Just want to clear up some misconceptions about US-made Japanese (and other foreign makes) cars and trucks. For the most part Toyota, Honda, Nissan and others did not stop importing specific models once they started making them in the US (or Canada). They often sold both Japanese and US made models in the US for many years. So we shouldn't assume that once a model was manufactured in the US (or Canada), that the model is automatically "US-Made".

For example, my ex owned a 1993 Nissan Sentra E 4-door that was made in Japan, long after Nissan started making them in Tennessee.

Now sometimes, there were specific versions that were made only in the US or Japan, like the 1987-88 Corolla FX hatchbacks. All North American models were made in the NUMMI plant in California, next to the Chevy Nova; while all Corolla (E80) coupes and sedan/liftback models were imported from Japan.

Now being the car geek and info geek that I am, I used to live near a library that had the Ward's Automotive Yearbooks in their reference section from 1973 until 1997 (which covers specifics from 1971-1996 model years). These books cost about $500 each, and basically the auto industry bible for information and statistics. I have copies of most of the pages from the US market, and they broke down the Domestic models from the Imported models.

So I'm going to start with information about the Toyota Camry:

1983-1988 models - All imported from Japan

1989-1991 models - US production of the sedan starts at the end of 1988 for the 1989 model year. All wagons are Japanese made.

1989: Japan-made 126,279 - US-made 131,187
1990: Japan-made 72,008 - US-made 212,587
1991: Japan-made 72,807 - US-made 191,011

1992-1996 models - Sedans were both US and Japanese made, Wagon production switched to US only, Coupes introduced in 1994 were made in the US and Japan.

1992: Japan-made 78,425 - US-made 207,177
1993: Japan-made 89,791 - US-made 209,246
1994: Japan-made 96,227 - US-made 225,752
1995: Japan-made 80,412 - US-made 248,188
1996: Japan-made 79,412 - US-made 213,059

My old library stopped carrying the Yearbook after 1997 (I'm sure due to budget cuts), so I don't have the later models info. So at least through 1996, North American Camrys sedans and coupes should be marked as "Made for USA (or Canada)", and not "Made in USA".

One of these day I would like to make it to the Free Library of Philadelphia, which has a large Automotive Archive room. According to their website, they have continued to carry the Yearbook, and have a lot of other automotive info.

I'll go through some other popular models later.

Copy that

I started this thread and never followed up with it. But I have been researching most of the Japanese (and one Korean) models that were built in US or Canadian plants. People are still listing things like the Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla as "Made in the USA" despite the fact that they are made in both the US and Canada (as well as Japan). Other models, like the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry are mainly made in US plants, but also include Japanese imports.

I'll do one post per model, and since I started with the Camry, and never completed it, I'll start there.

Toyota Camry

All Camrys from it's start until the 1988 model year were made in Japan.

In 1988, they opened the Kentucky plant for the 1989 model year. From 1989 model year to 2007, Toyota reported importing Camrys from Japan (anywhere between 20,766 to 134,467 during those years). The US-built cars outsold the Japan-built ones by about a 3.46:1 ratio.

In 2007, Toyota leased space at the underused Subaru plant in Indiana, and the imported cars from Japan dramatically decreased. For 2008-2011, imports from Japan dropped to the 1,000-9,900 range.

From 2012 on, everything is listed as domestic (US made).

Toyota started the Hybrid models in 2006, as a 2007 model. These were made in Kentucky.

So I would say that Camrys in US productions made up to 2007 should be listed as "Made for USA" as we don't know which plant made the cars. The ones made from 2008-2011 probably can have the "Made in USA" tag, as the imports dwindled. From 2012-present, Camrys are "Made in USA".

Toyota Corolla

All Corollas until the 1986 model year were made in Japan.

In 1986 (for the 1987 model year), Toyota started building the Corolla FX hatchbacks at their joint plant with GM in California (NUMMI). All other E80 models were built in Japan. All 1988 E90 models were also Japanese-made.

In November 1988, Toyota opened a plant in Cambridge, Ontario, producing the Corolla 4-door sedan. At the NUMMI plant, production also switched to the 4-door sedan. Due to a trade agreement between the US and Canada, Toyota lists all cars made in both countries as domestic vehicles and does not break down the numbers between US and Canada. Toyota also continues to import Corollas from Japan (All coupes and I believe wagons were made in Japan). Production in all 3 countries continues until 1995, when the imports from Japan slow down to less than 10,000.

