Corvette Ranks 10th in Cars.com 2018 American-Made Index

So you want to support the U.S. economy when you buy your new vehicle?

Well, it’s not as simple as just picking out a car or truck from Chevy, Ford, or Dodge.

“Determining a product’s homegrown credentials is no easy task in today’s global economy, but it’s an important question amid a new era of import tariffs and ongoing renegotiations of long-standing trade pacts,” says Cars.com, which just came out with a list of the 10 most-American models on the market for 2018.

Fortunately for enthusiasts of “America’s Sports Car,” the Chevrolet Corvette – assembled in Bowling Green, Ky. – again ranked on this year’s list, coming in at No. 10 on the Cars.com 2018 American-Made Index.

Others in the top 10 included a bevy of foreign-based manufacturers:

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: East Liberty, Ohio
8. Ford Explorer: Chicago
9. Ford F-150: Claycomo, Mo., and Dearborn, Mich.
10. Chevrolet Corvette: Bowling Green, KY

As you can see from this list of manufacturers, it’s not as simple as assuming a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge is more American than, say, a Honda or an Acura.

“Few origin stories are as complicated as that of a modern automobile, whose badge and even assembly location don’t tell the whole story,” Cars.com points out.

Even American stalwarts GM and Ford don’t make all their vehicles in the U.S. For example, the Chevy Equinox is built in Canada and Mexico, the Buick Envision is assembled in China and has a domestic parts content rating of 2 percent for some versions, and Ford produces Fusion sedans in Mexico. Likewise, the Dodge Challenger is built in Canada, while its muscle-car rivals the Chevy Camaro and Ford Mustang are built in Michigan.

But even assembling a car in the U.S. doesn’t necessarily mean a lot. BMW has a workforce of 10,000 at its South Carolina assembly plant, but the vehicles produced there – the X3 and X5 – have engines and transmissions from Germany and Austria and an overall domestic-parts content of just 25 percent and 35 percent, respectively. It truly is a global market when it comes to the production of vehicles.

Source:
cars.com

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