In today's global economy, there's no easy way to determine just how American a car is. Many cars built in the U.S., for example, are assembled using parts that come from elsewhere. Some cars assembled in the U.S. from strictly American-made parts don't sell well, meaning fewer Americans are employed to build them. Cars.com's American-Made Index recognizes cars that are built here, have a high amount of domestic parts and are bought in large numbers by American consumers.Accord Up, F-150 Down
The Toyota Camry, which dethroned the Ford F-150 pickup in last year's AMI, remains at the top for 2010. But the No. 2 model, Honda's strong-selling Accord, surged unexpectedly. Since the AMI's 2006 inception, we've scrutinized two generations of Accords. In the past, Honda sold few imported Accords to U.S. buyers — "a percentage below 10 percent for many years," spokesman Ed Miller said — but the Accord spent several years with its domestic parts percentage in the 60s. That's not the case this year. With all Accords sold in the U.S. now assembled in either Ohio or Alabama, the Accord's 75 percent domestic content and strong sales came close to unseating Toyota for first place.
The Accord is only the most noticeable changing of the guard. Half the models in last year's AMI didn't make it back, including the venerable F-150. Blame a decline in its domestic parts content, which dropped to 55 percent for the 2010 model year. In past years the F-150 has held steady around 80 percent domestic parts content; even last year's redesign, which had the potential to change the figures, returned a respectable 75 percent rating. That's not the case anymore."
Fluctuating [parts content] figures are pretty common," Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer said. Changes in sourcing, drivetrain components or parts pricing "can make the numbers move around quite a bit."
As we move to more global sourcing," Schirmer said, "obviously the percentages change."
Ford has stayed strong on the list, however, with the Escape SUV and Focus small car slotting in at third and fourth, respectively. Although neither one made last year's AMI, both have appeared on it previously.
GM, once responsible for half the models on the AMI, is down to just one player: the Kansas-built Chevrolet Malibu, which comes in fifth place. The automaker's full-size pickups — the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra — were once regulars here. Production of both trucks is split between the U.S. and Mexico, however, and today's models have only a 65 percent domestic parts content.
Chrysler, whose Michigan-built Sebring landed a spot in the 2008 AMI, is back with two models. The Sebring isn't one of them, but the Michigan-built Ram 1500 pickup and Ohio-built Jeep Wrangler SUV make the list. Neither vehicle has made the AMI before. Filling in the remaining places are the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Tundra and Toyota Sienna. All three return from last year's AMI.
More Cars, Higher Content
Domestic parts content, the documenting and listing of which has been mandated by the American Automobile Labeling Act since 1994, rates the percentage by cost of a vehicle's parts that originated in the U.S. or Canada. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collects the figures each year, but the list alone shouldn't drive your purchase considerations. Consider the 2010 models NHTSA pegged at 90 percent, the highest percentage earned by any vehicles this model year:
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