Cars.com, the digital automotive marketplace, is out with a list ranking the most American-made cars on the market. And three vehicles made in Alabama are in the top 10.
What’s more, they all came from the same place – Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, in Lincoln.
How the list is compiled sheds some light on how vehicles are made in the 21st century – with international corporations operating among a host of suppliers and supply chains both in and out of the U.S.
The ranking takes five factors into account: assembly location, domestic-parts content, engine sourcing, transmission sourcing and factory jobs provided by each automaker’s U.S. plants. A vehicle made in an American plant may have parts made elsewhere, which enters into the ranking.
Checking in at No. 2 on the list is Honda’s Odyssey mini-van, and at No. 3, the Honda Ridgeline pickup. At No. 6, the Honda Pilot SUV.
All three of the vehicles have undergone redesigns within the last five years and are made solely in Lincoln.
At No. 1 was the Jeep Cherokee, made in Belvidere, Ill.
Odyssey and Ridgeline placed so high, according to the website, because of their “high domestic content and U.S.-sourced drivetrains.”
According to a Cars.com survey of more than 1,000 licensed drivers, 83 percent named assembly location as an important factor in determining economic impact. However, more than 7 in 10 said other factors surpass economic impact. And cars built in America account for only about 53 percent of passenger-vehicle sales in the U.S. through the first quarter of 2018.
