In an unmarked warehouse just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, wooden crates and cardboard boxes are waiting. Hulking, nondescript masses sit on shelves and floors around the warehouse. When it’s time, the half-assembled shells glide smoothly out of their protective shipping containers and onto pallet jacks. From there, they’re suspended by wires and cranes and pushed into the line. At the marriage station, engines and transmissions are added. Within an hour and a half, a complete, reassembled Mercedes-Benz van is ready to head to a dealership and be delivered to a waiting customer.

Welcome to the place where the archaic “chicken tax” comes home to roost.
Read more at Autoweek, here.