CHICAGO, June 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Cars.com
(NYSE: CARS) releases its annual American-Made Index to help car
shoppers determine the "most American" vehicles of 2018 that have
the greatest impact on the U.S. economy. To arrive at this list,
Cars.com looked at which cars are manufactured in America, have the
most American parts, and support the most American factory
jobs.
In today's global economy, buying American can be complicated.
According to a recent Cars.com survey, 71 percent of consumers
believe buying American contributes significantly or substantially
to the U.S. economy1. This year's ranking reveals that
four of the top 10 American-made vehicles are produced by a
foreign-based automaker. The Jeep Cherokee moves up one spot from
the 2017 list. It's Illinois-built, though Jeep is a division of
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), an Italian corporation
headquartered in London. Still,
the Cherokee comes in as the most American-made car of 2018 due to
its high domestic-parts content, U.S.-manufactured engines and
transmissions and FCA's large U.S. factory workforce.
Rank
|
Make/Model
|
U.S. Assembly
Plant Location(s)
|
1
|
Jeep
Cherokee
|
Belvidere,
Ill.
|
2
|
Honda
Odyssey
|
Lincoln,
Ala.
|
3
|
Honda
Ridgeline
|
Lincoln,
Ala.
|
4
|
Ford
Taurus
|
Chicago
|
5
|
Chevrolet
Volt
|
Detroit
|
6
|
Honda
Pilot
|
Lincoln,
Ala.
|
7
|
Acura MDX
(excludes MDX Sport
Hybrid)
|
East Liberty,
Ohio
|
8
|
Ford
Explorer
|
Chicago
|
9
|
Ford F-150
|
Claycomo, Mo., and
Dearborn, Mich.
|
10
|
Chevrolet
Corvette
|
Bowling Green,
Ky.
|
The Cars.com survey revealed many U.S. consumers want to support
their neighbors and buy American cars, trucks and SUVs. Notably, 19
percent of survey respondents believe it is unpatriotic to buy
vehicles that are not American-made. Additional survey insights
include:
- 28 percent of respondents would only consider an American
manufacturer when purchasing a vehicle.
- Before buying a car, two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans say
they first find out where a car is built or where its automaker is
headquartered.
- 82 percent of respondents believe that buying American-made
vehicles will create more jobs in the U.S.
The Honda Odyssey minivan and Honda Ridgeline pickup truck round
out the top three. While Honda is a Japan-based automaker, both of these cars are
built in Alabama with high
domestic content and U.S.-sourced drivetrains.
The Chicago-built Ford Taurus
lands at number four, followed by the Chevrolet Volt – the index's
highest-ranked newcomer and the first ever plug-in vehicle on the
American-Made Index. Plug-in cars, whether they're fully electric
or a plug-in hybrid like the Volt, often lack high domestic content
amid global sourcing for batteries, but the Volt's battery pack is
assembled near Detroit, with cells
from a plant in western Michigan.
"In this new era of import tariffs and ongoing renegotiations of
long-standing trading pacts, it's increasingly important for
consumers to understand a product's homegrown credentials,
especially when it comes to purchasing a modern automobile," said
Joe Wiesenfelder, Cars.com's
executive editor. "If consumers care about making car purchases
that support the U.S. economy, it means looking beyond the assembly
location."
Cars.com's American-Made Index ranks cars based on five factors:
assembly location, domestic-parts content, U.S. factory employment,
engine sourcing and transmission sourcing. The company analyzed
more than 100 U.S.-built vehicles to arrive at the top 10. In 2017,
Cars.com revamped the methodology for its American-Made Index to
focus on the impact of the choice between buying one car versus
another amid only three models qualifying under the prior
methodology. For more information on the 2018 Cars.com
American-Made Index, including a deeper dive into the data and
methodology, visit www.cars.com/news.
ABOUT CARS.COM
Cars.com™ is a leading two-sided
digital automotive marketplace that creates meaningful connections
between buyers and sellers. Launched in 1998 and headquartered in
Chicago, the company empowers
consumers with resources and information to make informed buying
decisions around The 4Ps of Automotive Marketing™:
Product, Price, Place and Person, by connecting advertising
partners with in-market car shoppers and providing data-driven
intelligence to increase inventory turn and gain market share. A
pioneer in online automotive classifieds, the company has evolved
into one of the largest digital automotive platforms, connecting
thousands of local dealers across the country with millions of
consumers. Through trusted expert content, on-the-lot mobile
features and intelligence, millions of new and used vehicle
listings, a comprehensive set of pricing and research tools, and
the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com
is transforming the car shopping experience.
Cars.com properties include DealerRater®, Dealer Inspire®,
Auto.com™, PickupTrucks.com® and NewCars.com®. For more
information, visit www.Cars.com.
1Cars.com internal data. The 2018 American-Made Index
surveyed over 1,000 participants from an independent, third-party
provider. The survey fielded on May
23, 2018.
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SOURCE Cars.com