CHICAGO, June 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the
premier online resource for buying and selling new and used cars,
today released its annual American-Made Index, with the Ford F-150
taking the top spot for the second year in a row. The ranking takes
into account three factors to determine how "American" cars are,
including domestic-parts content[1] (percentage of a vehicle's
parts considered to be "domestic," meaning built in the U.S. or
Canada), final assembly point, and
overall vehicle sales.
"We uncovered a pretty remarkable phenomenon when compiling this
year's list," said Patrick Olsen,
Cars.com Editor-in-Chief. "Only 10 cars were eligible for the
American-Made Index this year. That's the fewest in the study's
nine-year history. In 2013, 14 cars met the threshold, 20 in 2012
and 30 cars the year before that. This consistent decline points to
global nature of cars these days. Production in the U.S. is up, but
parts are coming from all over the world, making the notion of
classifying cars as 'American' more difficult than ever."
While the top two spots on the index remain the same from
previous years, the bottom of the list introduces four models that
are first-timers to the Index. Additionally, this year's index
leans heavily towards foreign automakers, which fill seven of the
top 10 spots.
"This is a drastic shift from the past," said Olsen. "For
several years, there was a pretty even split between domestic and
foreign automakers on the list. For the past two years, three GM
crossovers made up about 30 percent of the list, however they've
dropped below the requisite domestic parts content and, as a
result, Toyota and Honda really dominate."
Rank
|
Make/Model
|
Manufacturer
|
U.S. Assembly
Location(s)
|
Rank in
2013
|
1
|
Ford F-150
|
Ford
|
Dearborn, Mich.;
Claycomo, Mo.
|
1
|
2
|
Toyota
Camry
|
Toyota
|
Georgetown, Ky.;
Lafayette, Ind.
|
2
|
3
|
Honda
Odyssey
|
Honda
|
Lincoln,
Ala.
|
4
|
4
|
Toyota
Sienna
|
Toyota
|
Princeton,
Ind.
|
5
|
5
|
Toyota
Tundra
|
Toyota
|
San Antonio,
Texas
|
7
|
6
|
Toyota
Avalon
|
Toyota
|
Georgetown,
Ky.
|
10
|
7
|
Chevrolet
Corvette
|
General
Motors
|
Bowling Green,
Ky.
|
-
|
8
|
Honda
Ridgeline
|
Honda
|
Lincoln,
Ala.
|
-
|
9
|
Honda
Crosstour
|
Honda
|
East Liberty,
Ohio
|
-
|
10
|
Dodge SRT
Viper
|
Chrysler
|
Detroit,
Mich.
|
-
|
"The top spot on the American-Made Index has gone back and forth
between the Ford F-150 and Toyota Camry for several years," said
Olsen. "This year's ranking showed little change to the top of the
list with the F-150 and Camry continuing to take the top spots
thanks to strong sales for both models and no change in their
domestic-parts content. This is the second year in a row that the
F-150 is being considered the 'Most American' vehicle and its fifth
time in the number one spot since the index was created nine years
ago."
For full results, additional content and more information about
the 2014 American-Made Index, visit www.cars.com or
blogs.cars.com.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN-MADE INDEX
Cars.com's American-Made Index rates vehicles built and bought
in the U.S. Factors include the percentage of parts considered
domestic under federal regulations, whether the car is assembled in
the U.S. and U.S. sales. We disqualify models with a domestic parts
content rating below 75 percent, models built exclusively outside
the U.S. or models soon to be discontinued without a U.S.-built
successor.
ABOUT CARS.COM
Cars.com is an award-recognized online destination for car
shoppers that offers information from experts and consumers to help
buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much
to pay for a car. Cars.com offers thousands of new and used vehicle
listings, expert and consumer reviews, side-by-side comparison and
build and price tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial
content and many other resources. As the 2013 "Highest Ranked
Third-Party Automotive Mobile Site" by J.D. Power, Cars.com puts
millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with
the information they need to make stress-free buying decisions.
Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a
division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading
media companies, including A.H. Belo
(NYSE: AHC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company
(NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company (OTC:TRBAA) and The Washington Post
Company (NYSE: WPO).
[1] NHTSA:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/Part+583+American+Automobile+Labeling+Act+(AALA)+Reports
SOURCE Cars.com