Is A Toyota Designed And Built In America Still A Japanese Car?

A few years ago, as a guest of Toyota at a NASCAR race, the company was at pains to prove its American bonafides. A fleet of Tundra safety trucks buzzed the paddock with the words "Built In Texas" emblazoned on their flanks. In a bid to contend with Ford and GM, Toyota knows it’s at a disadvantage, a Japanese interloper in that most American motorsport. 

 

I’ve always found this funny. How is a Toyota Tundra not an American car? Forget the Toyota badge for a moment. Not only is it built in America—and always has been—it is designed by Americans, in America, for Americans. And it’s not just the Tundra; Many Japanese cars are rooted entirely in America.