything went fine back then. And oh, the word "demolished" is actually a pretty drastic word. Tsk. Was the situation really that complicated? Every driver on the road has the responsibility to take care of himself, the car and co-drivers.

[Ivo Beutler]

That's likely, Leisa. Even if the car was fairly tough, a moving dump truck has momentum on its side. The weight and speed would definitely wreck a car if it went out of control.

Thankfully, that's not the case here. Well, whatever the choice of car is, an experience like this would ensure the pick of a good vehicle.