The Schwinn Le Tours were made by Panasonic in Japan. You could tell the difference between one made in Chicago and the imported Schwinn bikes of the day in that components were stamped with "Schwinn Approved". The imports were way better than the home grown variety - much lighter with better components.

Funny thing was that the bike shop that I worked in sold Panasonic brand bikes that were identical to the Schwinn models but about 20% cheaper in price. People would leave our store because they wanted a Schwinn and then go spend extra dollars for the Schwinn name. Both stores were operated by competent people who treated customers fairly so it really didn't make much difference which store they bought them from.