Cars.com released its 2015 “American-Made Index” on June 29, 2015. The Toyota Camry took the top spot, and for the first time in the index’s history fewer than 10 vehicles qualified: just seven.
The 2015 list, in rank order
- Toyota Camry
- Toyota Sienna
- Chevrolet Traverse
- Honda Odyssey
- GMC Acadia
- Buick Enclave
- Chevrolet Corvette
Why the F-150 dropped off
The Ford F-150, the top vehicle in 2014, fell below the index’s 75% domestic-parts threshold with its 2015 redesign. Forbes reported that its domestic parts content dropped to 70%. A Ford spokesman told Forbes that domestic content often changes from one generation to the next, and that the F-150 is still assembled in Dearborn, Michigan, and Kansas City, Missouri. With the F-150 gone, no Ford made the list.
How the index works
The index scores vehicles built and bought in the USA. It looks at the share of parts counted as domestic under federal labeling rules, where the vehicle is assembled and its USA sales. Models are disqualified if their domestic-parts rating is below 75%, if they are built only outside the USA, or if they are soon to be discontinued without a USA-built successor. Federal parts-content figures count USA and Canadian parts together.
Cars.com said USA auto production was not shrinking. What had fallen was domestic parts content: five years earlier, 29 vehicles qualified. Cars.com also reported that 28% of shoppers it surveyed said they would consider only USA automakers, up from 23% in 2011.
Toyota said the Camry is built at its plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, and the Sienna in Princeton, Indiana. A year later the Camry topped the list again (our coverage).
Source & credit
Sources: Cars.com: “The 2015 American-Made Index”, by Kelsey Mays; Forbes: “What’s More American Than A Ford F-150 Pickup? Try A Toyota Camry”, by Joann Muller, June 29, 2015; Toyota USA Newsroom: “Cars.com Names Toyota Camry as Most American-Made, Again!”, June 29, 2015.