i agree that if the car is sold in California, then it's a California car.
Cali has more strict emissions. My 67 formula S was sold in California and has "California emissions" on it. A little green vacuum pod with three vacuum connections, one for the carb from ported vacuum, one for manifold vacuum, and one to the vacuum advance on the distributor. This was part of the stricter California emissions standards. That is what makes it a California car, not where it was built.
Just because it was built in California, doesn't mean it was built for the California emissions. Any car that was built in California and shipped to another state, did not have the California emissions on it like the California marketed cars.