It appears from 1998-2001, no Corollas are imported from Japan, but still made in both the US and Canada.

They start up imports from Japan of the Corolla in 2002, until 2013, then production is only US and Canada.

So the end result is that Corollas are Japanese made until 1986 model year, then only the FX is US made for 1987-88, and then all Corollas from 1989 forward are made in either the US or Canada. So all US Corollas, except the FX hatchbacks should be "Made for USA" and not "Made in USA".

Honda Civic

All Civic made until the 1986 model year were Japanese-made.

In 1986, Honda started making Civics at the Marysville Ohio plant for the 1987 model year. Sales are evenly split between Japan and US-made for 1987.

In 1988, Honda opened a plant in Brampton Ontario for the Civic. Honda does not break down sales of US or Canada models separately. Honda continues to import from Japan as well, though in smaller numbers. From 1988-2005, the ratio of domestic (US and Canada) to import (Japan) was 5.73:1. After 2005, Honda stops reporting the imports by model, so for 2006-present, there are some imports that are either Civic or Accords (or Fits for the last two years). The only figures between US/Canada was in 1996, when more than 60 were US-made and in 2007 when Honda reported that 61% were Canadian-made.

The only exception vehicles are the early wagons (all from Japan), coupes (all North American made) and the Hybrid (Japan-made 2003-2012 and US-made 2013-present). Also the 2002-2005 Si hatches that were "Made in UK".

Otherwise, without the VIN, Civics since 1987 should be "Made for USA" or "Made for Canada".

Honda Accord

Honda opened it's first US plant in 1983 to build the Accord. The SY Accords were split pretty evenly between the US and Japan-made models. From 1986-1990, the US Accords outsold the Japan Accords by about 2:1. From 1991-2004, the imported Accords slowed in sales, with the exception of 1996, when almost no Japanese made Accords were sold, but they picked up again in 1997. The Domestic-made Accords outsold the Import-made Accords by 5.45:1. There were a small amount of Mexican-made Accords from 2001-2007 counted in the Domestic sales.

2005 (the last year that Honda breaks down domestic to import by model), imports slowed to less than 3000 units. This was the year the Hybrid was introduced, and they were all made in Japan.

From 2006-present, Honda lists the Accord as being domestic and import. The exception is 2011, when all are listed as Domestic. From 2006-2010, there are import cars not accounted for by model. These are either Accords or Civic. The numbers range from 7506 to 65,613 units. In 2012-2013, the number of imports not accounted for drops to about 1000 units. The numbers pick up again in 2014 and 2015, but this was the time when Fit production was being moved to Mexico.

The exception models are the Coupes and Wagons (all US made) and Hybrids. The 2005-2007 Hybrids were all Japan-made. With the newer Hybrids, the conventional Hybrids were made in Ohio, the Plug-in Hybrid of 2014-2015 were made in Japan.

So I would say that 1983-2004, Accord sedans could either be US or Japan-made. It looks like from 2010+, they are all now US-made.

Nissan Sentra

All 1982-84 Sentras were made in Japan.

Nissan started making Sentras in their Tennessee plant in April 1985. Production started slowly, and the Japanese units outsold the US units by about 4:1 for 1985-86. In 1987-89, the sales were evenly spilt. Sales slowed for 1990 until 1995, then imports from Japan stopped.

From 1996-1999, all Sentras sold were made in USA.

In 2000, production moved to Mexico, and all 2000-2012 Sentras were made there.

In 2013, Nissan started making Sentras in Mississippi plant, as well as the Mexican plant. This lasted until 2015, when production was shifted back to Mexico for 2016 models.

So from 1985-1995 and 2013-2015, Sentras should be "Made for USA" and not "Made in USA". 1996-1999 "Made in USA". And 2000-2012 and 2016 "Made in Mexico, Made for USA".

Subaru Legacy/Outback

Subaru opened it's plant in Indiana in September 1989 with Isuzu. The first models were the Legacy and the P'up. From 1990-1993, Subaru sold both US and Japan-made Legacies. In 1994, Japan-made sales slowed to less than 4000 units. From 1995 on, all Legacy and Outback models were made in Indiana.

Mazda 626/Mazda6

In the late 1980s, Mazda opened a plant in Flat Rock, Michigan with Ford to make Ford Probes and Mazda MX-6s. Those models didn't sell as well as expected, so Mazda started producing the 626 there as well starting for the 1990 model year. For 1990-1991, Mazda sold both the US and Japan made versions in the US. In 1992, the imported models tailed off and all were US made from 1992-2012. For 2013 to present, Mazda6 production was moved back to Japan.

