Cars.com: American-Made Index Crowns Toyota the Most 'American' Manufacturer

Japanese Automaker Claims Four of 10 Spots on List

CHICAGO, July 2 -- With the Fourth of July just around the corner, Cars.com has announced the rankings in its annual American-Made Index, which ranks the most-American vehicles based on percentage (by cost) of their parts that are made domestically, where they're built and how popular they are among U.S. buyers. This year, the Toyota Camry shot to the top of the list, dethroning the five-time winner, the Ford F-150.

In addition to grabbing the No. 1 rank, Toyota sees its Sienna (No. 6), Tundra (No. 7) and Venza (No. 10) also make their way onto the list, lifting the Japanese automaker's count above all other manufacturers. This year, Detroit automakers claimed five of the 10 spots, a record low on Cars.com's index.

"This year was unique for our index, to say the least," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com editor in chief. "The difficult sales environment and changes in cars' domestic-parts content -- both important factors in our index's equation -- played a huge role in how the rankings changed from last year."

In keeping with American-Made Index methodology, Cars.com excluded any models scheduled to be discontinued without a clear successor. That carried stronger implications this year, as most Pontiac models - including the G6, a longtime index mainstay - became ineligible. Another GM mainstay, the Ohio-built Chevrolet Cobalt, saw its domestic-parts content rating drop significantly, ending its three-year run on the list.

General Motors still takes three slots, with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups showing strong domestic-parts content ratings. The popular Chevrolet Malibu ranked third, thanks in part to its 80 percent domestic-parts content and steady sales.

The Alabama-built Honda Odyssey increased slightly in domestic-parts content, up to 80 percent this year, which played a large role in its elevation to the No. 4 spot. Another newcomer, the Ford Taurus, boasts an impressive 90 percent domestic-parts content, the highest of any vehicle on the list.

"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 identify the most-American vehicles based on production location, percentage of domestic-parts content, and American sales volume for each vehicle."

  Rank     Make/Model             U.S. Assembly         Rank in July 2008
                                  Location(s)*

  1.       Toyota Camry**         Georgetown, Ky.;               --
                                  Lafayette, Ind.
  2.       Ford F-150             Dearborn, Mich.;                1
                                  Claycomo, Mo.
  3.       Chevrolet Malibu***    Kansas City, Kan.               3
  4.       Honda Odyssey          Lincoln, Ala.                   7
  5.       Chevrolet Silverado    Ford Wayne, Ind.                8
           1500***
  6.       Toyota Sienna          Princeton, Ind.                 6
  7.       Toyota Tundra          San Antonio                     5
  8.       GMC Sierra 1500***     Fort Wayne, Ind.               --
  9.       Ford Taurus            Chicago                        --
  10.      Toyota Venza           Georgetown, Ky.                --

  *Excludes assembly plants suspended or scheduled for shutdown: Pontiac,
  Mich. (Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra) and Orion Township, Mich.
  (Chevrolet Malibu)
  **Excludes Camry Hybrid and Camry Solara.
  ***Excludes hybrid models, which are broken out separately - or, in the
  case of the Malibu Hybrid, suspended for consumer sales.
  Sources: Automaker data, Automotive News, dealership data, National
  Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

  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 , Gannett Co., Inc. , The McClatchy Company , Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company .