Trump tonight said he would propose a law allowing interest paid on car loans to be tax deductible - but only if the car is made in the USA. Although I prefer to pay cash rather than finance, I just wondered which U.S. producers still build cars? ISTM there are few “cars” (sedans) built here. Possibly the Mustang?
One reason I buy Hondas and Toyotas is that you can still get real “cars” rather than SUVs or trucks from them. In terms of EV impact, I can’t see where incentivizing everyone to buy trucks and SUVs (still made in America) is a good idea.
Comments
In the published reports so far, "domestic" means "US or Canada" - that may have to change unless Canada becomes the 51st US state (before or after Greenland?).
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2025/01/07/most-american-cars-based-on-parts-labor-location/77489771007/
https://www.nhtsa.gov/part-583-american-automobile-labeling-act-reports
Domestic-content energy-credits are also available. https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/domestic-content-bonus-credit
Rarely have I owned a domestic vehicle actually assembled insides the states over the past 50 years. Had a Mercury Milan built in Mexico once. A Mercury Montego once from Canada. And a F150 built in Canada. Actually, my Toyota Camry was built in Kentucky. Likely with parts from other countries. Plus, most poeple of average means take the standard deduction. It is unlikely they would even benefit from Trump’s proposal. But it sounds great to the uninformed.
Our common borders with Canada (2) are no more than a 3 hour drive from anywhere in the state. Remains to be seen how welcoming our neighbors on the other side will be to Michigan visitors this summer. If you reside at MaraLargo, maybe traveling into Canada isn’t much of an issue. Plus, not sure they’d take him in with his felony conviction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobiles_manufactured_in_the_United_States
Good points on Nissan. I wonder however if Trump’s plan would allow the interest deduction for “foreign branded” names. Hard to say. More to my point I bemoan that GM, Ford, Chrysler (technically not a U.S. company) quit building (most) sedans several years ago. Ford Taurus. Chevy Impala, Chrysler 300 all discarded in the push to put all of us into SUVs and pickup trucks. I have to laugh at some of the “SUVs” on the road now - so tiny in stature that a Camry sedan dwarfs them. I heard a report Chrysler may bring back the 300. It was a nice driving car, though there were / are quality concerns with Chrysler products.
Automobile production, which is deeply integrated across our northern and southern borders — there really isn’t a U.S. auto industry, there’s a North American industry operating in all three countries — will be especially hard hit. I almost choked when Trump declared last night that “we are going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody has ever seen.” Well, I guess we’ve never seen a large downturn in auto production outside a major recession, which is not to say that we won’t get a recession too.
Will that come before or after the greatest healthcare program ever seen? Or proof of a stolen election?