Cars.com tracked where the top 10 most American vehicles are built.
With the importance of where a vehicle is built dominating today’s political climate, some political leaders should be happy with the news that two of the top three “Most American” are produced by Japanese automakers.
The most American car produced, according to a new survey by Cars.com, is the Jeep Cherokee, which is made at the company’s plant in Belivdere, Illinois.
The Cherokee, last year’s No. 2 car on the index, has a domestic parts content of 72% for the 2018 model year — and all engines and transmissions from the U.S., the Illinois-built Cherokee topped more than 100 vehicles to top the list.
The Honda Odyssey and Ridgeline were No. 2 and No. 3 on the list. Both are built at the company’s Lincoln, Alabama plant.
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The Jeep Cherokee, built in Belvidere, Illinois, is the "Most American" vehicle for 2018.
The rest of the top 10 list includes:
- Ford Taurus — Chicago
- Chevrolet Volt — Detroit
- Honda Pilot — Lincoln, Alabama
- Acura MDX — East Liberty, Ohio
- Ford Explorer — Chicago
- Ford F-150 — Claycomo, Missouri and Dearborn, Michigan
- Chevrolet Corvette — Bowling Green, Kentucky
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The Volt’s place on the list is unusual as EVs, particularly the batteries, are assembled in other countries. However, the Volt’s battery is assembled near Detroit, with cells from a plant in western Michigan. Its domestic content, 66% for 2018, makes it top 10.
The Volt is one of four new models, joining the Acura MDX, Ford Explorer and Chevy Corvette, on this year’s list that weren’t on last year’s. That’s due in part that Cars.com redesigned the index to analyze more factors and focus on the impact of each single vehicle purchase.
This is the fifth-generation Odyssey and is the second-most American vehicle for 2018.
Being American made, or at least considered so, is important in today’s climate. Cars.com surveyed more than 1,000 licensed drivers, and 83% named assembly location as an important factor in determining economic impact.
Additionally, more than seven out of 10 survey respondents said other factors surpass economic impact in their purchase decision, and nearly three in 10 said they care only a little or not at all about economic impact.
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That bears out when looking at sales of domestically produced vehicles: A Cars.com analysis of Automotive News data found that cars built in America account for only about 53% of passenger-vehicle sales in the U.S. through the first quarter of 2018, according to the website.