F-150 is Still #1 and (Mostly) American Made

Cars.com has been releasing their “American-Made Index” for 9 years and the 2014 index is the shortest of all so far. Only 10 vehicles were eligible for the 2014 AMI and topping the list was the Ford F150 for the second year in a row.

The list is shrinking every year since 2011 and Cars.com explains why it was only 10 and the reason for the shrinkage. First, what are the criteria for the American-Made Index? From Cars.com, “Cars.com’s American-Made Index rates vehicles built and bought in the U.S. Factors include the percentage of parts considered domestic under federal regulations, whether the car is assembled in the U.S. and U.S. sales.

We disqualify models with a domestic-parts content rating below 75 percent, models built exclusively outside the U.S. or models soon to be discontinued without a U.S.-built successor.” The biggest reason for the shrinkage is the fact that more and more parts are coming from overseas manufacturers.

While we’re seeing an increase in production in the US, we’re not making the parts. Cars.com Editor-In-Chief Patrick Olsen explained to Autoblog that, “Production in the US is up, but parts are coming from all over the world, making the notion of classifying cars as ‘American’ more difficult than ever.”

You can also thank Congress’ 1992 American Automobile Labeling Act that there are at least 10 vehicles on that list. That act considers Canadian production to be “domestic.” So, thank your fellow Canadian, eh? Interestingly, Cars.com notes that they do not include the F-Series Super Duty models. Here is the full list from Cars.com:

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