I live in Berkeley, Ca and saw a Volvo with the bumper sticker, "Bring U.S Manufacturing back to the U. S. of A." I found it ironic. Volvo's are not known for their inexpensiveness and the model was a V-8. WTF?
That's a funny observation, but I don't think owning a foreign vehicle is somehow a contradiction of the statement. It is one thing to promote international trade, and it is an entirely other thing for American companies to outsource by using foreign labor. Foreign labor takes American dollars out of the American economy and puts it into another, while buying a Mercedes or KIA just means purchasing a car from a foreign car manufacturer that didn't start in America to begin with. It's good business for America actually because it stimulates our relationships with our international neighbors which is good for everyone. On the other hand when a company like Dell moves the bulk of its work force to India, because the labor is cheap, it hurts the American economy because these are American products with a primarily American market, but a foreign workforce. Money from America moves out, and stays out.
Even if you buy anything with an originally American companies moniker you can't possibly know where it is made because corporations have made sure its legal for them to bury the actual foreign content of the given product.