While sitting around my parents’ dinner table on a recent visit, the subject of a replacement for their ten-year-old Buick Riviera came up. The first car that came to mind was the new 2005 Toyota Avalon. From there, the conversation went something like this:

MOM: But that’s one of those Japanese cars.

ME: Actually, it was designed in California, engineered in Michigan, and it’s built in Kentucky. Technically, that makes it more American than some American cars that are built in Mexico or Canada.

DAD: But the money still goes back to Japan.

ME: Maybe some of it does, but the bulk of it supports hard-working men and women right here in the U.S.

MOM: But I don’t like those Japanese cars…

ME: What’s not to like? It’s good-looking, roomy, comfortable, safe, fuel efficient, and reliable enough that it’ll likely be the last car you’ll ever have to buy…

Debates about its nationality aside, we came away from our recent week with behind the wheel of the Toyota Avalon convinced it may very well be the best full-size American sedan currently on the market.