Japanese Automakers Claim Five of top 10 Spots on List

CHICAGO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row, the Toyota Camry tops the list of the cars deemed most American by the editors at Cars.com.  The Camry, which is assembled in Georgetown, Ky. and Lafayette, Ind.; is followed by the Honda Accord and the Ford Escape, which rank No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.  

Cars.com's annual American-Made Index ranks the most-American vehicles based on percentage (by cost) of their parts that are made domestically, where they are assembled and how popular they are among U.S. buyers.

In addition to grabbing the No. 1 rank, Toyota also has the Tundra (No. 8) and the Sienna (No. 10) on the list, making the Japanese automaker the only manufacturer with three vehicles in the Top 10.  Honda, Ford and Chrysler each earned two spots on the list and Chevrolet had one car – the Chevy Malibu (No. 5).

"What's interesting this year is the lack of a full-sized domestic pickup truck on the list," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com Editor in Chief. "The Ford F-150 went from the top spot a couple of years ago to being totally left off the list. While the F-150 is still assembled in the U.S., its domestic parts content fell to 55 percent.  In the past, it's had a domestic parts content of around 80 percent."

GM's full-size pickups – the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra – were also once regulars on the American Made Index, but production of both trucks is split between the U.S. and Mexico, and today's models only have 65 percent domestic parts content.

Chrysler, whose Michigan-built Sebring landed a spot in the Top 10 in 2008, 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 list before.

"In today's global economy, there's not an easy way to determine just how American a car is," Olsen said. "Most cars built in the U.S., for example, are assembled using at least some parts that come from somewhere else. Cars.com's American-Made Index helps consumers understand and use labels found on every new car sold that list the domestic parts content and the final assembly point."

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.

For more information about the American-Made Index, visit Cars.com.

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 Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE Cars.com

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