Made in America: The Search for a New Car

June 9, 2011 -- We parked our 1970 Ford Mustang in front of the home of another brave U.S. family, ready to tackle the next challenge in our "Made in America" series, buying a new car.

The Stewart's Ford Explorer had more than 111,000 miles on it and was on its last legs. The check-engine light was on, the transmission was dying and it was smoking under the hood.

Despite its condition and our doubts, the Explorer made it to the first stop on the Stewart's search for a new car, the Toyota dealership. The family test drove the nation's top selling family sedan, the Camry.

"It was a very smooth ride, very nice, very comfortable inside," Brian Stewart said.

Next up for the Stewart family was the Ford dealership and the most popular compact SUV in America, the Escape. Sales of the vehicle are up 21 percent in the past year.

As they took the Escape for a test drive, the Stewarts asked questions about gas mileage and room for their two kids. What they didn't know was that we were asking questions, too.

ABC News traveled to the Ford plant in Kansas City, Mo., and was on the assembly line to see where each part of the vehicle was made.

Here's the breakdown for the Escape:

Glass: Made in Tennessee

Door: Made in Chicago

Tires: Made in America

Carpet: Made in Ohio

Seats: Made in Missouri

Back Window: Made in Mexico

Instrument Panel: Made in Illinois, but the electronics come from Mexico

Transmission: Hybrid transmissions made in Japan, standard in Sterling Heights, MI. Ford says, next year 100% of Escape transmissions will be made in Michigan.

We also traveled to the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Ky. Here's how the Camry compared.

Seats: Made in Kentucky

Tires: Made in South Carolina

Seat Belts: Made in Canada

Radio Parts: Made in Mexico

Find out Friday on "World News with Diane Sawyer" what car the Stewarts decided to buy.