At the auto show, after spats with Trump GM features a car made in... Canada

You may recall that earlier this month the new President got into a bit of a spat with General Motors. It all had to do with their producing the Chevy Cruze, where the vehicles were being made… something to do with Mexico and who was getting the jobs.

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President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked General Motors in a tweet, claiming the auto giant is making a Chevy Cruze model in Mexico and then sending them to U.S. dealers tax free.

“General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!” Trump said on Twitter.

After that exchange, word on the street was that things were settling down between Trump and GM and there were going to be some new investments in domestic production, a new round of hiring and all manner of feel good stories. Great news! But something rather curious happened this week. A friend of mine stopped by the Washington Auto Show which just opened yesterday and, as usual, it’s a big one. Lots of manufacturers are there putting their best foot forward and seeking to impress the public (and the automotive press) with their wares. And Chevy is prominently featured as well. When you stroll into their section of the show, what’s the first thing that greets you front and center? Check this out.

Yes, it’s a Chevy alright, but it’s not the Cruze. It’s the Equinox. And while this model actually has a fairly high TDC (“total domestic content”) rating, the cars are made, for the most part, in Canada. And as recently as a couple of months ago, GM had no intention of changing that for 2017 or 2018.

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Following Unifor and General Motors’ new four-year labor agreement, it was good news for Canadian manufacturing. Along with the news of $520 million worth of investment into Canadian plants, Chevrolet higher-ups also told us the 2018 Equinox would be sticking to its production home up north.

We asked where the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox would be produced for the United States, and the CAMI plant in Ontario, Canada was the solid answer we received during the 2018 Equinox unveiling last week. The facility received a $250 million investment for future vehicle production back in 2013.

This isn’t some huge policy statement or anything I’m sure, but this show is taking place only a few miles from Trump’s new home. And it’s one of the bigger shows in the country. I suppose I was just a little surprised that they wouldn’t be featuring a more Born in the USA theme. But hey… look on the bright side, guys. At least it’s not Mexico.

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