Mitsubishi Galant

Up until 1993, the Galants were all made in Japan.

Starting in 1993 (for the new 1994 models), Mitsubishi started making Galants in the Normal, Illinois plant. For 1994, the numbers show all domestic made. For 1995-1996, there were some Japanese made Galants sold (about a 10:1 margin of US:Japan). From 1997-2013, only domestic Galants are sold.

Hyundai Sonata

When the Sonata started sales in the US for 1989, they built a plant in Quebec, as they expected sales to boom. So 1989 Sonatas were built in South Korea. The plant opened in 1990, and about 2/3 of 1990 Sonata sales were made there, the rest in Korea. For 1991 most were made in Quebec, and by 1992-93 they were all Quebec cars. Sales were slow, so they closed the plant in Quebec down in 1994. The new generation was made in South Korea.

From 1994-2004, Sonatas were South Korea-made.

In June 2005, Hyundai opened it's new plant in Alabama to produce the new 2006 NF models. Hyundai does not break down domestic/import sales, but I found an article from June 2015 that stated that Hyundai had built 1.86 million Sonatas at the Alabama plant for US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam sales. This number is a little more than the number of Sonatas sold in the US for this time period, so it appears that all regular models were built in Alabama.

The Hybrid model introduced in 2011 is built in South Korea.

Honda CR-V

Honda made all CR-V from 1997-2006 in Japan.

In September 2006, production started in East Liberty Ohio for the 2007 model year. From 2007-2012, Honda continued to sell both US and Japan-made CR-Vs in the US. 2007-2008 were mainly Japan-made, 2009-2012 mainly US-made. They started production in Ontario in 2012. By 2013, they stopped Japan imports, and all 2013+ are made in either Ohio or Ontario. Honda does not provide a breakdown.

Honda also sold UK-made CR-Vs from 2002-2006 and Mexican-made CR-Vs from 2008-present.

So without a VIN, you can't really tell where individual CR-Vs are made.

Nissan Truck/Hardbody/Frontier

All Datsun/Nissan trucks were made in Japan through 1982.

Mid-1983, Nissan opened it's plant in Smyrna, Tennessee producing the Datsun 720 pickup. Start-up was slow the first 6 months, but for 1984-1987, sales were about even for US-made/Japan-made models. In 1988-89, sales of Japan-made units tapered off. By 1990, all Trucks were made in Tennessee. This continued until 2012, when production was moved to Mississippi instead.

So before 1990, "Made for USA", 1990-present "Made in USA".

Toyota Truck/Tacoma

All Toyota pickups were made in Japan until 1991.

Toyota started production in December 1991 of pickups at the NUMMI plant for the 1992 model year. Toyota sold both US and Japan-made Trucks until the model was replaced by the Tacoma.

From 1995-2001, all Tacomas were made in the US.

In 2002, Toyota added production of the Tacoma in Mexico, and both US and Mexican made Tacomas have been sold since then. Production at NUMMI was transferred to Texas in 2011.

So the only ones with "Made in USA" tags should be 1995-2001 Tacomas.

Isuzu P'up/Truck/Hombre

Last one for today, Isuzu pickups were made in Japan through the 1989 model year.

In 1990, they started producing them at the Isuzu/Subaru joint plant. From 1990-1995, production was mixed between US and Japan until it was replaced by the Hombre.

Hombres were all "Made in USA" at GM's Louisiana plant.

Nissan Rogue

First generation Nissan Rogue [S35] (2008-2013) and Rogue Selects (2014-2015) are all made in Japan.

Second generation Nissan Rogues [T32] (2014+) are made in the US (2014+) or South Korea (2015+).

I totally forgot about this until I was looking at one online today, and noticed that the VIN started with a "K". Then I found an article that said they were also going to start building them in Japan in Spring 2016 for the US market, because sales were so good:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-rogue/nissan-to-export-rogue-for-u-s-market-from-japan-plant-idUSKCN0PJ23F20150709

So 2nd gen US-market Rogues could be US-built, Korean-built or Japanese-built.

Everywhere east of the Rockies got the US-made (Ohio) Honda Accords from 1984-85. West of the Rockies, we all got the imported ones from Japan. This can be verified by checking the VIN of said vehicle (imports had a "J" at the beginning, like my '84 Accord does).

Can that be proved or is it just lure?