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Time - Man of the Year
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Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
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0217203.000
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1992-08-28
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34 lines
BUSINESS, Page 59Business NotesTRADEMade in The U.S.A.
Surrounded by all the recent flag-waving "Buy American" sales
promotions, Japanese automaker Mazda might be experiencing
something of an identity crisis. At the Chicago Auto Show this
week, Mazda's U.S. subsidiary introduced a redesigned midsize
626 sedan.
But it wasn't the 626's smart looks that drew attention so
much as it was the new automobile's parenthood. The 626 may
well become the first U.S. import brand to qualify under
EnvironmenProtection Agency standards as an "American" product.
Not only will U.S. workers at Mazda's Flat Rock, Mich., plant
assemble the automobile, but 75% of its total content will be
American-made.
Mazda's marketing managers say they have no plans to
exploit the 626's new citizenship status. Still, being a
naturalized American with Japanese parents can have its
complications. After the recent ridicule of U.S. workers by
Japanese politicians, Mazda's Flat Rock president, Masahiro
Uchida, sent around a note of apology to his American workers.
"It was embarrassing," he said last week. "It was not helpful
at all."