Jeep Wrangler is the most American vehicle, Cars.com claims
Cars.com rejiggered the metrics for its American-Made Index, removing some models that made regular appearances.
Every year, Cars.com assembles its American-Made Index, a list of what it believes are the most "American" cars, based on a number of metrics. Last year, a Toyota was on top. This year, it's a Jeep.
The Jeep Wrangler and its four-door Unlimited variant tops 2017's American-Made Index (AMI), followed by the Jeep Cherokee, Ford Taurus, Honda Ridgeline and Acura RDX. The top three cars from last year -- the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Toyota Sienna -- are nowhere to be seen.
In a political climate where point of assembly matters, this list might carry a bit more weight than it has in years past.
There's a reason for this drastic change. Cars.com removed the sales volume factor, hurting big sellers like the Camry and Accord. This year, its methodology ranks cars on five factors -- assembly location, domestic parts content, engine origin, transmission origin and factory employment adjusted by sales. That last is a rough measurement of how many US workers each vehicle sale supports. Check out Cars.com's site to dig deeper into how it creates the AMI.
The Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited topped the AMI for several reasons. All of its engines are built in the US, as are nearly all of its transmissions. The Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited pack have domestic parts contents of 74 and 75 percent, respectively.
Cars.com will disqualify vehicles for a few different reasons. Cars that are discontinued or in their final model year are ineligible, as are cars with a sales volume below 2,500 units, since the AMI is consumer-focused and wants to make sure consumers can actually find the cars on the list. Heavy-duty vehicles are also ineligible for the AMI.
While American Honda Motor did lose its second-place spot on the AMI, it still has four vehicles on the list -- the Honda Ridgeline (4), Acura RDX (5), Honda Odyssey (9) and Honda Pilot (10). Toyota is nowhere to be seen.
