CHICAGO, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the
premier online resource for buying and selling new and used
vehicles, announced today that the Toyota Camry has topped the
site's annual American-Made Index. While this is the fourth
consecutive year the Camry has held the top spot, the Ford F-150's
return to the list resulted in the narrowest gap between first and
second in the index's history.
"When people think about buying an 'American' car, they might
just think automatically of the Detroit Three," said Patrick Olsen, Editor in Chief at Cars.com. "In
reality, this classification isn't as cut and dry as it used to
be. Today, Fiat owns a majority stake in Chrysler, companies
like Toyota are increasing production of their vehicles in the U.S.
and parts are coming in from all over the globe. Our index
accounts for all of these factors to determine where vehicles
rank."
In addition to domestic parts content and final assembly point
of vehicles, the index also takes into account U.S. sales.
This year, the Camry topped the F-150 based on less than two days
of average sales for each vehicle.
"U.S. sales are a component of our index for a number of
reasons," said Olsen. "For one thing, it's safe to say that
the more a vehicle sells, the more U.S. workers are involved in
production and delivery of the vehicle and the more U.S. dealers
are profiting. Additionally, we think it's valid to give
credit for how American buyers embrace a vehicle."
This year, Toyota, Honda and General Motors combined for eight
of the 10 vehicles on the list. General Motors held three
cars on the list with the Traverse (6), Acadia (9) and Enclave (10)
all built in Lansing,
Michigan. In addition to the No .1 rank, Toyota also has the
Sienna (4) and Tundra (7) on the list. Honda's Accord dropped
to third this year because of the re-entry of the F-150 on the
index and the Pilot took the fifth position. Chrysler's Jeep
Liberty (8) appeared on the AMI for the first time.
"For most car shoppers, how 'American' a vehicle is doesn't
impact their final purchase," said Olsen. "However, according
to a Cars.com survey we conducted in May, nearly 25 percent do
prefer to buy American and nearly half of those people would be
swayed to buy a foreign make if they knew it was assembled in the
U.S. We do our index every year to make sure shoppers who do
factor this into their purchase decision have the right
information."
Rank
|
Make/Model
|
U.S.
Assembly Location(s)
|
Rank in
July 2011
|
1.
|
Toyota
Camry
|
Georgetown, Ky.; Lafayette, Ind.
|
1
|
2.
|
Ford
F-150
|
Dearborn,
Mich.; Claycomo, Mo.
|
-
|
3.
|
Honda
Accord
|
Marysville, Ohio
|
2
|
4.
|
Toyota
Sienna
|
Princeton,
Ind.
|
6
|
5.
|
Honda
Pilot
|
Lincoln,
Ala.
|
-
|
6.
|
Chevrolet
Traverse
|
Lansing,
Mich.
|
8
|
7.
|
Toyota
Tundra
|
San
Antonio, Tex.
|
9
|
8.
|
Jeep
Liberty
|
Toledo,
Ohio
|
-
|
9.
|
GMC
Acadia
|
Lansing,
Mich.
|
10
|
10.
|
Buick
Enclave
|
Lansing,
Mich.
|
-
|
Excludes hybrid variants. The Camry excludes the related
Venza; the Accord excludes the related Crosstour.
Sources: Automaker data, Automotive News, dealership
data, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
For more information on this index from Cars.com editors, visit
www.cars.com.
About the American-Made Index
The Cars.com American-Made Index is an annual ranking of
vehicles deemed most American based on American production,
percentage of domestic parts and American sales volume.
Domestic-parts content is based on data that appears alongside
the window sticker of new cars as a result of the American
Automobile Labeling Act, enacted in 1994. The AALA mandates that
virtually every new car display the percentage, by cost, of its
parts that originated in the U.S. and Canada. Only those vehicles with a
domestic-parts content rating of 75 percent or higher are eligible
for the American-Made Index.
About Cars.com
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers,
offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers
and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where
to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive
pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo
galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection
of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car
buyers in control of their shopping process with the information
they need to make confident 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 and The Washington Post Company (NYSE:
WPO).
SOURCE Cars.com