Camry Edges Out F-150 for 'Most American' in Cars.com Index

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."

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